Hungary!

We had such a great time in Hungary these past few days.  It was definitely one of those "trip of a lifetime" trips that I will never forget.  Instead of writing a whole bunch of preliminary stuff, I'm going to jump right in with pictures and all and tell you more along the way.  But, before you hop on for the ride, just know it's gonna be a long trip...board at your own risk.  I'll divide the trip up by days to make it easier to understand.

Day One - Thursday

Ohhh, that was a long time ago.  Let me think....

Oh yes, that was the day we went to London, Switzerland, and Budapest all in one day.  Our flight from London took us to Zurich, Switzerland.  The layover was only going to be enough time to run to the next plane...unless there was a delay.  Well, our plane from London was delayed.  SO, we smack dab missed our connecting flight from Zurich.  Whoohoo!!  We were thrilled.  Mom has always wanted to go to Switzerland so we were able to give her a mini three hour vacation. (Ok, so it was more like, Dad gave us a mini vacation *smile*.)  We soaked up sitting in the airport, eating Swiss chocolate, and getting a glimpse of the Alps through huge windows.  It was so fun.  Here are some pictures from our amazing airport vacation (who knew you could have so much fun in the airport?)

The skeptical look on my face is saying "Mum, don't you think taking pictures in the airport makes us look a bit like tourists?" 

We had some scrumptious Swiss (actually, I think they were Italian) Crepes.

Then, we got to the good stuff: Cappuccino and chocolate.....Mmmmm.

Here's Dad in compete shock over the outrageous price he paid for water...he thought he'd never pay $5 for a bottle of water.  But, you only have a mini vacation in Zurich once.

When we got to the plane this is what we saw.  A beautiful Swiss sunset to top it all off. 

That night we arrived late in Budapest...we slept well.

Day Two - Friday

The next morning we got up reeeally early so that we could get our taxi to the rail station.  The night before Dad had asked that the taxi pick us up by 7:30.  Well, our poor taxi guy must have had a long day Thursday too, because he slept in. He was only about 20 minutes late. But, do you know how taxi drivers drive when they sleep in late?  Like insane people!  Let me tell you, there was a lot of praying going on the back seat of that cab.  But, I have to give him this: he got us there in one piece and on time...and his car had an amazing brake system.

Now, when we got to the train station we were able to follow the signs to the ticket office, but after that, we weren't sure what we would do.  The Hungarian language is a lot different than English.  As we waited in line the lady in front of us turned around and asked something in Hungarian.  She quickly realized that we had no clue what she had just said and in perfect English asked us if waiting on her would make us late for our train.  We assured her it wouldn't and then she offered to help us through the ticket buying process.  We call her our angel.  There is no way we could have done that without her.  She was such a blessing.

When we found our train we were in for a bit of a shock.  It felt like we were stepping back in time to the early 1900s.  The train was so old and...vintage.  It was really interesting to me that they still use these old trains, it feels like not much has changed in time when you're on it.  We talked about how it would have felt riding on it back in the war days.  It was like something out of a movie. 

We had fun on the train...so different for us.

Daddy especially enjoyed the ride...

a lot.

Actually, Daddy was watching for the station we were supposed to get off at. We tried to tell him that he didn't really need to wave at people or lean too far out the window...but I think he rather enjoyed it.  

The train really took on the vintage feel when I turned the camera setting to sepia.

Well, that's enough train for now.  When we got to the station, Adam was there to meet us.  Let me explain here why we were in Hungary in the first place.  A man who goes to our church used to pastor a church in Veszprem, Hungary.  When he left, Adam took the pastorate.  Last year Adam and his wife Dora (both speak very good English) came to Texas for two weeks and held a Bible conference at our church.  It was such a joy having them among us.  Our church has stayed in contact with Adam and Dora and we hated to get this close to Hungary without seeing them and visiting their church and the school which their church started.

So, after meeting us at the station Adam took us back to their home where Dora was waiting for us with a wonderful lunch.  We had such a great time of fellowship with them from the moment we walked in the door.  Hearing about the great things God is doing in their church, especially with their youth is so exciting!  Dora made us a very Hungarian meal that was delicious!  The first course was cherry soup.  I had never had cherry soup and found it to be simply delightful.  I particularly enjoyed gazing at the color:

Amazing isn't it?  Pink soup...what could be better?

The rest of the meal was great.  I don't have pictures of it though.  We were too busy eating and talking.

