Illuminated

Years ago after my husband and I obtained our masters degrees my parents took us on a trip to see my father’s homeland. So many things stand out from that two week trip to Hungary including the food, the perfect Mediterranean-like weather, the warmth of my relatives and the unique lodgings we stayed in. Our final hotel was back in the capital of Budapest where we had begun our trip, expect this time we stayed in the famous Hotel Gellért, which had views of Gellért Hill, the Danube River with a large bridge over it near the entrance of the hotel connecting Buda to Pest. By this point in the trip we were tired and overstuffed with heavy Hungarian cuisine and looking forward to the famous Gellért Spa to relax before heading home. We arrived at the opulent hotel and proceeded to our small rooms. Ours had a small balcony with a view of Gellért Hill and the busy street below. But what was most noticeable about our room was not the view so much as one small piece of opulence which was slowly being stripped of its finery. We had a small chandelier hanging from the center of the ceiling amongst what would be considered a fairly modest and outdated hotel room. My husband and I lay on the bed wondering about the missing prisms, which encompassed nearly the entire bottom rung. I debated whether to take one myself for a souvenir, but Ryan talked me out of it. When I checked in with my folks their room had the same small chandelier with its missing crystals.

Since that trip I have wondered about the chandeliers, the crystals and what they look like today, eight years later. When guests of the hotel took the crystals did they end up on a necklace, in a shadow box or stuffed in the bottom of someone’s jewelry box? Did they smile and think, “This time I got something better than a bathrobe or a stupid hotel pen.” Was the defacing of many small chandeliers worth it to bring a piece of Hungary back home? Have the chandeliers finally been replaced with energy efficient lighting? In the larger scheme of my life these are such minor questions yet, I have always wondered about the small crystals that were so easily slipped into one’s luggage without the hotel staff having the faintest notion at the time of check-out. Maybe one day I’ll make it back to the Gellért to relive my very unusual spa experience (that’s a fun story for another time) and to check on the hotel lighting.