Goodbye Europe

Dusty and I have had our last European adventure of this year. We left Hungary and flew back home to the states.

We had such an amazing time during our year in Europe. The twelve months feels much like a long dream! Over the length of our stay, we were lucky enough to visit 19 countries (counting Scotland as its own country). The following list is comprised of the 19-

UK, Scotland, Ireland, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, Austria, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Poland, Lithuania, Ukraine, Croatia

Every country was special and unique to us. When asked where our favorite place was, we find it hard to choose one country. We loved different things about different countries.

Our one-year European adventure was a dream come true. We made memories that we will hold on to forever.

Can Pastilla, Mallorca

We thoroughly enjoyed our Edinburgh adventure but were happy to get off our feet and into a plane to head back to Spain.

Our one-day in Edinburgh was exhausting. With backpacks on and only our feet to carry us up and down the Royal Mile, we had a long but incredible day.

Once on the plane, we experienced our own travel nightmare which can be read about here.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/8125185/summer_horror_travel_story.html?cat=16

We finally landed on the beautiful Spanish island of Mallorca and took a bus to the small town of Can Pastilla, just 10 minutes away. It was already after dusk and we had no idea where our hotel was. Unfortunately the bus driver didn't know either, so he dropped us off in the town and advised us to go ask someone.

With our California Spanish, we attempted to gather directions from locals. Once we thought we understood where we were going, we began our quest on foot to find our hotel. Finally, after walking parallel to the freeway for a good 15 minutes we turned around. We knew our hotel was on the beach, and we knew we were no where near it.

After getting directions from a second person, we found ourselves on the same road. Finally, we decided to listen to Dusty's famous sense-of-direction. He lead us to the beach, but we still had to decided which way to follow the shore. By this time, we had been walking unfamiliar Spanish streets for about an hour and a half, both wearing heavy back packs.

We took the shore to the right and followed the water for a few blocks. Frustrated and tired, I approached two older women. I politely asked them if they could point us to our hotel. After exchanging a few words to one another, one of the women walked us all of the way to our hotel. Her generosity was amazing and we were extremely grateful!

Can Pastilla can be read about in this article I wrote for Yahoo! Associated Content.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/8228697/travel_to_can_pastilla_for_a_breathtaking.html?cat=16

Plane-Hopping Adventure Edinburgh

Dusty and I flew out of Dublin early in the morning and took off to Edinburgh, Scotland. Our wonderful day can be read about here, on an article I wrote for Yahoo!

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/8104129/edinburgh_in_one_day_on_a_budget.html?cat=16

Dublin, Ireland

Dusty and I left Torremolinos, Spain already missing it. Our next destination, on our plane-hopping adventure, was Dublin, Ireland. When we landed in Dublin, we took the bus downtown, to the area we knew our Guesthouse was located.

Again, thank goodness for Dusty's sense of direction because he lead us to the Glen Guesthouse. We checked into the guesthouse and walked up to the 3rd floor to our room. The Glen Guesthouse was unlike anywhere else we have ever stayed.

The house itself was older, and had a very antique ambiance. Beautiful antique furniture graced the hallways and cranberry colored carpet covered the stairs. Our room was huge, with two large beds, and a large window overlooking some of Dublin.

There was a coffee pot and packets of instant coffee in the room. Instant coffee is not something I love, but it was great to have some free coffee available!

For all of the sight-seeing Dusty and I did, I have written an article for Yahoo! which can be found here, http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/8077617/dublin_in_one_day_on_a_budget.html?cat=3. The article details what a person can do in Dublin in one day on a budget. In reality, Dusty and I had one and a half days to explore Dublin.

When we walked the streets of Dublin, on our first day, I was very surprised. Dublin was nothing at all what I expected it to be. All of my Dublin-expectations were based upon what I have seen in movies! So, when I realized that Dublin was much like any other large city in the western world, it took me some time to reconcile what I had excepted and the reality.

As you will read in the article. we drove to Howth village. This was definitely more of what I had expected, and I was super pleased. The views from this seaside town consisted of beautiful green hills and waves crashing onto rocky shores. It was incredible!

