Dusty-Yesterday was an extremely productive day. Jennifer and I began the day walking towards one of the many museums in Papa, Hungary. We eventually found a museum or we thought we found it, but as we walked in, like two oblivous tourists, we found out that it was an iskola (school). After walking into the school and getting a few weird looks from some of the people that worked at the school, we decided to browse the park nearby. We entered the park and found our selves looking upon plush green grass and gorgeous trees. The park had designated walkways and bicycle trails and everybody was using the walkways, no one was walking on the grass. We stopped at some of the monumetal sites in the park area which were extremely old.
Jennifer-We could not read any of the signs for the monuments, but they looked important lol! In the park there was a also a large lawn decorated with pieces of abstract art and old statues. The park was absolutely beautiful, but unfortunately it was a bug's heaven. We both got bitten up!
Dusty- We rummaged around the park at bit more and then decided to head to one of Papa's old castles, Eszterhazy Palace, which was built in the 1700's. Inside this marvelous monument there are galleries and musuems. However, we did not get to see them because we got to the castle right at lunch time. We did get to wander through the hallways and view ...
Jennifer-...old pictures of the town. The hallways and staircase were sights to see themselves. The castle is as old as the US is a country. After visiting the castle, we walked to The Great Church but it was not open for viewing. We definitely plan on walking through both of the big churches in the walking area. In the Benedictine Church, which is the closest to our house, the "Black Christ" is on display, we are really looking forward to seeing this piece of history and art.
Dusty and I next walked down streets we had not previously and attempted to get a little lost. We found where the police station is, or rendorseg. We also came across a "Rock and Roll Club". Dad called us at about 12:15 and invited us to meet him for lunch at a little restaraunt on the walking area. We sat outside and watched as the people walked by. It is amazing how many beautiful people there are here (especially women). The most popular color for the local women to dye their hair is red...bright red. A few gypsies walked by in their colorful attire. For lunch Dusty had an amazing Greek salad, Dad had a fish burger with onion rings, and I had the restaraunt's special house salad with chicken and fresh parmesan. My salad came with sliced toast, and none of the drinks were served with ice. Dad explained to us that you must request ice if you would like it. Lunch was fantastic and we are looking forward to taking my mom there for the Greek salad.
After lunch Dad went back to work and Dusty and I browsed in the shops. Clothes are extremely inexpensive here. I saw a really cute skirt for under $2, tops go for around $4, and we found leather jackets for $40-$100 (made in Italy).
We cruised down an alley and went into a little "drinking shop." There are drinking shops, or Talbots, all over town. A talbot serves all different kinds of drinks, alcoholic and non. Talbots can also range in the quaity of shop, there are high-end and low-end drinking shops which offer different quality of beverage. This particular shop was higher-end and so cute inside. When we entered, there were two women sitting at a booth to our left. One lady got up and greeted us in Hungarian, and we returned the Hungarian greeting. I asked if she spoke English, she shook her head no. I ordered a kave, tej (coffee, milk). She asked me, "melange?" I did not know what that meant and just looked at her, and repeated, "kave, tej." She smiled and lead us to a table, I assume saying, "Please have a seat." When she said please, she spoke it in German opposed to Hungarian. Maybe she assumed we would be more likely to understand German, I am not sure. When the kave, tej came out, I was very surprised by how she served it. I was expecting a latte, the way I am familiar with. Instead, in two cups, both a little larger than espresso cups, there was espresso in one and steamed milk in the other. Sugar was on the side along with a shot of water. The presentation was quite lovely. I poured the milk into the espresso, added some sugar and enjoyed it with Dusty. The woman, whom we assume is the shop owner, came over asked, "Yo?" Yo means good, we answered, "egen" (yes). We relaxed in the shop for about 40 minutes and then began to stroll back home.
I made homemade pizzas for dinner, using the marinara I made a couple nights before. Dad said that there is no where to get good pizza in town. He really enjoyed the dinner as did Dusty and I. We all watched "Did You Hear About the Morgans" after dinner...very funny movie. It was the first night, besides our first night in Hungary, that I was able to stay up past 8pm!! We stayed up until about 10, then I was wide awake at 2am. I forced myself to stay in bed and fall back asleep, it took about an hour. Our bodies are still getting used to the time change, but it is getting better every day.
