CHAPTER VI. HOSPITALITY VERSUS INNS In a town with a so well-to-do look as Hermannstadt, one expects to find a good and comfortable inn; but I was sadly disappointed. My room was dirty and disorderly, the stove was tumbling to pieces, the lock on the door half off. What a mess, too, the courtyard was in ! And the stairs, and the passages, and the places they led to! Yet this was the first inn of the town, and members of the Transylvanian Parliament were there, and the sittings held in a large room of the building. Angry and disgusted as I was at the state of my room, I could hardly help laughing at the simplicity of the chambermaid, who, on my remarking in no very good humour on the filth that prevailed, answered, "Oh, you should see the Mediascher Hof (another inn), that is much more dirty."1 She, and indeed the waiters also, were full of wonderment at my discontent. The floor of tire dining-room was on a par with the court, the table-cloths soiled, the table -napkins not fit to be used.2 All this seems astonishing in a Saxon town, where we look for cleanliness, neatness, and order, and where the houses are really well kept. But a Transylvanian inn, with perhaps but one or two exceptions, is the last place for finding any of these. Indeed, in a Saxon town, I invariably found that the inn was the dirtiest and worst kept house in the place. My experience later showed me the reason of this unsatisfactory state of things. In the first place, Saxons are hardly ever hotel-keepers. They think it derogatory. They have a prejudice against the occupation. The business, therefore, is in the hands of Bohemians, Poles, and others whose habits as regards neatness and order leave much to be desired. In Mediasch the principal inn is kept by a Saxon, and he, an active and intelligent man, who has travelled, and knows how his house ought to be, does all he can to make it so. Here was the best inn and best landlord I had yet found. In the Saxon towns, moreover the principal inn belongs to the municipality ; it is the "Stadt Wirthshaus," and in former times, when the right of keeping a hostelry was exclusively a municipal privilege, the revenue its exercise brought in was not inconsiderable. The inn, then, is farmed to the highest bidder ; and if the lessee has but six or eight months before him ere his lease expire, he does not trouble himself about many a thing which ought to be changed, for he cannot tell whether, when the inn is again put up to auction, he may not be outbid; and so, for the remaining few months of his occupancy, he leaves matters as they are. Hence the state of the locks and stove in my room. The town authorities, on the other hand, like many a householder who lets his property, will do nothing for the tenant. The most necessary repairs are left unheeded, till at last dilapidation begins to show itself everywhere. In Committees or "Boards," no one individual is responsible; hence it frequently happens that a "Board" will promulgate an order that any single member would be thoroughly ashamed of. And it is the same here, the stinginess or the neglect is shifted from one member of the municipality to the other; no one is responsible, and consequently no one is ashamed. There is in no town of Transylvania a worse conducted inn than the "Stadt Wirthshaus" in Bistritz. The business is, in fact, not conducted at all; everything goes on in a happy-go-lucky style, no one in the house caring anything about it. Neither master nor mistress trouble themselves about the matter; and while I was there, the little Jew waiter, when at home, did nothing but smoke or lie down on his bed. Dirt and disorder prevailed. If I had occasion to go near or into the kitchen, I made a point to keep my head well up, with my eyes fixed near the ceiling, thinking it safer that they should have no cognizance of what was to be seen there. It does seem strange that in a country where beef is 2d. per pound,3 and in some places ˝ d. less, and bread in proportion, -ten rolls for 2d., as in Kronstadt,-a small quantity of food, dignified by the name of dinner, should cost more than a really good and sufficient meal at Munich or Frankfort. It is the same with lodging ; you will often pay for an almost bare room as much as or more than would be asked for a well-furnished comfortable one in the above towns. I generally found that the more insufficient the accommodation, the greater was the demand made. If the lodging were very poor, 1 florin 10 kreutzers was always asked; when it was very good, as at Hátzeg (Hungarian landlord), Gye St. Miklos (Szekler), and Mediasch (Saxon), I paid considerably less. The thing is, there being few travellers, those who do come are made to pay for those who do not. Taken generally, slovenliness and untidiness are the characteristics of the hotel arrangements. At No. 1 in Kronstadt, -so the hotel is called, -the rooms are good, and there are no fleas ; and on my first going there the food was detestable and the service bad beyond description. A new landlord is there now, and both kitchen and attendance are very greatly improved. At the "Grüne Baum" the kitchen was better, but the prices so exorbitant-that is to say, in comparison to market prices-that you are at a loss to understand how people can have the impudence to make such demands ; but it is the same everywhere. When I asked for some hot water at Kronstadt, it was brought me, after waiting half an hour, in a copper saucepan, and I was begged to make haste as another gentleman was waiting for