July 26, 2009

We woke up this morning, surprised to see that it was not raining like the weather had been forecasted! We had some time before our tour, so we went to check out St. Stephen's Green. We were pleasantly surprised at how beautiful it was! After walking around there a bit, we made our way over to Trinity College. The tour was really good. My favorite story was the one about the man who would "only permit women to enter Trinity over his dead body." Well, he died and was buried behind the school. When women were admitted, they had to go in through the back entrance where they literally walked over his dead body. :) We also got to see the Old Library and The Book of Kells, which is an old, illustrated manuscript of the 4 gospels. Next, we made our way over to the Guinness Storehouse! We got to see how it is made, stored, dispensed, and poured. Also, there were some really cool advertisements. And we got to learn how the Guinness Book of World Records came about! At the top, we enjoyed a complimentary pint and a great view of Dublin! We then stopped at the store and made our way back out for a late lunch. We got some great grilled wraps at a cute little cafe. We then walked over to Dublin Castle, but didn't really want to pay for entrance. Instead, we looked at some sand sculptures they had outside. I don't know how they stay together with all the rain Ireland gets! We then headed out to the airport. Our flight home went much smoother than the one there. We took the bus out to Oxford and made it back to school fairly late. All in all, it was one great weekend!

July 25, 2009

Today was a MUCH better day! We went on an all day tour of the Wicklow Mountains and Glendalough. It was beautiful! Our company had a smaller bus, so we got to go to some really cool places that the big tours don't get to go to! My favorite had to be a tie between Guinness Lake (a view from the top of some cliffs over this huge lake) and the waterfalls. Dad will be excited to know that there is a St. Kevin! He built a lot of the churches, etc. at Glendalough, another of my favorites! When we got back, we got a beer at a pub and cooked pasta for dinner. We went to sleep early after that long day and the late night before!

July 24, 2009

I woke up this morning, and I thought it was 6:30, but it turned out to be 5:30, so I set off on a run. I was going to run around Christ Church, but seeing as it was early, it wasn't open yet :(. So, I found a nice trail down by the river. The thing is, the trail didn't end for quite awhile, and I ended up getting slightly lost. I found that I was over where the concert was the other night haha! I finally made my way back and found that I'd been gone for an hour! I got showered and went to class. The rest of the day was spent getting ready for our flight! We left for the airport and everything seemed to be going great! Boy, were we wrong about that...apparently, there was super bad lightning in London this afternoon and a lot of flights were canceled. Then, to top it off, Gatwick closed and was sending all of their flights out of Heathrow. We didn't actually end up getting out until 2 hours later than planned. I did meet a very nice Russian lady who had been on standby for a few hours. Sadly though, we didn't get to our hostel until 2:30 a.m. Another fun adventure though...we got off the bus from the airport and this drunk, Irish man starts yelling at me, calling me names. Then, he was following me, telling me that I should be more respectful of the Irish. He also thought that I was British, and I told him I wasn't. Then, he said I was his mom's first cousin from Boston, so everything was okay. At that point, I had made a point to stand near an open grocery store. Then, the drunkard said I just needed to respect him, and then I think he said he wanted to have sex with me...and then he said, "I just want some respect, okay?" I said, "Alright, good night, sir" and went on my way after he went into the grocery. Very odd first experience in Dublin! Sad day that we didn't get to see Jordan Black though!!! :'( Oh well, another time!

July 23, 2009

We only had one class today, so that was nice. Melissa and I went out and got our British hats for the horse races! I took a nap and studied a bit then. We had our group picture. It was a bit windy, but we definitely preferred that to the rain we had earlier! The rest of the night was devoted to getting ready for Dublin tomorrow! :D Jordan Black, you'd better be ready!!!! :D:D