This morning Dusty and I went for a walk to find the swimming complex. We found it on the far right side of the park. We looked around inside, it is very nice. For a 4 hour pass, it is about $10 for the both of us. The complex contains thermal pools, regular pools, in-water massagers, water slides and cafes. We will be visiting the pools very soon! It is pretty humid here, so it feels quite a bit hotter than it is. Before our walk today we put on some bug spray....we did not get any bites!! ...that was a first!
2010. június 30., szerda
2010. június 29., kedd
Dusty and I are going to go and explore the town today. We are still getting familiar with our surroundings. We plan on stepping into the shops and browsing, and going to check out the local swimming facility which was reccommended to us yesterday. From what we here, there is an indoor and outdoor pool, park and cafes, all within the swimming facility. We also went online yesterday to discover the "hot spots" in Papa, lol. There are quite a few spots in Papa that are highly reccommeded to check out. Two very large, very old churches, are positioned on each end of the walking area. Additionally, there are a couple of museums, and historicial monuments. We plan on taking pictures of the spots we visit. I can't stop taking pictures of the local buildings...they are so gorgeous! All of the colors are spectacular. When Hungary broke from communist Russia, the people embraced their newly found freedom and painted their houses radical colors (and their hair).
We are trying to blend in as best as possible. From our experiences here so far, that would include not smiling and staring at everone! lol!! The people here are known for staring or "people watching". Not very many people smile here, even when we smile at them. There have definitely been a few people who have smiled, and some that have been very easy to get along with. We stopped in a local camera shop downtown for a small camera strap, and the guy gave it us, without any charge. He spoke a little English and was very friendly.
We will see where our adventure takes us today!
We are trying to blend in as best as possible. From our experiences here so far, that would include not smiling and staring at everone! lol!! The people here are known for staring or "people watching". Not very many people smile here, even when we smile at them. There have definitely been a few people who have smiled, and some that have been very easy to get along with. We stopped in a local camera shop downtown for a small camera strap, and the guy gave it us, without any charge. He spoke a little English and was very friendly.
We will see where our adventure takes us today!
2010. június 28., hétfő
Walked around the walking area yesterday and took almost 300 pictures! We posted them on our Facebook page if anyone would like to see what the town looks like. There are so many colors rippling through one another, coming from the different colored buildings, cars and flowers. The pictures give a nice sense of what the town looks like.
Dad took us to his favorite watering hole. It is right down the street from the house and was full of locals. No one spoke any English but the bartender (a woman a few years older than me) and I had fun using the English-Magyar translator book to communicate. We didn't say much, but we had a fun time trying. I came home and had a few new words to add to my list of Magyar vocabulary! Dusty and I are listening to cds everyday which teach Magyar, it is a very difficult language but we are learning! I was able to communicate with a teller at Tesco, and greet people throughout town. Dusty has a very good ear for the language here, so hopefully together, we will able to communicate much more profficiently, very soon!!
Dad took us to his favorite watering hole. It is right down the street from the house and was full of locals. No one spoke any English but the bartender (a woman a few years older than me) and I had fun using the English-Magyar translator book to communicate. We didn't say much, but we had a fun time trying. I came home and had a few new words to add to my list of Magyar vocabulary! Dusty and I are listening to cds everyday which teach Magyar, it is a very difficult language but we are learning! I was able to communicate with a teller at Tesco, and greet people throughout town. Dusty has a very good ear for the language here, so hopefully together, we will able to communicate much more profficiently, very soon!!
2010. június 27., vasárnap
So here we are, up at 4am...we are still getting used to the time change! Sorry some of this page is in Hungarian (Magyar), but we could not figure out how to stop that from happening. Now that we are in Hungary, Google is recognizing our IP address as such. We have set all of the language settings to English but the page still displays some things in Magyar.
The locals here dress very similar to how we dress back home. For the women, it is skinny jeans and big heels. For the guys, the one difference to back home is....capris! LOL! Yes, the men wear capris here. We are not sure if we will get used to seeing men walk around in peddle pushers. The people are absolutely beautiful here. The ratio of attractive people is much larger than back home. The styles are very liberal here, we have seen different colored dyed hair, plunging neck lines, piercings, tattoos...The population of the town is mainly young people, at least from what we have seen. There is a college in town but we are yet to see it. We are looking forward to visiting one of Hungary's many thermal lakes, which is right here in town, very soon. There is also a water park in town which will be fun when it really starts to heat up.