The morning of our flight to Scotland, we had to wake up at 3:30 am in order to take a taxi to the airport. For breakfast, we ate bananas and chocolate muffins that we purchased at Tesco the day before. Our taxi ride was extremely interesting and be read about here, http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/8071283/the_queens_unwelcome_visit_to_ireland.html?cat=37.

We left Ireland satisfied with the fact that we had seen it. If we were to travel to Ireland again, we would love to stay in a smaller town, or even visit Northern Ireland!

Torremolinos, Spain

We had an absolutely wonderful time on our Plane-Hopping Adventure!!

To begin, we drove to Bratislava, Slovakia and parked our car at a long-term parking lot. For 58 euros, we parked our car for 10 days and had transportation to and from the Bratislava airport. We flew out of Bratislava and enjoyed a 3 hour flight to Malaga, Spain.

When we arrived in Malaga, we rushed to catch the train to Torremolinos. The train, which was like a fast monorail, was clean and modern. Screens throughout the train indicated the route, making it easy to know when to get off. In Torremolinos, we got off the train and began our search for our hotel. All we knew was that it was near the water!

Luckily, Dusty has an incredible sense of direction and lead us right to the front of the hotel!! We walked in to Hotel Fenix and met a Spanish-speaking receptionist. Our Spanish "skills" came in handy and we communicated without any problems. After checking in, we found our beautiful room.

When booking the hotel in Torremolinos, we did so based on price (cheapest). So we were surprised to discover that the Hotel Fenix is 4 star! Our large room, included a huge patio overlooking the ocean. This luxurious hotel was a wonderful treat!

In the price of our room, full board was included. We enjoyed a late lunch which was buffet style served in a beautiful dining room. After lunch we went out to discover the town of Torremolinos. The town reminded us a bit of Sorrento, Italy. Thin, windy streets ran up hills, with shops and apartments of both sides. White beach ran for miles, with cabanas every few hundred feet. Restaurants and shops alongside the beach promenade sold cold water, ice cream and souvenirs.

After exploring the Spanish town, we went back up the room to get in our bathing suites. We walked down to the beach in front of our hotel and laid in the sand for about an hour. Not wanting to get too much sun in one day, and not having bought towels yet, we made our way back up to the room. We got cleaned up and headed down for a wonderful dinner. Again buffet style, fresh fish and other delectable items were offered.

A stroll in the cool night air came after dinner. Our first day in Torremolinos was wonderful and we looked forward to another 3 days in beautiful Torremolinos.

For the rest of our time, we enjoyed the incredible streets, food and views of Torremolinos, Spain. The service and food in the hotel were incredible. The beach, besides the FREEZING water, was beautiful, relaxing, warm and fun. Hanging out together, walking the streets, practicing our Spanish, and swimming in the ocean made our time in Torremolinos fabulous.

Plane-Hopping Adventure!

We are leaving at 5:30 tomorrow morning for our "airplane hopping" adventure! We will go to Spain, Ireland, Scotland, and then back to Spain to the island of Mallorca.

We will definitely have plenty of stories to share when we return!

In the meantime, please follow the link below that leads to my Yahoo! Associated Content profile. I have published 8 articles on Yahoo! Enjoy the reads!!

http://contributor.yahoo.com/user/1080855/jennifer_brannies.html

United States Air Force Band

Dusty and I were fortunate enough to attend a concert of the United States Air Force Band. Their performance was wonderful. Please follow the attachment to an article I wrote for Yahoo! Associated Content to hear more about the great concert!

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/8037905/assassination_of_bin_laden_and_the.html?cat=9

Queen's Birthday Party

We had a wonderful evening downtown, at the Villa Classica, at a party to celebrate the Queen of the Netherlands's birthday. Invited through the NATO base, we enjoyed an evening of free drinks and appetizers, and a great local band who played all American covers.

The party ran from 8-midnight and many people from the base attended, with their family members. We had a great night enjoying interesting company and exchanging traveling tales.

Before the party we went with friends and got some pizza at Kitannis. The pizza was good, as always, but nothing like what we are used to in the states!

Yahoo! Pompeii-The Forgotten City

Yahoo! has published another one of my articles. Please check out the following link to read my article about Pompeii-The Forgotten City.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/7993497/pompeii_italy_the_forgotten_city.html?image=1607191&cat=16

London on Yahoo!