July 22, 2009

Today was very eventful. I actually woke up early, which is good, and I went for a run. It's amazing how peaceful Oxford can be if there are no tour groups out! :) After that, was breakfast, class, then lunch. In the afternoon, one of the student program helpers took us on a walking tour of Oxford. It was really cool! I didn't know that Oxford had so much bloodshed associated with it! We went all over, to all the big buildings and parks, etc. After that, we went and got ready for the concert!!! There were actually 9 of us that ended up going, which was awesome! We first went to a little pub for beer and fish & chips, which was quite good. Then, we headed to the O2 Academy. It was a cool venue...small, which was perfect for Joshua Radin! We got awesome spots right in the center about 3 rows back!!! A girl called Meiko opened. She was good...and all the guys liked her ;). Joshua was AWESOME! He played a few new songs for us too that he had just written that week! After the concert, we got some merch and we got to meet him! Oh my gosh! He was way cool, and he agreed to come back to Nebraska in a couple of years, so senior year, we're going again! Ah!! It was such a great night! :D

July 21, 2009

Today was very rainy. We had class and then I decided that it needed to be a laundry day, considering that I was on my last pair of undies! :/ I was quite productive, and I even got some studying in :). We ate dinner, and then went across the street for a candlelight concert. It was very unique: 2 Baroque Violins, a Baroque Violincello, and a Harpsichord! My favorite songs were some medleys of Scottish Folk Songs by Haydn. After that, we went over to a bar for one of the student helpers' birthdays! It was fun, and then we hit up a kebab stand on our way back! It was SO good! Went to bed a little later than planned, but it always seems to go that way, doesn't it?

July 20, 2009

This was the first day in 2 months that I have blow-dried my hair...and it was AMAZING!!! We had a full breakfast and went to our first day of class. I really enjoyed lecture, and I feel like I will do alright in the classes. After lunch, we all went to play Rounders, which is very similar to baseball. It took us awhile to get the rules, but we finally got the hang of it. It was very fun! Melissa and I then got some necessary shopping done :). We ate a really good dinner and then walked over to see Twelfth Night at an outdoor Ampitheatre! It was quite a good time, and the show was very well done. I was tired after the long day, so I called it a night!

July 19, 2009

I woke up, made a quick breakfast, and headed over to Jesus College with all of my stuff! Emily, the program director, showed me to my room...first of all, I unpacked everything, which was definitely a nice change from the last 5+ weeks! I ran into Katrina and David Lopez as well. Later, I went shopping at Next for a belt...and jeans...and a sweater :). David and I then went to go get some coffee before orientation. At orientation, we met our professor, Dr. Martin Holmes. He is quite funny. We also met the student coordinators. We then ate an awesome meal, which is another nice change! Later, we all went to the Jesus College Pub for Emily's birthday...yes, the college actually has a pub IN it! I am so in love with Oxford!!

July 18, 2009

My day could be summed up as...sweaty :). I woke up early and headed back to Borders to get the books. Success. I went back, we got our stuff, and we headed to Heathrow. It was a long, sweaty journey, but we made it after almost an hour. Logan, Annie, and I then headed our separate directions. I went downstairs, bought lunch, and quickly caught a coach over to Oxford. My hostel was real close to the station, but I couldn't check in yet, so I left my luggage and went to walk around. It was real crowded today for some reason. I ran over to Boots for some toiletries. Then, I listened to these two guys who were playing FOTC in the street. I then got checked in and took a much needed shower! I then went out again and ran into Melissa and her parents on the street!! We went and saw Harry Potter (so I got my Rupert Grint fix in :D). Then, we went to an Irish Pub across the street for fish & chips. After that, I headed back to the hostel to hang out a bit before moving in to school tomorrow!

July 17, 2009

We said Goodbye to Brussels this morning and headed to the Eurostar station. A lot of waiting and then border control, and we were on our way to London. We were a bit nervous about one of Logan's souvenirs getting past security, but all was fine. A quick ride, and a few tube stops later, and we were at Hostel 639 again. We immediately went to Borders. However, this one did not have a full selection. So, I picked up my stuff from Suzanne's and we headed to a larger Borders, only to find that they were closing. Then, it began to rain. So, I resolved to get Mom and Claire's books in the morning. We went back and had a farewell dinner at the pub The Mason's Arms by our hostel. We came back and hung out the rest of the night with our French couple roommates. They slept in the same bed...a bit awkward, but whatever...It's off to Oxford tomorrow for me, home for the other two! Yay!!!

July 16, 2009

The other two slept in this morning while I enjoyed free breakfast, a shower, and my book. When they woke up, we headed over to the comic strip museum. Who knew that so many famous comics, like TinTin and The Smurfs, originated in Belgium?! Then, we finished up our souvenir shopping :). We went to McDonalds to utilize their free Wi-Fi. Later, we had a wind-down day. We charged cameras and ipods, read our books, and packed everything up! I can't believe Oxford is already here!!