We are getting eaten alive! There are so many mosiquitos here, but they don't look like mosiquitos. Instead, they look like tiny bees. This morning Dusty killed about ten of them in the living room as we began to type.
It is currently 4:20am and the sun has begun to rise and the birds are singing. This really is a magical place. The neighbors appear to be awake as well because there lights are on. Electricity is extremely expensive here, so people are very conscientious of leaving lights on. Dad had a neighbor knock on the door a few weeks ago. He initially had no idea what he was talking about, but finally realized the neighbor was trying to tell him that he had left on an outside patio light.
We have gone shopping in the local markets. Tesco is a local store which is part of a chain from Great Britian. Tesco carries food, clothes, electronics, cds, and so on (it is like a Walmart Super Store). In order to use a shopping cart, we needed to insert 100 forints (or about .50 cents) into the handle of the cart to release it from a lock. When we were done shopping, we returned the cart to the locking area, inserted the lock, and got our coin back. There are absolutely no rogue carts rolling into cars...everyone returns the cart to get their money back. We have found that many things are very cheap, except for the American products and the electronics. While shopping for a straightening iron yesterday, we saw some that were over $100 or 20.000, (20 thousand) forints (Hungarian money) and sunscreen that was $25 or 5.000, (5 thousand) forints. Notice that they use commas instead of periods and periods instead of commas. The money has been eager to figure out. Dad explained it like this...look at the forints price and to understand how much it is American, remove the final 2 numbers and divide what is left by half. While shopping in Tesco, P Diddy (or Diddy Dirty Money which he now goes by) was playing along with other popular American songs. We payed .60 cents for a huge loaf of wonderful homemade bread, but then $7 for a bottle of Listerine! The breads are very inexpensive here, in the market a danish costs under .30 cents.
Out in the pubs, beer and wine are cheaper than sodas and bottled water! lol. All bottled drinks are in glass instead of plastic and the locals drink out of them with a straw. Supposedly, all tips are included in the tabs, and any extra tip goes to the owner.
Today, we are walking with Dad down to the walking area to purchase cell phones and computer adaptors. We may possibly have lunch down town also. We are looking forward to doing some sight seeing and taking pictures (which we will share).
The locals here dress very similar to how we dress back home. For the women, it is skinny jeans and big heels. For the guys, the one difference to back home is....capris! LOL! Yes, the men wear capris here. We are not sure if we will get used to seeing men walk around in peddle pushers. The people are absolutely beautiful here. The ratio of attractive people is much larger than back home. The styles are very liberal here, we have seen different colored dyed hair, plunging neck lines, piercings, tattoos...The population of the town is mainly young people, at least from what we have seen. There is a college in town but we are yet to see it. We are looking forward to visiting one of Hungary's many thermal lakes, which is right here in town, very soon. There is also a water park in town which will be fun when it really starts to heat up.
We are getting eaten alive! There are so many mosiquitos here, but they don't look like mosiquitos. Instead, they look like tiny bees. This morning Dusty killed about ten of them in the living room as we began to type.
It is currently 4:20am and the sun has begun to rise and the birds are singing. This really is a magical place. The neighbors appear to be awake as well because there lights are on. Electricity is extremely expensive here, so people are very conscientious of leaving lights on. Dad had a neighbor knock on the door a few weeks ago. He initially had no idea what he was talking about, but finally realized the neighbor was trying to tell him that he had left on an outside patio light.
We have gone shopping in the local markets. Tesco is a local store which is part of a chain from Great Britian. Tesco carries food, clothes, electronics, cds, and so on (it is like a Walmart Super Store). In order to use a shopping cart, we needed to insert 100 forints (or about .50 cents) into the handle of the cart to release it from a lock. When we were done shopping, we returned the cart to the locking area, inserted the lock, and got our coin back. There are absolutely no rogue carts rolling into cars...everyone returns the cart to get their money back. We have found that many things are very cheap, except for the American products and the electronics. While shopping for a straightening iron yesterday, we saw some that were over $100 or 20.000, (20 thousand) forints (Hungarian money) and sunscreen that was $25 or 5.000, (5 thousand) forints. Notice that they use commas instead of periods and periods instead of commas. The money has been eager to figure out. Dad explained it like this...look at the forints price and to understand how much it is American, remove the final 2 numbers and divide what is left by half. While shopping in Tesco, P Diddy (or Diddy Dirty Money which he now goes by) was playing along with other popular American songs. We payed .60 cents for a huge loaf of wonderful homemade bread, but then $7 for a bottle of Listerine! The breads are very inexpensive here, in the market a danish costs under .30 cents.
