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| family! |
I LOVE BUDAPEST!
Our wonderful summer vacation concluded with a short visit to Budapest so my kids could meet their Hungarian family. It was great to all be together. I had visited 3 times, each with many changes.
Gary and I visited in 1990 - most housing was still government issued, and they were just taking down the Russian alphabet and putting up the English alphabet in my 'aunt's' classroom in her rural village of Nyirmeggyes. Women were coming in from the fields in their babushkas.
Next, in 2007, my Mom accompanied me to see where her Mom was born. All the babies were grown up and having their own children, Nyirmeggyes, the small village of my great grandmother was thriving with new houses built or renovated, food markets, a Free Internet sign in the town hall, and a new french factory in the neighboring village offering employment. Budapest was under massive reconstruction.
But this visit was special, with these great young adults now meeting, sharing family and history. Amanda and Matt's 'cousins' are both in medical school or residency. They go straight from high school to medical school, an interesting idea and common in Europe and Asia. We toured the Budapest sites with Orsi (a great tour guide) and Dori, and ate several great Hungarian dishes thanks to Edit including my favorite chicken paprika! We visited with my mother's cousin, who looks so much like my grandma that it was a joy just to spend time with her, and her son, Gyozi, who gave us an excellent tour of the region, a great lunch, and showed us his new home. The city is just beautiful now, almost completely renovated, hopping with restaurants, bars, nightclubs, renovated churches and historical sites. You could spend a month in Budapest and not see it all.
Here are some of the highlights:
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| palaçinka |
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| Beautiful, updated courtyard! |
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| Chain bridge |
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| Margaret Island with Orsi |
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| Matthias Church from 1255, done with renovations |
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| Hungarian instrument - he played it like a drum |
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| The original tribes that came together to form Hungary |
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| St. Stephen's Basilica |
I have always wanted to go to Lake Balatan. a 50 mile long lake and the largest fresh water lake in Europe. It is the holiday destination for Hungary and much of Europe,and we were able to spend the last day of the season there. Great day, great water, great food, great train transportation.
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| Lake Balatan |
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| Labor Day in the US. |
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| for posterity :-) |
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| The famous bend in the Danube |
Next Gyozi took us on a car trip to the bend in the Danube, a great lunch and an old castle. He is retired now from the fire department and was a fire inspector. He seems so happy. I think retirement ain't that bad a thing!
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My mom's cousin Margaret in her home outside of Budapest.
Looking good! |
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Margaret, Gyozi, Orsi
and my kids. |
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It is so special to look at old pictures of my
US family in the US, while I'm in Hungary. |
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Margaret had a picture of my great grandmother, standing
in front of my grandmother's house, in upstate NY. |
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| Gyozi treated us to a great lunch out. Hungarian food, GREAT |
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| Trying out the Danube |
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Gyozi's new home in Budapest
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The Gellert Thermal Bath in Budapest was a once in a lifetime experience. Love this place!
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| from the 15th century |
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| 10 separate pools and we tried them all |
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... with Dori, waiting for me to
finally leave the baths, unfortunately |
Finally, a night out for the kids to the Ruins!
So that is the end of our four country vacation. It was a break from Peace Corps, but it seemed I told of my Georgian experiences and amazing Georgian people everywhere we went. I'm back in Georgia now until next summer... lots more to do, more people to meet, more beautiful places to see, and write about. Thanks for checking in. God bless