July 15, 2009

Today was a travel day. The first part of the trip from Berlin to Koln went very smoothly. The next part, however, did not. The route we were on was apparently under construction, so we had to take another route. The train ended up sitting for an extra 1.5 hours. Thankfully, it didn't matter to us, but there were some angry passengers near us who were missing their connections! Once we got into Brussels, we headed to the hostel. I only had a very vague idea of how to get there, but we made it without a problem! After checking in, we headed over to the Grand Palace Square, a.k.a. tourist heaven! We went to a famous bar that got in the Guinness Book of World Records for having 2004 beers to choose from. They have 25 on tap! We had the famous Delirium Tremens, which was voted the best beer in the world in 1998! And boy, was it good. Then, we got some famous Belgian french fries with curry ketchup and sat in the square. Later, we went to see the famous peeing statue. Surprisingly, the statue is much smaller than I expected. We almost missed it. We then all tried a piece of handmade Belgian Chocolate! I had White Chocolate with buttercream! SO GOOD!!! Travel days are incredibly tiring, so we called it a night after that.

July 14, 2009

We got a good 8 hours of sleep last night, which rocked. We headed over to a really good shopping street here in Berlin. We made quite a few good purchases (sad for my bank account, but happy for my closet!). Also, we saw this old church that was damaged during the war. It was pretty cool, especially in the middle of all these department stores and office buildings. We came back, ran to the grocery, and played some cards. Later, we cooked some free pasta at the hostel and we packed up our stuff. It's off to Brussels tomorrow! Man, this trip has gone fast...

July 13, 2009

We were clearly tired, because we slept about a total of 12 hours last night! We headed first to the Tiergarten. There, we ate bratwurst for breakfast! We saw the victory monument with the statue looking towards Paris, to signify the conquering of it. Then, we saw the Brandenburger Tor. This was the old gate that separated East and West Berlin back in the day. Then, we walked over to the Reichstag, where the German Parliament meets. The building was cool, but the line was super long, so we decided not to go in. We sat out on the grass for awhile. There was some guy filming a commercial or something, so maybe we'll be on TV! Then, Logan wanted to see this weird looking TV tower, so we headed that way. On the way, we hit Museum Island, so we just decided to do that today too! First, we went to the Berliner Dom, a big cathedral. We were able to climb all the way up to the top, where there was a great view of the city. Next, we went to the Pergamonmuseum. This houses many ancient runes and stuff from Greece, Rome, Babylon, etc. It is quite remarkable! After that, we were parched and a bit tired, so we stopped for smoothies! We had Mango today, and boy, were they good! We found our metro station and headed back. On our way, we stopped for some groceries. We basically got dinner, breakfast, and lunch tomorrow for like, 7 euro! Gotta love the grocery! We relaxed and made some pasta for dinner. We also met some people from England and Australia who were really nice! The next few days, I expect, will be full of relaxation after a busy 5+ weeks!

July 12, 2009

I woke up to more loud snoring today! I got up to get ready. I was washing my face, and Mister Loud Snorer totally asked me to go do that in the bathroom. Ironic, huh? Anyways, more pastries and we checked out. We walked over to the Church of Our Lady Lutheran Church and attended service! It was all in German, but it was still really cool! We sat up in the balcony, and the old man next to Logan totally fell asleep during the sermon! After that, we grabbed some bratwurst and headed to the train station. I finished another book while waiting for the train a bit. We took a 2.5 hour train to Berlin, where we found our hostel pretty easily, despite how big Berlin is! We dropped off our stuff and ran to an ATM. On our way, we spied a woman with a smoothie, and I suddenly got a craving for one. Thankfully, on our way back, I was able to get one :). We got to the hostel and drank a beer on the terrace. We were way tired, so we called it a night...