Out in the pubs, beer and wine are cheaper than sodas and bottled water! lol. All bottled drinks are in glass instead of plastic and the locals drink out of them with a straw. Supposedly, all tips are included in the tabs, and any extra tip goes to the owner.
Today, we are walking with Dad down to the walking area to purchase cell phones and computer adaptors. We may possibly have lunch down town also. We are looking forward to doing some sight seeing and taking pictures (which we will share).
Jennifer--Dusty and I have decided to take advantage of a great opportunity. With my Dad working in Hungary, it is the ideal situation to tour Europe over the span of one year and have our home-base at my parents Hungarian house. Dusty and I have both recently graduated and are so excited to take a year off...together. This year should prove to be full of adventure, with many ups and hopefully very few downs (if any).
Our flight over with AirBerlin was excellent. We were so excited to look down, out of the plane, and see Iceland! We saw miles and miles of snowy tundra with steep, rocky mountains protruding through the blanket of white. Looking down at Germany, before landing in Dusseldorf, was amazing. Perfectly alligned fields of assorted colors, antique roof tops and steeples painted the rolling hills. As we approached the airport, the small towns became larger and closer together. The Dusseldorf airport was clean and modern... I (Jennifer) had to get assistance from another woman in the bathroom to dry my hands! LOL. The cloth (not paper) towel was dispensed and recycled by a mechanical dispenser. To add, it was the cleanest public restroom I have ever seen! We then flew to Vienna where Dad picked us up.
As we drove through Austria and into Hungary, we enjoyed sightseeing from the car. Old churches and crumbling houses scattered the hills. We attempted to decipher the road signs and all laughed at our inability! Fortunately, Dad was able to tell us what most of them meant. Small wild flowers, which resembled tulips, became more and more abundant as we drove into Hungary. As we approached Papa, it seemed like we stepped back in time about 30 years!
Every few miles, people waited for the bus along side of the country road and held bags of groceries. The structures, many crumbling, have stood for longer than the US has been a country! The rule of the Russian Communists can be remembered through the many old buildings, mostly brick, that they used to occupy. The residents of Papa are said to be from mostly German ancestors. Another population in Hungary is the gypsies. The gypsies dress just as any of us would, if we were dressing as a gypsy for Halloween. They wear long bright skirts, with equally as wild tops with scarves and jewelry. Papa is centered around a downtown, refered to as the "walking area". The walking area consists of a very large old church, many walkways, pubs, cafes, stores and so on.
When Dusty and I arrived at my parent's home we were thrilled. It is extremely nice and already feels like home! We have the downstairs bedroom and bathroom. The bathroom consists of two rooms, one with a toilet and sink, the other with a beautiful walk in shower and sink. The sink in the shower room has a gorgeous mirror above with built in shelves. It is unlike anything I have seen, and want to ship it to the states! lol. The energy-saving appliances in the house are incredible and it makes me want to scream that every house in the states does not have them!
Last night was our first night in town. We walked with Dad down to the walking area where he pointed out his favorite spots. Walking down the streets felt as if we were walking through a movie set. The streets are adourned on both sides with ornate, antique buildings and statues. We took an alley way which was sided by a toppling brick wall. Following Dad down some steps lead us into a dark restaraunt.
Dusty-When Jennifer and I walked inside we saw that the restaraunt was made from logs with pictures scattered of locals on the wood walls. We had gyros for dinner which were extremely tasty! After dinner we met with some of Dad's friends/co-workers to watch the US soccer team at a local pub. The outside of the pub was a sit down restaraunt. To enter the pub we walked down a few steps where some locals were getting ready for the soccer game. The pub had an interesting ambiance, we were surround by faded red brick walls and ceiling. The tables were wood with bench style seating. It was time to order and Jennifer wanted to get a water for us, unfortunately she had a difficult time communicating with one of the girls behind the bar. There was confusion on the woman's face and Jennifers as hands and broken language were used to try to get a water. Dad finally asked the girl in German for water and Bob's your uncle we had our water, and Dad and his friends had a few beers for the big game. It was interesting that every one of our cheers (for the US team) was met with cheers from locals in the back of the pub, whenever the US missed a play!
