More Pictures from Pecs!

Well you heard the stories of the taxidermic animals in that mall at Pecs... I didn't want to disappoint, so here are some of the ridiculous creatures in the winter wonderland!

The badger that scared me when I looked up and he was staring at me:

This fox is our favorite... He has a bird in his make-shift backpack. Pretty entertaining!!

This reminded me of Larry, the stag, so I had to take a picture!

Here is another picture of our family eating dinner with Dori and her mom:

Dori brought mom and Dad Christmas presents from her school in Northfield, MA:

Mary and Dad looking at all of the locks on the gate where couples "lock in their love":

Mary and Mom while we were shopping around the booths in front of the Basilica:

Buying champagne at the Peszgohaz:

Pictures and Stories

Here are a few pictures from Budapest of the family and me drinking hot wine in the pouring snow. We were cold, but it was beautiful!

There are two gates in Pecs where couples put a lock, often with some sort of engraving professing their love. One gate was filled years ago, so they added the second. Some of the couples that have come as part of the mission teams to visit my parents have even put their own locks on the gate. Mary and I did not put a lock on the gate together, but we still took a picture!

This morning when Mary and I finally got up (mom had to wake us up at 10:45), mom and dad told us they had made us reservations at what we call "The Champagne Restaurant." It's actual name is Pezsgohaz. This is a nice restaurant in Pecs where they make their own champagne and wine. Two years ago the four of us spent new years here, and there are quite a few stories from that night! The best is when the conga line started, and they pulled my dad and I up to dance around the restaurant! Needless to say, today's lunch was far more relaxed!

Mary and I enjoyed our taste of champagne at the restaurant:

Tonight we had a great opportunity to go eat at the homes of one of my parents' former Gypsy students. Dori and her mother had all four of us over for a traditional Hungarian meal that was delicious! Dori is a post-graduate student at a high school in Northfield, MA. She is extremely bright and gifted, and her extra year of high school in the states will enable her to succeed in any American university. We are excited to see where she will end up next!

Here is Dori and me serving ourselves some Goulash:

Dori's mother is an amazingly strong woman that we were all so honored to eat with. Although there was a language barrier, we had a great time together with Dori as our translator.

Pecs Days

This morning was another lazy morning when Mary and I slept until about 11:00. We had a pretty relaxing morning, then all decide to get ready to head to the Arkad, which is the small mall here in town that also has the grocery store. The walk to the Arkad is pleasant, as we started off down the walking street on which my parents live. You can see pictured here--

At the mall we ate at Subway, then hit the stores, doing some last minute Christmas shopping. In the middle of the mall they have a winter wonderland set up with a replica of the witch's house in Hansel and Grettle. I'll admit, the witch is

actually a little terrifying. I made Mary take a picture with her in the background. One thing was actually a little disturbing in the winter forest they c

reated- the multiple taxidermic animals. We're talking a deer, a fox (with a bird on it's back), a few swans, a badger, and a few other creatures. To say the least, Mary and I found it pretty entertaining!

Tonight we went to a Hungarian couple's house for dinner. Because our car is broken down and still in Budapest, we got to ride the bus to their home. The woman, Time', teaches at Gandhi with my parents. She and her husband Zoli had decorated their home and cooked a wonderful dinner for us. As is customary after a Hungarian meal, we were invited to enjoy some liquor after the meal. Nothing like taking shots with the family! However, when we said "Cheers!" and drank our drinks, I was the only one who drank it like a shot... apparently you are supposed to sip. Woops!! No one seemed to notice... haha...

Here is a picture of Dad and me about to enjoy our post-dinner drink:

Travel Day... Also known as "The Coldest Day I've Ever Experienced"

Well this morning we got up and ventured back out into the cold. Mary, mom and I went to the Christmas market where we did a little damage. I got this gorgeous hand-painted platter that I'm still figuring out how to get home because it is so big!!