July 11, 2009

So I couldn't sleep this morning because someone was snoring. I got up, showered, and went to get some pastries. I found a little bakery where a nice old German lady was working. The importance of body language was very apparent in our encounter with each other. I don't think either of us spoke each others' language (besides "Danka" or "Guten Morgen"), but we got the order fine. I went back and ate while waiting for the other two to wake up. Logan joined me. Then, Annie woke up thinking we left her haha. We finally got out and headed toward the historic end of town. We only got lost once, and made our way into town. We saw the opera house, and we got our tickets for Sommernacht, the big museum night here. Then, we saw the world's largest porcelain picture. The story is that August the Stron locked up the alchemist, Bottger, to find out the formula for gold. But, he accidentally found the formula for porcelain, meaning they didn't have to import it from Asia anymore! We also saw this group of soldiers/singers and an accordionist! They were so good, we bought their CD! We got hungry, so we headed over to Curry & Co. for currywurst! This place for 3rd place in the German currywurst competition, and boy were they good!! We came back to the hostel and relaxed before going to Sommernacht! Logan called Derek and his dad, and I finally got to talk to Jared :). Then, we headed out for the night. We arrived first at the Zwinger, Dresden's HUGE art museum. There were so many floors, hallways, and rooms! Many pictures of the Virgin Mary and Jesus are at this museum. Logan and I somehow lost Annie though, and had to wait awhile for her. We also viewed the sculpture hall...there was one that had a bunch of pipes and hair clogging them. It was a bit gross, but we thought Dad might just appreciate that ;). Then, we walked through pouring rain to the transportation museum. There were all of these cool old cars, bikes, motorcycles, planes, etc. Also, there was a Lego room!! Annie and Logan created a sweet car and the lady in charge put it in the display cabinet! It was very cool. After that, we went over to the Hygiene Museum. The first exhibit was about work and stress. It was very modern and artsy and quite "out there," I'd say! Cool, though. The next exhibit was all about the body...everything from body parts to the whole pregnancy cycle to sexual intercourse. Everyone else seemed pretty unphased, but us immature Americans got a bit uncomfortable :/. Then some guy raised his eyebrows at me in the section on the sexual intercourse, so we finished the exhibit quickly...awkward! We went downstairs for some coffee then. We got on the bus to go back. After a while, though, we found that we were going the wrong direction. Needless to say, it took us a bit longer to get back to the hostel. What a fun night!!

July 10, 2009

I woke up and said goodbye to Mom and the aunties early this morning. Then, we slowly packed up and made our way to the train station. We boarded the train with about 500 German school groups, which made for quite an interesting time finding seats. See, with the Eurail pass, you can go anywhere (besides Slovakia...surprise!), but you do not get assigned seats. We had to squeeze through 2 cars with people (and their suitcases) going both directions. It was basically chaos. We finally got seats and ate our lunch. Sad day though, because my watch got lost somewhere in the chaos that was that train :'(. I began my studying for my actuarial exam in August :(. We made it to our hostel in Dresden pretty easily. The hostel is called "Kangaroo Stop" and only costs about $12 a night! Our room looks like a little girl's room. Flower decorations, bunk beds, yellow walls, etc. We headed out to have a picnic at a park. About halfway there, it began to rain. We loitered on a street corner to wait it out. When we got to the park, we realized that it is not fun to have a picnic on wet ground! So, we walked around a bit, got yelled at by a crazy old German man, and it started to rain...again. We just sat down under a tree and ate our picnic in the middle of the path. I planned our day tomorrow, and we decided to got to this 70's themed coffee bar. It was pretty cool, and the bartender makes a mean coffee with Bailey's! We also got gunny bears with it! We decided then to head back to the hostel. My three favorite things I've seen so far on the streets of Dresden have been, 1: a man smoking from a bong at a Middle Eastern coffee house/restaurant, 2: the traffic lights (fat men wearing hats...they are apparently a unique, German thing!), and 3: a guy drinking a beer while riding his bike down the street...no big deal...So far, I'm liking Dresden, even if just for the entertainment in the streets! :D

July 9, 2009

Everyone went to bed real late, and therefore, woke up late too! We made a quick trip to the Communist Museum to get some funny postcards. Then, Mom and I did a quick shopping spree :). We got some food from the Tesco department store and went over to an island on the river for a picnic. We played at a park and sat down to eat. Unfortunately, rain decided to hit then. So, we had a picnic in the rain. The clouds were a bit bipolar, so we decided to go see a movie. We wanted to see Transformers 2...that was a bad choice. Oh, my, God. Such bad writing...and no plot! I just can't describe how bad it was. We then went for pizza at Mom's favorite place and tried to clean out the fridge since we're all leaving tomorrow! :) I can't believe this trip is almost over!

