mkadventures: Budapest, Hungary

Great visit with Evi, Feri, Sari, Orsi and Feri's parents, Irma and Ferenc!

23 years ago a wonderful 17 year old exchange student from Hungary needed an American host family for the second half of the school year. We are so glad that we agreed to be his host family for the next 5 1/2 months. We were privileged to attend his wedding in 2012 with our daughter, Kari, and my mom. Hungarian weddings are so much fun, and we were welcomed like family! Feri and Evi spent their "honeymoon" showing us around Hungary. (They did do a private honeymoon later that summer.)

Now we have had the opportunity to reconnect in person with Feri and Evi and to meet their two daughters, Orsi (pronounced "Or-shee"), who is 8, and Sari (pronounced like "starry" but with an sh) who is almost 6. We have shared in the love and joy of their children, and have so enjoyed getting to know Feri and Evi as adults. They are some of the most wonderful, generous people that we know.

I measured our days in Budapest by how Orsi and Sari paid attention and interacted with us. They are very shy girls around strangers, and not only were we strangers, but we didn't speak but a few simple words of their language,

Day 1, Monday
Orsi and Sari barely even look at us, and we don't really interact with them. It's like we aren't there. Even if I try a Hungarian word they don't pay attention.

We learned about a huge, interesting limestone cave system, Tobarlanga, in Topolca, Hungary.

We went on a boat ride on a cave river

Then to Lake Balaton and Tihany, a pretty village with a Benedictine abbey for a peek.

Evi, Orsi, Sari and Feri

Visiting Lake Balaton

Day 2 Tuesday.

Sometimes Orsi will look at us, and she was willing to play rummy with her parents and us. Sari, the card shark, wouldn't play cards if we were playing!

We journeyed into the Budapest city center and went on a sculpture hunt. A famous sculpture artist, Kolodko Mihalály, has placed miniature sculptures all around the city. We found Piglet, Mr. Bean's bear, a balloon dog and Kermit!

We walked up many steps to the St. Gellert statue, a freedom statue that commemorates those who sacrificed their lives for the independence and freedom of Hungary.

The Danube that separates the 2 cities of
Buda and Pest that make up Budapest

I made them each a little purse.
I think they liked them.

One of the many city squares

Looking from across the river at the Buda castle

2 little monkeys

We walked to the Varkert Bazar, a neo-renaissance complex and gardens
that overlooks the Buda riverfront.

After exploring the city we went back to Feri's house where the girls wanted to cook bacon, sausages and roast marshmallows over the fire!

Bacon in Hungary is cut very thick and can be roasted on a hot dog stick

Day 3, Wednesday.

Orsi played pickle-in-the-middle with Mark and I, and Sari smiled at us, but still wouldn't play ball with us!! Later in the day Orsi explored a castle with me!

We journeyed to Holloko historical village and castle, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The original village was started in the 13th century and re-developed in the 18th and 19th centuries, after part was damaged by fire. We wandered through the village with its traditional wooden architecture, and sampled traditional cheese and bread.

Pretty houses and gardens

A lot of good food!

The castle had been restored,
which meant we were able to explore a lot more than we could in other castles!

There were many rooms to explore,
with stairways and passageways.
It was one of our favorite castles!

Day 4, Thursday.

Sari played airplane on Mark's legs, and she let me put her hat on. That evening we played cards and ball until bedtime! Sari even sat and played cards with us without her sister or parents around! Of course she beat me at every game!

It was time for some simple R&R! We headed to the local playground, had ice cream and played and relaxed!

Feri & Evi's home, they've lived here for about a year now.
The house and yard are beautiful!

Cobra pose,
with 2 added weights for Evi

Day 5 Friday we drove to Gyula
The girls were with their grandparents now, so we got less attention!

It was so wonderful to see Feri's parents again! The city of Gyula is southeast of Budapest, and it is known for its medieval castle and its thermal baths. We visited the castle 11 years ago, so we didn't go inside this time.

Feri's parents have month and a half old kittens, so we spent quite a bit of time with the cute kitties! His dad also had a wonderful garden with red and black currants, blackberries, raspberries, grapes, kittens, apples, pears, plums, figs, tomatoes, peppers, kittens, zucchini, dill and more! Behind the garden is a canal where we fished for tiny fish that could barely hold the hook! Mama cat would wait for us to put a fish in a bucket then she would grab it out with her paw and eat it or give it to one of the kittens. His dad has also planted a tree for each grandchild, which I think is a wonderful idea!!

In the evening we walked into town to a local festival where children were doing traditional dances!

It is traditional to enjoy a shot of Palinka,
a type of fruit brandy,
when you visit in Hungary.
Igyunk, let's drink!

In the garden picking berries

Feri's mom, Irma, prepared a wonderful meal for us!
Roast chicken, fried chicken breast, fried zucchini, rice, a spinach dish, another zucchini dish and homemade pickles!! It was all delicious! Plus a wonderful sour cherry dessert!!

The next day we spent the whole day at the Gyula Castle Spa and Waterpark. There are medicinal thermal baths of varying temperatures and with golden brown mineral water. There are also kids' waterpark play areas and a wave pool. The indoor portion includes slides, a very large whirlpool that even has jetted recliners, and a really fun fast-flowing circular river (like a lazy river, but with a strong, fast current)! We tried everything! We relaxed on our own in the thermal pools in the morning and played with the girls in the more active pools and slides in the afternoon!

Gyula Castle

It was time to say goodbye to the girls and Feri's parents. The girls were staying with their grandparents for the week!

We headed back to Budapest to relax a bit and wander around the beautiful city a bit more before it was time to fly back to the US. The buildings are beautiful, unique and ornate!