Her in Vienna where her family escaped to during the Hungarian Uprising in '56. They were on the last train out before the borders were sealed. Her and her parents lived in refugee camps along with 200,000 others while they applied to emigrate to the West. Canada let in a lot of refugees from that fuckery with the Commies.
All the first gens I know came here in '56-'58 as they got the paperwork to get out of the refugee camps. They, like Mom, lived downtown. There used to be a lot of Hungarian restaurants and delis. The last Hungarian deli, Elisabeth, was still open when I was younger and I remember it fondly. Country Style Hungarian Restaurant on Bloor is still there. That place is the king shit for old school Hungarian food and is pure nostalgia to me. I haven't been there in a while. I think I'll go next time I'm in TO.
The second gens assimilated, spoke accentless English and went to university. They weren't so keen on carrying on the delis, bakeries and restaurants so they closed as their parents retired. In some ways its too bad really. Now my Mom and I go to the Russian stores in the North of TO to find the stuff you used to be able to get at the Hungarian places. It's pretty cool because you can find stuff from all over the former USSR even though it split a while ago now.
E.
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