July 8, 2009

The cold has been caught full force here in Prague. So we slept in. When we finally made it out to the streets (in our matching "Prague: Czech Me Out" shirts), we headed to the old Jewish Quarter. We saw a synagogue that had all the names of Jews that died or went missing. It was simple, but a nice exhibit. Then, we walked through the Jewish Cemetery. This was the only place they could be buried for like, 300 years. Also, Jews believe that the body can't be moved once it is buried, so the cemetary was just PACKED with tombstones! I mean, there was no space. Tombstones were on top of each other. Crazy! After that, the aunties went to the Kafka Museum. The rest of us wanted to eat, so we went to a good Italian place! After that wine, we decided to go nap. But not before Mom finally decided to buy a necklace she'd been looking at! We relaxed, packed, and then felt refreshed, so we went out for another Irish coffee! :) We came home, met the aunties, and relaxed with wine and pizza for the night.

July 7, 2009

We managed to drag ourselves out of bed this morning and to the train station. Annie forgot her Eurail Pass, so she had to go back (and I should mention that she tried to go into the wrong apartment building). WE all met at the station and looked like tourists trying to figure our train out. We got there in the nick of time and were off to the small town of Kutna Hora. A few funny train moments and, again, impeccable timing happened and then we were there. We walked around a bit and decided to do an early lunch (Oh, we had our Kolachis for breakfast too). We ate at the famous restaurant, Dacicy something...They brew their own beer there, and boy is it good! Our waiter was real cute, and Mom wanted Annie to get with him :). He also told us if we ordered the right things or not...quite funny! After lunch, we roamed over to the bone castle. Basically, this guy got soil from the Holy Land, and he sprinkledit here, so everyone wanted to be buried here. Then, the plague hit, so there were a lot of people. They decided to build this bone church, but to do so, they had to dig up bodies. They used about 40,000 skeletons to construct all these chandeliers and cellars and such in the building. Creepy, but super cool too! We went back to the train station (it looked more like a bus stop), and we got back to Prague again with another close call on the timing. We got back and did some more shopping. Then, we came home. We had pizza and beer and...a Czech puppet show! Video will come later :). We also played Pass the Pigs and Euchre, our favorites! We love Prague!!

July 6, 2009

Today started with a trip by Mom and I to the underground supermarket for pastries and fruit. We had a slower start because everyone is catching a cold. We got down to Old Town Square right in time to see the astronomical clock chime. Every hour, the clock opens and the disciples all show out the window, one at a time. We wound our way through the crowd and headed down some road. We got quite a bit lost, but eventually, we found a tram station. We took that up the hill to the castle. If there is one thing Europeans like, it is for their castles to be up on top of big hills! :) First, we went into Saint Vitus' Cathedral. We got to go in the exit because we had audioguides! This cathedral was sweet. There are a bunch of cool stories, but I won't got into them now. Then, we went to the Old Royal Palace, the Basilica of Saint George, and on Golden Lane. Then, we walked down the hill. We got lunch on the way. More Czech food! Yum! Oh, and we had these wafers...they are flovored...and SO good! Anyways, more shopping happened, and then we made a trip over to the John Lennon wall. When he died, people painted this wall, but the Communists would paint over it. But then overnight, it would get painted again. We added our two cents and went on our way. We got some Irish Coffee and cake then. After that, the aunties made their wishes on the bridge, and we headed home. Another great day in Prague!

July 5, 2009

Today, we woke up and tried to navigate through the streets of Prague. Our first stop was at a really cool Czech crystal place. I got a sweet vase, so Jared, you'd better be getting me some flowers! ;) just kidding! We shopped quite a bit, then we went down an alley. There was a multitude of strip clubs, but we found a sweet English pub. We then went to the Mucha Museum! Mucha was a Czech man who moved to France as an artist and drew illustrations for books and magazines. He got a call from the actress, Sarah Bernhardt, needing a poster quick, and everyone was gone. This poster made him famous. We all bought posters and such, then we headed home. Annie and Mom went to the station to pick up the aunties. The train was like, 75 minutes late though. I took a nap. Then, they got here, we had a beer, and we called it a night!