some too. All this would not be surprising in a country just emerging from barbarism, where there was no intercourse with neighbouring lands ; but in a thriving and populous town it does seem rather unaccountable. Meat and corn being so cheap in Transylvania, the price of food at the inns is certainly too high. What I mean is, that it is out of proportion to the market price, by which such matters are always regulated, and that the difference between them is greater than, for example, in the inns of South Germany. But this is only one of the many anomalies of the country. The paucity of travellers, and consequently of demand for good accommodation, is another reason why the inns are as we find them. A foreigner is a rarity in the land, and the natives, when they go from home, generally stop at the house of a friend or relation on their road. The nobility are all related, and find an uncle or cousin everywhere, and therefore have not recourse to inns. As to the other travellers, -Moldavians, Wallachians, etc., disorder and want of cleanliness are no drawbacks, but rather contribute to make them feel at home. Even I, who had no previous acquaintance with any one here, often travelled considerable distance without entering an inn. I either went of my own accord and introduced myself to the Protestant clergyman, or the director of a mine or other undertaking, and always found a ready and hearty welcome. A verbal message from my last host was more than sufficient to ensure me a good reception at my next station; and often, "if I . would go in the morning and not stay a day or two," I found a carriage ready provided, with a servant to accompany me, waiting at the door, to take me on to my destination. Is it surprising, therefore, that in such a country inns should not flourish ? The hospitality which prevails is instrumental in keeping up this unsatisfactory state of things, and hospitality formerly was greater still than now. There was more wealth, less despondency, and every stranger, come whence he might, was welcome. Who is then to frequent the inns? Who is to give the tone, and make it understood that they should be better? People here take things as they find them, and if the "Wirthshaus" has poor accommodation, they think it is a "Wirthshaus," and must be so. But if strangers are to come here,- and that they should do so is generally desired,- a great improvement must first take place in the practice of inn-keeping. There is a large hotel at Klausenburg, well kept, neat, clean, and orderly. It is probably the best in Transylvania, through formerly, I am told, the one at Szamos Ujvár had the reputation of being so. It is leased by a Hungarian Indeed, in the smallest Hungarian inn you are almost sure to find cleanliness, however homely the lodging or fare may be. And not only the rooms, but places which are not seen are scrupulously clean too. In not Hungarian inns, the reverse is generally the case. At Reussmarkt, between Karlsburg and Hermannstadt, is one particularly nice-looking, with an air of great neatness. The place was formerly wholly Saxon, but now the population is mixed. Wherever the landlord is the owner of or has an interest in the house, all belonging to the establishment is in a far better state than when he is merely the lessee. As it is certain that before long Transylvania will cease to be the "odd corner of Europe," which a friend not inaptly termed it, and will have its tourists, like the Tyrol, Switzerland, Italy, or the Rhine, I would advise the Saxons to bestir themselves and undertake the management of the better inns in their larger towns, in order that when a stranger comes to visit their country, he may not long to get out of it again in order to obtain merely tolerable accommodation. For when the influx of travelers is greater, the hospitality which opens its door to the stranger must naturally be restricted. It was very pleasant always to meet with a most warm and truly courteous reception at the Saxon parsonage and the castle of the Hungarian noble, but the kindness shown to the casual wayfarer cannot be claimed by those who come periodically and in troops. 1It is seldom I complain of, or find fault with arrangements in other countries ; but the state of things here made me so angry that I told the girl, "Es ist bei Euch eine Hottentotten Wirthschaft" (It is like being among the Hottentots here with you). This observation had, I saw, not the least effect. It was evident she knew nothing about the Hottentots, or if to be like them was praise or not. I ransacked my brain for an expression that should make my opinion of such slovenliness understood and at the same time should hit hard; so I changed my simile said, "Es ist hier bei Euch eine Zigeuner Wirthschaft" (It is like living among the gipsies to be here). This told. A poisoned arrow could not have inflicted a worse wound. To be compared to a gipsy was, it seemed, the lowest degradation, for the words seemed to rankle and cause a growing excitement. The room was scoured and cleaned in every corner, as if to wash away the hated imputation ; and it was only after a time that my words of bitterness were forgotten. 2It is but common justice to state that on returning to Hermannstadteight months later, I found a great improvement in the inn. It was in every respect very much better. 3This was in October, 1863. It rose afterwards during the winter. Chapters 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 Text Archive Home | Book Details | Table of Contents