Well here is the travel adventure (because I'm sure you don't want to hear anymore about my shopping experiences!): We decided to leave the hotel at 12:45, so we got a cab and headed to the train station. The train station can be summed up in one way: meat-locker. It was FREEZING. Literally the coldest place I have ever been. We thought we were cold before we walked into the station, well- once we got inside the building where the walls had also begun to freeze, it was unlike anything we'd ever felt. At one point Mary looked at me and said, "Well... I'm pretty sure I'm on the verge of pure misery." But because we crack each other up all the time, and there is nothing else to do, we just kept laughing and jumping around. The humor

was heightened as we looked around at the sea of baggage that surrounded us. Summation: 5 large bags, 4 carry-on size bags, 3 purses. We were quite the scene, to say the least.

The sign posting the trains coming and leaving the station did not have our train or any others scheduled to leave listed, so we started to worry that there was a strike going on. We set up shop in a small restaurant that was somewhat heated where we got hot drinks. Dad kept peaking out to see if our train was listed. Then, he came running to the table and said it was go-time! We jumped up, threw on all of our extra layers and gloves, grabbed our luggage, and scurried to the train where it was a team effort to get all of us on (as in two Hungarian teenage boys getting in one more cigarette before we left, and one Hungarian man who was concerned with my abilities to help my father lift a suitcase into the over-head compartment). We just sat down in our seats right as the train pulled from the station. We were happy we made it!

The train ride was beautiful with fields of snow on either side of the train. Today is the shortest day of the year, so we saw the sunset at about 3:00. The ticket man spoke to me in Hungarian at one point, which was flattering. However, I still had to tell him I didn't speak Hungarian (one of the few Hungarian phrases I know.) Pecs was the final stop for the train, so we took our time getting everything off the train. No taxi would take all of us and all our luggage, so we had to take two taxis. The one my dad and I were in did not want to take us all the way to the apartment, so we trudged through the snow to meet up with Mary and Mom. Then we helped carry all the luggage up to our third floor apartment. We are now all on our separate computers, visiting, listening to music, wearing warm and comfy clothes, and drinking wine :) It's been a good day!

Braving the Cold...

Well we ventured out into the snow today, and it was literally freezing! I finally had to trade in my heavy black coat for a puffy down coat that my mom has. Oh- and it's hot pink!! haha We spent the day walking around the Christmas market, getting hot wine, eating at my favorite restaurant, and doing a little shopping. I think I found a new peacoat that I'm going to get tomorrow. I was so cold that I requested going back to the hotel for a bit to defrost, so we came here for some hot tea, and we listened to my home church's service live over the internet. They sang one of my favorite John Rutter songs titled "Angel's Carol." It was really nice to hear the choir sing it.

Once we warmed up, it was time to head back into the cold again. Mary, Mom and I went to go on a boat ride on the Danube, which was beautiful. They have lights on all of the major monuments, so it's a fun way to see Budapest. They also serve you Champagne, and then another drink of choice. We had a couple of airplane blankets, and we all bundled up together to say warm. The boat has windows, so it really isn't too cold. My poor dad had to walk to the broken down car, and then drive it to the mechanic where we are leaving it for the week until they tow it back to Pecs. He is a good man! He met up with us at dinner, and I think it took him a while to actually get back to normal body temperature!

This is Mom, Mary and me on the boat ride. Budapest was originally two cities, Buda (on the west) and Pest (on the east). Here is one of our beautiful vie

ws of Budapest at night. Buda is on the right side of the picture, where the castle is, and Pest is on the left:

First Day In Budapest

I got into Budapest just about an hour after I was supposed to. Tons and tons of flights in Europe are canceled or delayed due to snow. Mary's flight got in an hour late, also. I just hung out with my parents and the three massive suitcases at the airport until she arrived. Unfortunately our car broke down right as my parents were entering Budapest yesterday, so they found a random parking garage to leave it in... haha... they considered leaving it there forever, but I think we're towing it back to Pecs instead. What a mess!