July 4, 2009

Well, all of mom's travel karma has fallen on us now :(. Haha, it's a good thing I wanted to leave early, because we went to the station the book had printed, and were told that it was the wrong one. We were fine, and were going to go by metro to the other station, but no, a taxi driver said it was closed for construction. I didn't believe him, but we didn't want to chance it. He told us it would be a bit more than we wanted because we had more people. I said I didn't care, but just to get us there. He had also told us the train left at 9:15, not 9:28 like my book said. So, long story short, he took a back way, charged us way too much money, and successfully duped some dumb tourists. I don't care, because we made the train...he'll get his karma. Then, we totally realized we were sitting in 1st class...whoops! I moved my stuff then as opposed to moving later, but Logan and Annie didn't want to be bothered. So, I sat by myself for awhile. Soon, we found that Eurail passes don't work in Slovakia. And we didn't have enough cash to cover it. Basically, we were screwed, but the wonderful ticket man let us pay what we had and stay on the train. His exact words were, "We're here for you." May God bless that wonderful, wonderful man. Logan and Annie still pulled off 1st class, and so the ride continued, problem free...until we got to the Czech border, where Logan and Annie had to move to 2nd class. Thank goodness Mom met us at the station, because I don't know if I could handle much more :(. We relaxed a bit and showered, then we were ready to go out. I should also mention that the whole way back from the station, Annie had to pee...then Mom couldn't get the door open...it was quite the comedy. We walked over to Old Town Square where there is a statue of Jan Hus. He had many of the same ideas as Martin Luther, but a bit earlier. Anyways, his ideas didn't get across for the main reason that he didn't have access to a printing press. He was tortued and killed in this square. We then walked over to the Charles Bridge. King Charles actually started the first university in all of Eastern Europe. The Czech people weren't a strong military people, and they viewed intellectual strength higher. The statue of King Charles has the four colleges represented under it. The bridge itself has a ton of statues on it. Our favorite is of Saint John of Nepomuk. The Queen at the time confessed all of her sins to him. Then, the King wanted to know them, but Saint John wouldn't tell, so the King had him tossed off the Bridge. According to legend, he came out of the water with 5 golden stars above his head. Anyways, it is said that if you rub this statue, you can make a wish and it will (hopefully) come true. But you only get one wish your whole life! Mom and I made ours, but Annie and Logan said they would just come back one day :). We then had to have a beer after that day, so we got some real Budweiser Budvar and some good Czech food! After that, we all had a good rant session at each other. Logan and I went for a quick walk and Mom couldn't hear the buzzer when we got back. She didn't answer that or her phone for a good half hour, so we just went to the square. We finally got in and hit the hay. Oh man, what a day, what a day!

July 3, 2009

Today started off with a latte macchiato (which Mom called a caffe mochino?!), some Hungarian poppy roll, and a trip over to Parliament. We had just missed the tour, so we decided to come back later. Instead, we walked over to St. Stephen's Basilica, Hungary's largest cathedral. It was beautiful, and full of pink and green marble, statues, and gold everywhere. They said it took about 250 years to build! After that, we stopped for some sandwiches. We got this really good wrap that I want to recreate. We headed back to Parliament just in time for the English tour. However, to get in to buy tickets, you must stand outside a gate where a guard will let each group in, one by one. We missed the English, so instead, we decided to go on the Spanish/Italian tour! :) It was kind of a bummer that we couldn't hear about it, but hey, at least we got to see it! After that fun adventure, we went back to the apartment to change...The aunts, Logan, and Annie went to one of Kelly's friend's houses for dinner. Mom and I wanted to get to bed earlier, so we stayed behind and packed. We had heard about an organ concert over at St. Stephen's, so we decided to chick it out. Before, we went to a really nice meal that was quite reasonably priced for what we got.The waiter recommended a great wine for us, and we shared a Hungarian duck leg with cabbage, and chicken with gnocchi! For dessert, we had this French toast thing with cinnamon apples and ice cream! Yum!! The concert was phenomenal. Besides the organist, there was a trumpeter, a violinist, a soprano, and a tenor. They sang some classics (I knew a lot of them from my high school choir!) and a few others. Our favorite was one where the trumpet and violin played together. I can't describe how cool it was, especially with the acoustics of that church! The others had a great time too with all of Kelly's friends. A great last night in Budapest!