After the game had finished, in which the US team lost to Ghana, we all decided to go to a different pub to finish off the evening. The pub was different from the one we just left, the interior was again brick but it was filled with alot of young people singing The Doors. lol. We had a great night out in the town and decided it was time for bed, so we started our walk back home. During our journey home there were many locals still roaming the streets of Papa, and the air smelled of fresia and jasmine. Our first night in our new bed, new home, and new country (for the time being) was peaceful. Our adventure in Europe has begun, and so far we love it!
Our flight over with AirBerlin was excellent. We were so excited to look down, out of the plane, and see Iceland! We saw miles and miles of snowy tundra with steep, rocky mountains protruding through the blanket of white. Looking down at Germany, before landing in Dusseldorf, was amazing. Perfectly alligned fields of assorted colors, antique roof tops and steeples painted the rolling hills. As we approached the airport, the small towns became larger and closer together. The Dusseldorf airport was clean and modern... I (Jennifer) had to get assistance from another woman in the bathroom to dry my hands! LOL. The cloth (not paper) towel was dispensed and recycled by a mechanical dispenser. To add, it was the cleanest public restroom I have ever seen! We then flew to Vienna where Dad picked us up.
As we drove through Austria and into Hungary, we enjoyed sightseeing from the car. Old churches and crumbling houses scattered the hills. We attempted to decipher the road signs and all laughed at our inability! Fortunately, Dad was able to tell us what most of them meant. Small wild flowers, which resembled tulips, became more and more abundant as we drove into Hungary. As we approached Papa, it seemed like we stepped back in time about 30 years!
Every few miles, people waited for the bus along side of the country road and held bags of groceries. The structures, many crumbling, have stood for longer than the US has been a country! The rule of the Russian Communists can be remembered through the many old buildings, mostly brick, that they used to occupy. The residents of Papa are said to be from mostly German ancestors. Another population in Hungary is the gypsies. The gypsies dress just as any of us would, if we were dressing as a gypsy for Halloween. They wear long bright skirts, with equally as wild tops with scarves and jewelry. Papa is centered around a downtown, refered to as the "walking area". The walking area consists of a very large old church, many walkways, pubs, cafes, stores and so on.
When Dusty and I arrived at my parent's home we were thrilled. It is extremely nice and already feels like home! We have the downstairs bedroom and bathroom. The bathroom consists of two rooms, one with a toilet and sink, the other with a beautiful walk in shower and sink. The sink in the shower room has a gorgeous mirror above with built in shelves. It is unlike anything I have seen, and want to ship it to the states! lol. The energy-saving appliances in the house are incredible and it makes me want to scream that every house in the states does not have them!
Last night was our first night in town. We walked with Dad down to the walking area where he pointed out his favorite spots. Walking down the streets felt as if we were walking through a movie set. The streets are adourned on both sides with ornate, antique buildings and statues. We took an alley way which was sided by a toppling brick wall. Following Dad down some steps lead us into a dark restaraunt.
Dusty-When Jennifer and I walked inside we saw that the restaraunt was made from logs with pictures scattered of locals on the wood walls. We had gyros for dinner which were extremely tasty! After dinner we met with some of Dad's friends/co-workers to watch the US soccer team at a local pub. The outside of the pub was a sit down restaraunt. To enter the pub we walked down a few steps where some locals were getting ready for the soccer game. The pub had an interesting ambiance, we were surround by faded red brick walls and ceiling. The tables were wood with bench style seating. It was time to order and Jennifer wanted to get a water for us, unfortunately she had a difficult time communicating with one of the girls behind the bar. There was confusion on the woman's face and Jennifers as hands and broken language were used to try to get a water. Dad finally asked the girl in German for water and Bob's your uncle we had our water, and Dad and his friends had a few beers for the big game. It was interesting that every one of our cheers (for the US team) was met with cheers from locals in the back of the pub, whenever the US missed a play!
After the game had finished, in which the US team lost to Ghana, we all decided to go to a different pub to finish off the evening. The pub was different from the one we just left, the interior was again brick but it was filled with alot of young people singing The Doors. lol. We had a great night out in the town and decided it was time for bed, so we started our walk back home. During our journey home there were many locals still roaming the streets of Papa, and the air smelled of fresia and jasmine. Our first night in our new bed, new home, and new country (for the time being) was peaceful. Our adventure in Europe has begun, and so far we love it!
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