WEBVTT 00:00:26.000 --> 00:00:28.200 8,000 rose bushes. 00:00:28.820 --> 00:00:33.172 And that’s just the garden. A few days ago, I got to visit the 00:00:33.172 --> 00:00:35.740 Esterházy Palace in Fertőd, Hungary, 00:00:36.100 --> 00:00:39.892 right out near the Austrian border. I went with my friend Alpár, founder 00:00:39.892 --> 00:00:41.120 of Daily News Hungary . 00:00:41.300 --> 00:00:46.031 He invited me to it, and he made the trip an absolute pleasure. I’m a 00:00:46.031 --> 00:00:47.840 producer, not a cameraman, 00:00:48.160 --> 00:00:52.716 but I couldn’t help capturing it, because this place has a story. Over 00:00:52.716 --> 00:00:53.640 250 years ago, 00:00:53.640 --> 00:00:57.700 a Hungarian prince named Nicholas Esterházy , nicknamed the 00:00:57.700 --> 00:00:59.800 Magnificent, decided he wanted 00:00:59.800 --> 00:01:03.865 a palace that could stand next to the homes of kings. He had taken a 00:01:03.865 --> 00:01:05.260 trip to France and seen 00:01:05.260 --> 00:01:09.176 Versailles, which is a giant palace outside Paris where the French kings 00:01:09.176 --> 00:01:10.500 lived. Think of the most 00:01:10.500 --> 00:01:14.954 over-the-top house you can imagine, with gold, mirrors, and gardens that 00:01:14.954 --> 00:01:16.460 go on forever. He looked 00:01:16.460 --> 00:01:21.022 at that and said, ‘I want one of those.’ And he built it. It has 126 00:01:21.022 --> 00:01:22.860 rooms. People still call it 00:01:22.860 --> 00:01:26.561 Hungarian Versailles . And I’ll tell you, every room stopped me in my 00:01:26.561 --> 00:01:28.140 tracks. You walk into one and 00:01:28.140 --> 00:01:31.968 think, ‘Nothing tops this.’ Then you walk into the next one and it does. 00:01:31.968 --> 00:01:33.640 One is covered in black lacquer 00:01:33.640 --> 00:01:37.837 with gold paintings in the Chinese style, which was the hottest trend 00:01:37.837 --> 00:01:39.380 among rich Europeans back 00:01:39.380 --> 00:01:42.770 then. Kind of like collecting designer sneakers today. But that 00:01:42.770 --> 00:01:44.520 was just one of many. The prince 00:01:44.520 --> 00:01:48.495 wanted the best of everything. He also had a composer on staff. His 00:01:48.495 --> 00:01:49.880 name was Joseph Haydn . 00:01:49.880 --> 00:01:53.020 And he’s one of the most famous composers in history. 00:01:53.300 --> 00:01:57.820 He’s called the father of symphony and even taught a young Beethoven. 00:01:58.080 --> 00:02:00.500 No, no. Try again, Beethoven. 00:02:01.100 --> 00:02:02.980 Haydn wasn’t Hungarian. He was Austrian. 00:02:03.180 --> 00:02:06.280 But he spent 24 years of his life on Hungarian soil. 00:02:06.520 --> 00:02:08.360 And you can hear Hungary in his music. 00:02:08.680 --> 00:02:11.640 He wrote for the prince’s orchestra and the opera house. 00:02:11.800 --> 00:02:15.906 And one of the most famous pieces, the Farewell Symphony , came from 00:02:15.906 --> 00:02:16.906 this place. 00:02:19.460 --> 00:02:22.963 The musicians were stuck out there for months, away from their 00:02:22.963 --> 00:02:23.760 families. 00:02:23.760 --> 00:02:26.900 In the last part of the piece, the players blow out their candles 00:02:26.900 --> 00:02:33.780 and walk off the stage one by one until only two violins are left. 00:02:35.160 --> 00:02:38.820 The message to the prince was simple. Let us go home. 00:02:39.380 --> 00:02:42.680 Arrange to get them home. Safely. 00:02:43.160 --> 00:02:44.440 I think he got the hint. 00:02:44.760 --> 00:02:47.720 You know, I think about that a lot, because I grew up around music. 00:02:47.720 --> 00:02:51.932 My dad was part of a well-known band in the ’70s, and he recently 00:02:51.932 --> 00:02:54.960 received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame . 00:02:55.240 --> 00:02:59.010 So walking through a place where music meant everything, on Hungarian 00:02:59.010 --> 00:03:00.340 soil, hit me personally. 00:03:00.780 --> 00:03:04.060 I know what it feels like to watch a crowd lose it for a band. 00:03:04.460 --> 00:03:07.900 That building was doing it long before any of us were born. 00:03:08.100 --> 00:03:12.325 Csilla Sütő , the CEO of Eszterháza Center, the organization that runs 00:03:12.325 --> 00:03:15.080 the palace, walked us through the whole place. 00:03:15.080 --> 00:03:18.480 She told us about the restoration, the people it takes to keep the 00:03:18.480 --> 00:03:19.340 palace going. 00:03:19.340 --> 00:03:22.080 She also told us they’ve hosted events there. 00:03:22.300 --> 00:03:24.110 You know, I had an interesting thought. 00:03:24.260 --> 00:03:28.503 If I was making a film, a period piece, this would be a great 00:03:28.503 --> 00:03:29.340 location. 00:03:29.340 --> 00:03:31.578 Anybody interested in doing a film? Count me in. 00:03:31.680 --> 00:03:34.080 If you booked a concert, think about this. 00:03:34.260 --> 00:03:37.639 I can only imagine if my dad’s band and their promoters had known about 00:03:37.639 --> 00:03:40.100 this back in the ’70s. They would have jumped on it. 00:03:40.100 --> 00:03:44.320 A band at its peak: Taylor Swift , Beyoncé, Bad Bunny , Coldplay. 00:03:44.540 --> 00:03:46.980 The space is big enough for any of them. 00:03:46.980 --> 00:03:50.870 And if you’re in Hungary and want to see something outside of Budapest 00:03:50.870 --> 00:03:52.280 that will blow your mind, 00:03:52.520 --> 00:03:56.040 come out, walk the grounds, and spend a day like I did. 00:03:56.380 --> 00:03:58.190 My name is Ray. This is Magyar Minute . 00:03:58.300 --> 00:04:03.508 Haydn’s players walked out one by one, but the music never left the 00:04:03.508 --> 00:04:04.508 palace.