View From Tom's Office

Tom's office isn't in a very lovely part of the city.  But wow, the sunset view we saw tonight was amazing!

(this is looking west across Pest towards the Buda hills)

Happy March 15th

March 15th is the Hungarian equivalent of 4th of July in the USA.  It commemorates the Revolution of 1848 against the Hapsburg rulers of Austria.  One of its leaders was Kossuth Lajos...which happens to the be name of our street here in Budapest.  We decided to head down into the city and ride the funicular up Castle Hill for the first time:

 

 

 

 

We made it to the top of the hill to start our tour (courtesy of our Rick Steves Budapest book) and the skies opened up.  And we had packed no umbrellas.  So the plan went out the window.  We popped into the Budapest History Museum for a while (a surprising amount of time for two damp children), ran past a fountain and a statue or two...and gave up.  The rest of Castle Hill will have to await our return.  On a day with much better weather!

Wet and waiting inside a bus stop shelter for Daddy to get the car.

As we waited, the gentleman in the middle of the picture began speaking to me in Hungarian.  I smiled, but understood nothing.  He pantomimed that he wanted the ?Golden Jesus? to be in the picture I was taking of the kids.  I obliged, and he handed me a few Holy Cards.  Another gentleman in the shelter handed me what I thought were a few coins.  I thought perhaps he wanted me to give them to the statue-man as a tip.  But no, they were Holy Medals.  Not sure if this is a common thing, but they were really nice to us as we all stood there out of the rain.



Introducing Slimy Patrick King

Amazing weather, kids off from school, and a newly trimmed yard.  What could be better?  Snails,  that's what.  Actually just 'snail', as the kids only found one amidst all the empty shells.  They were thrilled and promptly named him, created a habitat with water and leaves for food and shade...and stared at him.  For a long time.  They named him Slimy Patrick, and although he was only with us for the day (he was a surprisingly fast mover and was completely missing the next morning), he will always be remembered.

Kings of the Rock

There's no great story here.  The kids are just obsessed with standing on this rock at the Stop Shop.  And they wanted pictures.

 

So close...

 

I knew I was moving to the land of the small oven.  And washer.  And dryer.  But it didn't occur to me to check to see if this 12" skillet would fit before sticking it in to finish my chicken.  It didn't.  I had to leave the oven door ever so slightly open.  Drat!



Daytime Date to Margaret Island

Margaret Island (Margitsziget), which sits in the middle of the Danube between Buda and Pest, has an interesting history.  Its most famous resident and namesake, St. Margaret of Hungary, lived here in the 13th century.  Her father, the king, promised that if he defeated the invading Mongols, he would send his daughter to become a nun.  He did both.  He built a Dominican convent on the island and sent his daughter off to live there, where she did for the rest of her life.  The ruins of the convent and her grave are still there.

Now the island is the home to a hotel and spa, a water park, bike and running trails and lots of open spaces.  But no cars.  Only bikes and city busses are allowed.

Charlotte and Nicholas had a 3 1/2 hour birthday party, so Tom and I (still babysitter-less) took the opportunity to explore on our own.  Such a luxury!  We walked the whole of the island (5 km) and took in the sights.

Love this explanation of our beloved chimney cake.  "Fresh Transylvanian pastry Horn baked in place".  No idea why the 'H' is capitalized.

 

Not the most exciting petting zoo ever...except for the chickens!  I love cool chickens!

 

Can't wait to bring the kids back!

The Scooters are Unpacked!

 

No better way to break them in than to ride down the street to the cukraszda (dessert shop).  I don't know that it's a good thing to have one of those only a block away!