Yahoo! has purchased and published an article I wrote about seeing London in one day on a budget!!

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/7989191/london_in_one_day_on_a_budget.html?image=1605585&cat=16

Pápa Lombard Won!

Pápa Lombard won! Yes, the soccer team won a game!

We went to a very special game last night at the Pápa stadium. Our local Pápa team played against a team fro Gyor. Boeing made it possible for Boeing employees and guests to attend the game for free.

After arriving at the stadium, we chose seats in the front row and settled in for a great game. Dusty predicted, before the game began, that Pápa would win! It was an exciting game, full of great plays and a cheering crowd. Pápa scored the first goal shortly after half-time. Then, with only 3 minutes left, Gyor scored their first point. In the very last moments of the game, Pápa scored their final winning shot.

Cheerleaders graced the field during half time and danced. We learned from a local Hungarian that this was his first time seeing cheerleaders at a game. It appears that cheerleaders may now be a new addition to Hungarian Soccer.

Night Out in Pápa

Last night we went to our first "football" game of the season at the local stadium. Pápa played a good game but didn't pull through with a victory. Absolutely beautiful weather shown down on the stadium though and we were able to enjoy wearing short sleeves!! Finally the arctic-cold has passed away and Spring has sprung.

After the game we met up with friends at Griffs and enjoyed chicken Doner Kabobs!! It has been far too long since we enjoyed a nice Doner and they were terrific! Ice cream is back to town with the warm weather, so we walked across the street and ordered two cones of double-scooped mint 'n chip. We had just spoken two days earlier about how much we missed mint 'n chip, so we were super excited to dive into our cones! This was the first time we had seen mint 'n chip in Pápa. Last summer we enjoyed it, in gelato form, in Florence, Italy and it was incredible!

With the warmer weather and longer days, Spring could not have come any sooner!! Good bye winter, see you again next year in CA!

Croatia (Trip taken in March)

We took a one-night vacation to Croatia and stayed on the Adriatic Coast on the Island of Krk.

On Friday morning, we left Pápa and headed to Croatia. We crossed the border into Croatia and immediately found ourselves on a toll road. There are no vignettes in this non EU, non Schengen country. Instead, there are numerous toll roads, which luckily for us accepted Forint (Hungarian currency) because we did not yet have any Kuna (Croatian currency).

We crossed over a very large bridge to get over to the island. The journey to the town of Punat, where our hotel was located, reminded us of our journey to Sorrento, Italy. The town of Punat itself, also reminded us of Sorrento.

Our hotel, Hotel Park Punat, was right on the water and surrounded by olive trees. We were able to park in the lot directly in front of the hotel and check in without any problems. The three star hotel was clean and comfortable. Our "economy" room was small but nice.

Unfortunately the weather was not hot enough to go swimming, but we still enjoyed the warmer temperatures. We spent most of our time walking up and down along the water. The water off the Adriatic Coast is beautifully clear and we were able to see to rocks on the sea floor.

When we booked our room, to chose to go with "full board". Full board means that all meals are included in your room rate. The cost of the room was not expensive, so we did not expect great food. Fortunately, we were wrong and the buffets offered for lunch, dinner and breakfast, were all outstanding.

We had a wonderful time enjoying the sun, clear water and delicious meals.

Broggingen Road Trip Part IV

Our time in Broggingen, with my distant-cousins, was wonderful. We ate traditional German meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner, all made from fresh, local ingredients. The hospitality shown to us was amazing and very much appreciated.

The first full day in Broggingen, we visited the small distillery where my cousin produces his own brandy.

We also walked around and toured the very small town of Broggingen. Broggingen is where the Holzinger side of my family is from. My family left in the mid 1800's, so unfortunately any evidence of them living there does not exist. However, we did walk up the short stairway to the local church which has stood there for years. The church has been renovated since the time of the Holzingers, but it is most definitely the church my relatives were married and baptized in. Taking a look at the church records would have proved fruitless because the records from the 1800's are in "Badish". Badish is the German dialect once spoken and written in the area of Baden, Germany. Badish is still spoken by many Baden residents, though the old Badish script can not be read by anyone.

