1 00:00:26,000 --> 00:00:28,200 8,000 rose bushes. 2 00:00:28,820 --> 00:00:33,172 And that’s just the garden. A few days ago, I got to visit the 3 00:00:33,172 --> 00:00:35,740 Esterházy Palace in Fertőd, Hungary, 4 00:00:36,100 --> 00:00:39,892 right out near the Austrian border. I went with my friend Alpár, founder 5 00:00:39,892 --> 00:00:41,120 of Daily News Hungary . 6 00:00:41,300 --> 00:00:46,031 He invited me to it, and he made the trip an absolute pleasure. I’m a 7 00:00:46,031 --> 00:00:47,840 producer, not a cameraman, 8 00:00:48,160 --> 00:00:52,716 but I couldn’t help capturing it, because this place has a story. Over 9 00:00:52,716 --> 00:00:53,640 250 years ago, 10 00:00:53,640 --> 00:00:57,700 a Hungarian prince named Nicholas Esterházy , nicknamed the 11 00:00:57,700 --> 00:00:59,800 Magnificent, decided he wanted 12 00:00:59,800 --> 00:01:03,865 a palace that could stand next to the homes of kings. He had taken a 13 00:01:03,865 --> 00:01:05,260 trip to France and seen 14 00:01:05,260 --> 00:01:09,176 Versailles, which is a giant palace outside Paris where the French kings 15 00:01:09,176 --> 00:01:10,500 lived. Think of the most 16 00:01:10,500 --> 00:01:14,954 over-the-top house you can imagine, with gold, mirrors, and gardens that 17 00:01:14,954 --> 00:01:16,460 go on forever. He looked 18 00:01:16,460 --> 00:01:21,022 at that and said, ‘I want one of those.’ And he built it. It has 126 19 00:01:21,022 --> 00:01:22,860 rooms. People still call it 20 00:01:22,860 --> 00:01:26,561 Hungarian Versailles . And I’ll tell you, every room stopped me in my 21 00:01:26,561 --> 00:01:28,140 tracks. You walk into one and 22 00:01:28,140 --> 00:01:31,968 think, ‘Nothing tops this.’ Then you walk into the next one and it does. 23 00:01:31,968 --> 00:01:33,640 One is covered in black lacquer 24 00:01:33,640 --> 00:01:37,837 with gold paintings in the Chinese style, which was the hottest trend 25 00:01:37,837 --> 00:01:39,380 among rich Europeans back 26 00:01:39,380 --> 00:01:42,770 then. Kind of like collecting designer sneakers today. But that 27 00:01:42,770 --> 00:01:44,520 was just one of many. The prince 28 00:01:44,520 --> 00:01:48,495 wanted the best of everything. He also had a composer on staff. His 29 00:01:48,495 --> 00:01:49,880 name was Joseph Haydn . 30 00:01:49,880 --> 00:01:53,020 And he’s one of the most famous composers in history. 31 00:01:53,300 --> 00:01:57,820 He’s called the father of symphony and even taught a young Beethoven. 32 00:01:58,080 --> 00:02:00,500 No, no. Try again, Beethoven. 33 00:02:01,100 --> 00:02:02,980 Haydn wasn’t Hungarian. He was Austrian. 34 00:02:03,180 --> 00:02:06,280 But he spent 24 years of his life on Hungarian soil. 35 00:02:06,520 --> 00:02:08,360 And you can hear Hungary in his music. 36 00:02:08,680 --> 00:02:11,640 He wrote for the prince’s orchestra and the opera house. 37 00:02:11,800 --> 00:02:15,906 And one of the most famous pieces, the Farewell Symphony , came from 38 00:02:15,906 --> 00:02:16,906 this place. 39 00:02:19,460 --> 00:02:22,963 The musicians were stuck out there for months, away from their 40 00:02:22,963 --> 00:02:23,760 families. 41 00:02:23,760 --> 00:02:26,900 In the last part of the piece, the players blow out their candles 42 00:02:26,900 --> 00:02:33,780 and walk off the stage one by one until only two violins are left. 43 00:02:35,160 --> 00:02:38,820 The message to the prince was simple. Let us go home. 44 00:02:39,380 --> 00:02:42,680 Arrange to get them home. Safely. 45 00:02:43,160 --> 00:02:44,440 I think he got the hint. 46 00:02:44,760 --> 00:02:47,720 You know, I think about that a lot, because I grew up around music. 47 00:02:47,720 --> 00:02:51,932 My dad was part of a well-known band in the ’70s, and he recently 48 00:02:51,932 --> 00:02:54,960 received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame . 49 00:02:55,240 --> 00:02:59,010 So walking through a place where music meant everything, on Hungarian 50 00:02:59,010 --> 00:03:00,340 soil, hit me personally. 51 00:03:00,780 --> 00:03:04,060 I know what it feels like to watch a crowd lose it for a band. 52 00:03:04,460 --> 00:03:07,900 That building was doing it long before any of us were born. 53 00:03:08,100 --> 00:03:12,325 Csilla Sütő , the CEO of Eszterháza Center, the organization that runs 54 00:03:12,325 --> 00:03:15,080 the palace, walked us through the whole place. 55 00:03:15,080 --> 00:03:18,480 She told us about the restoration, the people it takes to keep the 56 00:03:18,480 --> 00:03:19,340 palace going. 57 00:03:19,340 --> 00:03:22,080 She also told us they’ve hosted events there. 58 00:03:22,300 --> 00:03:24,110 You know, I had an interesting thought. 59 00:03:24,260 --> 00:03:28,503 If I was making a film, a period piece, this would be a great 60 00:03:28,503 --> 00:03:29,340 location. 61 00:03:29,340 --> 00:03:31,578 Anybody interested in doing a film? Count me in. 62 00:03:31,680 --> 00:03:34,080 If you booked a concert, think about this. 63 00:03:34,260 --> 00:03:37,639 I can only imagine if my dad’s band and their promoters had known about 64 00:03:37,639 --> 00:03:40,100 this back in the ’70s. They would have jumped on it. 65 00:03:40,100 --> 00:03:44,320 A band at its peak: Taylor Swift , Beyoncé, Bad Bunny , Coldplay. 66 00:03:44,540 --> 00:03:46,980 The space is big enough for any of them. 67 00:03:46,980 --> 00:03:50,870 And if you’re in Hungary and want to see something outside of Budapest 68 00:03:50,870 --> 00:03:52,280 that will blow your mind, 69 00:03:52,520 --> 00:03:56,040 come out, walk the grounds, and spend a day like I did. 70 00:03:56,380 --> 00:03:58,190 My name is Ray. This is Magyar Minute . 71 00:03:58,300 --> 00:04:03,508 Haydn’s players walked out one by one, but the music never left the 72 00:04:03,508 --> 00:04:04,508 palace.