That night we re-convened at their home with many members of the church.  It was a really good time of singing, sharing, praying and fellowship with one another.  We got to meet so many sweet people. They were a blessing to us. 

Adam is sitting on the far left.  The two girls are the daughters of the other elder of the church, Philip. 

Mom sang and I played. 

It was a great evening and wonderful to meet so many of the members of their church...lots spoke English too :)

Day Three - Saturday

Just to clear something up, Adam and Dora have two little boys.  You have not met them yet because they were on vacation with their grandma and cousins.  They're really cute.  (Or, handsome....whichever you prefer.)  You will meet them soon.

Saturday, Adam and Dora took us around the old part of Vesprem.  It was so beautiful!  I love the buildings and color everywhere!

Dora and me.

Me, Dora, Dad and Adam.

They have really neat water fountains around.  Dora says there is very good water from them. (Dora is so awesome.)

This is a little fuzzy of Dora and Mom, but the building is nice.

The King and Queen of Hungary and two theologians who liked to talk:)

This is a view from where the King and Queen stand.  Dora told us that sadly, many young people jump to their death from that bridge every year.

These are the ruins of an old monastery dating from the 13th century.

A very nice couple.

Another very nice couple.

We stopped for lunch at an outdoor cafe.  But, (backtracking here) before eating, Dora took Mom and me to some lovely little shops where we got great souvenirs...Ohhh la la!

It is the Hungarian way to drink an Espresso after lunch.  So, when in Hungary, do as the Hungarians do.  I was told that to really be authentic I had to taste it without any milk or sugar in it.  "Ok, I can do this" I thought.  And I did...one itsy bitsy taste...enough for me to say that I've been authentic.  Then I dumped the milk and sugar in and enjoyed the rest.

Those two nice couples chatting together.

Saturday night we went back to Adam and Dora's home for dinner.  We again had a great night and were able to meet the boys. David and Balint.  I know it's shocking, but we don't have any pictures of that. :(

Day Four - Sunday

Sunday morning we went to Adam and Dora's church.  Dad preached and Adam translated for him.  One of the things I really enjoyed was hearing the people sing hymns in Hungarian.  It is such a beautiful language and to hear it in song is really gorgeous.

This was after the service.

After church we went to the home of Philip and Mimi, the other elder in the church and his wife.  They had fixed a scrumptious meal for us all and we again had a very fun afternoon.

Left to right going around the table: David, Veronica, Adam (he's really not that short...he's sitting on a small stool), Dora, Mimi, Philip, Agota, me, Dad, Gabor, and Balint.

One amazing thing I've learned is that boys are pretty much the same anywhere in the world:

Gabor...to a T.

After lunch we went to the school building.  They are renting a really big house that is so great for the school.  Is was very neat touring it and seeing with our own eyes what we've only heard before...it really makes it come alive. 

Mimi is the school administrator.

Outside there is a big back yard that the children can play in:

I promise, they're not playing hide and go seek. I don't think.

After visiting the school the adults took us up to Lake Balaton.  They say it is their sea.  I can see why.  The lake is absolutely amazing!

On the way up a hill to view the lake we stopped by this old restaurant where they still use a brick oven.

When we got to the hill our hosts treated us to some very special and yummy ice-cream....it was soooo good. 

My new favorite lake.

The lake is 40 miles long.  Dora said that when she was growing up her best friend's dad had a yacht he would take them around the lake in once a year. 

When we got back we had to say goodbye to Philip and Mimi's sweet family.

Their family minus one: their oldest son was away but we met him Friday night.

We prayed together and then in our broken Hungarian/English said goodbye.

And here's Adam and Dora's family:

Like I've said before, the highlight of the trip was the people.  These are amazing, strong Christians who we were so honored to be with these past few days. It was such a blessing being with them!

Day Five - Monday

Today was filled with travel.  No Switzerland vacations just lots of planes, trains, and taxis.  Thankfully, all our taxi drivers were on time and were a little more normal in their driving (boring).  We did go to Germany...for about 30 minutes.  But, at least I can say I've been there! Flying back into London it was cloudy, but we were able to see some of the famous sights.  Here's an aerial view of just a very small portion of the city:

 

All in all, the trip was great!  It was wonderful to be with friends and God's people and we will always remember it as a highlight in our summer away. 

Now, I could probably make the Guiness Book of World Records for the longest post, but I better go before I break another record for the most consecutive hours without sleep.  Thank you so much for reading that really long post...you're awesome!