After a homemade lunch of fried fish, mashed potatoes and a garden salad, we were taken into the beautiful Black Forest, where we explored castle ruins. We enjoyed liverwurst and cured ham for dinner, before then going to a Fasching party.

The party was in a near-by town and consisted of local performers, including dancers and bands. Many people were dressed in costumes or traditional German attire. Fasching is an old German celebration, believed in old times, to scare off bad spirits. It was a wonderful time with lots of fun people.

Our next day in Broggingen took us to Freiburg where we walked around town and climbed to the top of the church. The view, from the church, was amazing and we were able to see the entire town. During World War II, the town was completely destroyed by the Allied forces. The only building left standing was the church. Now completely rebuilt, the town is beautiful. We also visited Lake Titisee, and enjoyed shopping in gift shops and admiring the frozen lake.

For dinner that night, more family came over to meet us. They brought gifts and we all shared stories. We were thrilled to savor another traditional German dinner. After dinner, we went to Europa Park where we admired a replica of The Colosseum.

Our time in Broggingen was full of meeting family, exploring where the Holzingers came from, and having fun. The hospitality shown to us was immeasurable, and meant more than they will ever know.

Broggingen Road Trip Part III

With Broggingen plugged into our GPS, we began our drive down the Alps. The scenery was absolutely beautiful, with snow covered mountains and small towns. Our drive lead us past a few different castles and monuments that had been carved into the alps.

As our windy road continued, we passed through Italy and into Austria. Once we passed the Austrian border, we pulled over in order to purchase a vignette. While driving through the Italian Alps, we were lucky in that we didn't pass through any tolls. Italy does not require vignettes, though there are tolls roads everywhere!

We continued our drive through Austria and watched the Alps as they vanished behind us. Much of Austria we passed through consisted of farm land. Before we even realized it we had entered Germany and were on the Autobahn! The speed in which cars drive on the Autobahn is insane!! For the most part, we stayed in the right-hand lane and only passed occasionally. Cars that passed us did so at such high speeds, it made our car shake!!

We pulled off the Autobahn to check out Stuttgart, a popular city in Germany. Unfortunately, there was so much traffic that we chose not to attempt and explore the city and chose to get back onto the Autobahn in order to make it to Broggingen before dark.

Our GPS lead us right into the town of Broggingen. When we pulled into the tiny town, I called my cousin Johannes and he met us outside of his home. We could not see much because night had already come. Johannes showed us where to park and lead us into his family's three-story farm house to greet his parents. His mom, Erika, had prepared a traditional German meal for us, Vintners Bread. The warm bread was delicious, covered with cheese, onion and ham. After visiting with Johannes for awhile, we called it a night at 11pm and headed to bed. We all agreed to have breakfast at 9am the next morning.

Broggingen Road Trip Part II

Driving to the Julian Alps, through Slovenia, we passed through many small towns. As we approached the Alps, the snow cover became thicker and the temperature continued to drop. Western Slovenia borders Italy, and the small towns we traveled through had a very Italian feel. These small towns were very reminiscent of the small Italian towns we visited in Sorrento, Italy.

Our GPS lead us further up into the mountains, and the road became narrow as we climbed higher and higher. The drivers coming from the opposite direction continually veered into our lane, we had a few close calls. We were not exactly sure where we were going but hoped the GPS would not steer us wrong. When the Soca River came into view, we were spell-bound. We had never seen water this color, so turquoise. We could not help the urge to pull off of the road, to stop and take pictures. As we were snapping photos, a man drove up and unloaded large water containers from his trunk. He carried the containers down to the river and filled them with the clear, bright water. Before we knew it, there was our hotel, The Penzion Boka. We maneuvered a u-turn so we could pull into the hotel parking lot.

After getting out of the car, we took a few moments to soak in the amazing scenery of the Alps, including Slovenia's tallest waterfall. We couldn't believe how lucky we were, the Soca River which we had traveled across Slovenia to see was directly behind the hotel!