July 2, 2009

After sleeping in a bit, we headed out for another day. Logan stayed home...he is probably a bit burnt out after last night ;). We took the metro over to the Chain Bridge and walked across. Aunt Kelly and I were disgusted by the amount of graffiti on it, though. Dumb kids. Across the bridge, we took a train (sort of) thing up to the top of this hill to the castle district. The view was beautiful, but boy was it hot out! We got some fagyi (ice cream) to cool down and took the bus over to Vaci Street. We went to the Old Market and bought all necessary Hungarian knick-knacks. We then went out for real Hungarian food. It was AWESOME, yet again! We were hot and sweaty, so we went back to shower. Much to Logan's surprise this morning, his laundry had turned...pink! Annie's red shorts somehow made it into his wash. Needless to say, he was very mad at the Hungarian wash lady. Zsolt and his friends picked us up and we headed out to a concert. These guys were a big Hungarian group in the 80's. It was so fun! We all tried Unicum as well...it basically tastes like cough syrup, but we had to try it. After the band, there was a DJ and it became more of a dance party for teens. One old French man tried to dance with mom, but she was not liking that! :) We left and got some amazing gyros! We had a great last night with Zsolt! He is totally our new favorite person! We really must start going to bed earlier. :) Oh well, you only live once, right?!

July 1, 2009

Mom and I got up early today and went out to get some breakfast. After searching all over for an ATM, we found, once we got to the store, that there was one in the store :(. We brought back fresh fruit, juice, and pastries for everyone. We took it easy and headed out. We saw Heroes Square and the Millennium Monument. Then, it was to the baths! Basically, the baths are these heated pools inside and outside of this huge building that looks like a palace. We sat in those healing water for hours! I got my tan on while others got more of a burn on ;). We also really enjoyed the European modesty at the baths...everywhere you went, you couldn't avoid an old, fat man in a speedo. It was hilarious! Afterwards, we headed to Aunt Kelly's favorite salad and Falafel bar. It was SO good! Logan basically ate hummus soup...the rest of us had more of a salad ;). We then took ourselves over to the Holocaust Memorial. It was a very well done museum! I had no idea that so many of the Jews were Hungarian. In fact, I out of every 10 Jews killed at Auschwitz were. After that, we went over to Zsolt's for dinner. He made us homemade bread, a traditional (paprika filled) Hungarian spread, peppers, and fresh tomatoes. It was amazing! I am so in love with Eastern European food! Zsolt told us more about WWII and Communism in Hungary. Then, we got to meet his mother and his daughter, Alma. It scared my mom a bit because his mom looked JUST like her grandma and her aunt Irene! Also, Alma looked very much like I did at that age (facial features), so we're thinking that I got more of my looks from the Czech side of my ancestry! Later, Zsolt's mom taught us some fun, Hungarian drinking games, and gave a ballet lesson. Oh yeah, she doesn't speak a word of English, so it was a real fun time! Little Alma played with Logan and Annie and the night came to an end...at one in the morning. Altogether, it was a wonderful, Hungarian evening!

June 30, 2009

We woke up and packed our things up this morning. My extra bag is getting a bit heavy...good thing Mom is going to take some home! :) I went to the grocery for some breakfast and lunch (only 6 euro for both!). While Logan and Annie went for a goodbye Bosna. We parted with our awesome roommates, and headed to the station. For the next 6 hours, we sat on a train to Budapest. We got off and met our aunts (on our dad's side) outside. We also met Kelly's friend, Zsolt (pronounced like Jolt...kind of). Aunt Kelly lived in Hungary for 3 years teaching English, so we get to meet lots of fun people this week! We dropped our stuff off at the apartment and went to dinner. Zsolt took us to a good Turkish place. We had Gyros with all these great veggies and sauces. It was awesome. Mom then finally got in after her awful travel luck, and we went out for a drink. A round of drinks here is only...a couple thousand Forint, which is only something like 20 or 30 bucks. Things are much cheaper here! :)