Dad found us a nice hotel on priceline.com that is on the Danube River, just across the water from the Castle and parliament. We have rooms facing all of the beautiful landmarks, and it's just gorgeous.( The pictures here are of our view at night.) Once we got to our hotel last night (in the taxi van that was required due to our 5 large suitcases and 4 carry-ons total), we freshened up and headed to dinner. On the way we walked through the Christmas market where we got some hot red wine in cute mugs that we got to keep! It was delicious. It was probably 20 degrees last night, with 0 degrees windchill. (My dad just gave me those figures- so that isn't an exaggeration!) My dad just said, "Europe is in a deep freeze, and we're right in the middle of it." Oh goodness... Bring on the long underwear today!! Apparently this morning it was 15 degrees, -11 windchill (I'm talking Fahrenheit, not Celsius). It's noon now though, so I'm sure it's warmed up some :)

Well, as I said- it's noon, and my parents just woke me up. I think we're about to venture into the cold to go to the markets and my favorite Hungarian restaurant. I like this place because they serve you Goulash in a little hanging black pot, and you dish it out into your own bowl to eat. I think it's really cool actually!

Pictures from the restaurant:

Mary scooping out her Goulash from the kettle.

Hungary Bound!

Step 1: Fly to Germany.

Josh was nice enough to take a long lunch today to take me to the airport. Of course I was still getting ready when he showed up, so it was wonderful when I walked downstairs and all of my luggage was already in the car! After much discussion and analyzing, I finally decided to only check three bags on my trip… 1/3 of one of the bags is consists of my belongings. The rest includes:

- 250 envelopes with 250 pairs of gloves, candy canes and Christmas cards for the students at Gandhi.

- 6-7 puffy coats (of the 17 puffy coats and 3 puffy vests purchased at Wal-mart) for the Gandhi students

- 2 snuggies

- 3 pairs of slippers

- 8 DVDs

- 2 Wii games

- 4 Wii accessories for games

- 4 sets of pajamas

- 6 sweaters from Lands End

- a few pieces of clothing from Chico’s

- 2 gifts from family in Hawaii

- 2 purses (for gifts)

- Sarah’s boots (Thanks, Sarah! My feet will be so warm!)

- And some other odds and ins that I can’t remember because they are vacuumed up in vacuum bags so they could fit in the suitcase!

I got to fly on a 777, which is apparently an exciting thing. The plane was HUGE- 9 seats across (in the economy cabin, that is). I had my own tv with a touch screen! The touch screen was a new thing for me… My flight is summed up as follows: Lost a game of blackjack to the virtual dealer, 3 episodes of The Office, a few attempts at watching Elf, and lots of sleep. Two words for red-eye passengers: Nyquil pills. I took two and passed out for the whole flight. Nothing like waking up to your food sitting right in front of you.

Having traveled a bit, I feel that I can honestly say that the Frankfurt airport may be one of the most confusing in the world. When I got off the plane, I was told to “Follow the signs to the skylink,” and the skylink would take me to terminal 2, where my connecting flight was. The problem: There are no signs in the airport directing to the skylink. The other problem: They have signs that point you toward the gates, with arrows pointing both directions… Eventually I found which passport check-point I was to go through (I’m sure I made a name for myself as the lost American girl, but it was 12:30 am my time, and I’m using that as my excuse!)

At passport checkpoint I received an ultimate slap from the German immigration officer. (Back story: When I was about to travel to Paris to study abroad, I lost my passport… later to be found in a “safe place” in the pocket of a suitcase. I had to get a rush passport made, and to put it bluntly- my picture is by far the least flattering picture I have EVER taken, and the whole thing looks like I have jaundice… even my hair.) The German officer took one look at it, laughed, showed his friend in the booth, who made a disgusted face and laughed, and then the both looked back at me. At this point I just laughed, too, and said there was a French visa he could look at instead if he wanted. They let me pass through, but I’m pretty sure I’m going to be on the top ten list of worst passport photos ever.

After helping a woman with 4 suitcases and an infant get on and off the skylink, I finally made my way to my gate. And I have yet to go to the bathroom since I left Dallas. There are no bathrooms to be found in my terminal. However, I did find a place labeled “Last Bar Before Take-Off,” where I am now sitting with my Coca-Cola Light and all my German friends. And yes, they are already drinking beer. (Gotta love Europe!)

By the way- it’s freezing here. Literally. My mom said the high in Pecs right now is 12, and the low is 8. We’re staying in Budapest for a few days, where it is a scorching 15 outside. Thank goodness for the warmer weather! Haha…