We checked into the Penzion Boka and carried our bags to our room on the 2nd floor. Our room was very nice, we were happily surprised. We chose the Penzion Boka online and had only the reviews to go by. This hotel was the absolute cleanest hotel we have ever stayed in. After setting our bags down and gaining our bearings from driving all day, we walked down to the river.

The banks of the Soca River offered unbelievable views of the surrounding Julian Alps. The crystal clear water was magnificent and flowed straight down from the snow covered Alps. The banks were covered with white river stones, perfectly smooth from rushing water. I remembered how we had tasted the water in Rome, which poured from the Fountain Barcaccia because it was supposed to be the best water...anywhere! I thought that this water must be better, seeing that is was coming straight from the snow capped Alps! So, we each put our hand into the rushing water and took a sip. It tasted very clean...but who knows lol! We spent about a half hour by the water before stopping to enjoy cappuccino in the hotel cafe. The cafe, like the river bank, offered spectacular views of the alps. Before going back up to our room, we checked out the restaurant menu which looked nice for dinner.

We went to dinner at the hotel, planning to order soup. The server informed us that in addition to the menu, a "set menu" of four courses was being offered for only 10 euros per person. We could not resist this delicious deal. Our first course arrived, mushroom soup served in a lovely silver pot which was set in the middle of the table. Dusty served us both a bowl and it was fantastic! Our second course was a salad of greens with two types of beans, corn and cabbage. A gourd oil was placed on the table as well olive oil and balsamic. Our entree was chicken in a green pepper corn sauce ,with potatoes and apples. Finally, for dessert was apple strudel. The meal was delicious and well worth the 10 euros each!

The next morning, we enjoyed a buffet breakfast that was included in our room rate. Breakfast offered a much larger selection than we were expecting. Fortunately we were the first guests in the restaurant that morning. We took our time and enjoyed our breakfast and me my coffee!! Before long we were back on the road, with Broggingen plugged into the GPS.

Broggingen Road Trip Part I

We planned a wonderful road trip to stay with my cousin in Broggingen, Germany. Broggingen is where my Grandpa’s family came from, before moving to CA.

Before going to Germany, we planned to drive across Slovenia and stay the night in the Julian Alps, which are in North West Slovenia near both the Italian and Austrian borders. Immediately after entering Slovenia, the landscape changed. Slovenia, even right inside the Hungarian border, is lush and green. The further west we went, the greener everything became and more mountains appeared. The view from the car was absolutely beautiful.

We planned our first stop to be in Postojna, to visit the longest Karst (landscape formed by the dissolution of soluble rocks) cave in the world. Our GPS lead us directly to the caves and into the parking lot. We strolled through the shopping center which is located outside of the caves. There was absolutely no one around, it felt like a ghost town. We had read online that tours happened every day at 10, 12 and 3pm. It was about 9:59 when we reached the ticket booth. Dusty asked if we were too late for the 10:00 tour. The lady behind the window seemed a bit irritated by our tardiness but informed us that if we hurried we would make the tour. I asked for the student price and she in return asked to see our student IDs. When I told her we didn’t have them on us, she sighed and became more irritated, though allowed us to pay the student price (a bit less than the general admission). She handed us our tickets and told us to hurry up. We scampered towards the cave, but we didn’t know where to go! A janitor, or a sanitation engineer according to Dusty, pointed us in the right direction.

We rushed into the entrance, our tickets were checked, and were appointed our train seats. The train had no ceiling or doors, similar to an amusement park ride. The train took us deeper into the cave system at a speed faster than we were expecting. The cave ceiling appeared to be extremely low and droplets of water hit our heads as we ducked every few seconds. As we traveled further beneath the Earth’s surface, the humidity level rose and the atmosphere felt very still.

After getting off of the train, we started on the trail to walk further into the caves. People began to gather into tour groups. We quickly realized we had joined the Slovenia tour guide by mistake, so we made our way to the English speaking tour guide. He was very knowledgeable and provided great information. We enjoyed taking in the magical surroundings. Lime stone and calcium carbonate replicated wax, slowly dripping from the ceiling. Large rocks, which looked just like ivory, protruded from the cave floor and towered above us.

The tour lasted about an hour and a half. When it finished, we made our way into the gift shop and purchased a couple of post cards. We snapped photos on the way to the car. It was a beautifully crisp day. Before getting back on the road, we ate our packed-lunch in the car. We enjoyed yummy sandwiches, chips and juice. After a half hour lunch break, we plugged the GPS in and headed to the Julian Alps.

Hungarian Jeans

I had my first jean-buying experience in Hungary today. Normally in the states, when a women chooses jeans to try on, she takes them back to the dressing room and comes out with or without a new pair of jeans to purchase. The experience in Hungary is much more personal, and the buyer receives superb customer service.

I not only received help choosing the jeans to try on, but once I was in the dressing room the girl stood just outside ready to be of assistance. I never had to leave the room to pick out different jeans because they were brought to me. In addition, I was looked in on to make sure the jeans fit right. In the final store, the deal was sealed, when the sales woman took it upon herself to put a belt on the jeans (which looked really cute) and told me the belt was included with the sale of the pants!

All-in-all...superb customer service!!...and very cute Hungarian jeans!!

C-17 Landing

We road our bikes to the NATO base and it was a very nice but very cold ride! When we arrived at the base, we showed the military police our badges, scanned them and were allowed in. We had to walk our bikes through the gate but then rode back to Dad's office after that. Riding our bikes through the base was surreal. As we cruised along, military police and soldiers from around the world passed us in jeeps. Old Russian planes, that were abandoned after the Russian occupation, along with bunkers that were used by the Nazi's, run along each side of the road. As we road to the office, we attempted to dodge the patches of ice and snow along the road.

When we arrived to see Dad, we discovered that we had arrived at the perfect time. A C-17 was circling above preparing to land. We walked out to the runway with Dad and watched it land. Following the landing, the Hungarian police and Customs pulled up. We had no idea that a military plane had to get inspected by Customs when it landed, we thought it was very bizarre.

As we road off the base, Customs was inspecting the plane and other vehicles drove up to it in order to empty the cargo. Once we got back into town we walked our bikes. With each step we tried to thaw our toes!! It was so cold! We locked our bikes at the church and went into town for an Authentic Hungarian lunch. It was an incredible day!

FOUND-Diamonds

Along one of the side streets that run into the main walking area, is a little alley in which there is a very small pawn shop. In this pawn shop, if you ask, they go into the back and bring out a tray of REAL diamond rings! So, I stated before that it is impossible to purchase diamond rings in Pápa...I now stand corrected!

**Diamonds**

For the seven months that we have been in Hungary, I have been admiring all of the beautiful jewelry in the jewelry shop windows downtown. Finally, we decided to step into a few shops and take an up-close look at the gorgeous gems! It was then we realized that all of the "diamonds" are fakes!! There is not one diamond in the small town of Pápa! After speaking to a sales woman, who spoke English, we learned that there is not a market for real diamonds in town. The real stones that are offered, a few natural gemstones, are under lock and key. It is amazing to see this huge difference in the jewelry market. Back home, real diamonds fill jewelry cases and shops are crowded with people making purchases. Here, if you desire a diamond, you buy a zirconia.

$$$

The prices of American products in Hungary continue to amaze me! Today, while in the drug store I checked out the makeup selection. A Loreal blush, which is normally $10.95 (according to lorealparisusa.com) costs an amazing $22 here in Hungary! This is only one example of the high prices American goods are sold for.

While some goods are extremely over priced (American brands and electronics especially) everyday necessary items are extremely inexpensive (by American standards). A loaf of fresh bread and a dozen eggs cost an average of $1 each. Flour and milk are even cheaper, at about 50 cents each!!

Bike Riding Over Europe

Bike riding over Europe...well not exactly...but we have been enjoying riding our new bikes all over Pápa! Riding bikes through town has provided us with a new perspective of the town and has lead us to different parts of town that we actually had not yet been to!

We have discovered the train station, numerous factories, and what seems to be the high school (which up to this point we thought was a different building). We had read that the high school was in the old, large, yellow college. There is an old yellow building near Vickis, which we had assumed was the high school, but after riding near the train station and seeing a different large old, yellow building, we now think we have found the high school. It is amazing that we have been here for 7 months and are still discovering new things in town.

This is an appropriate time to discuss what we have learned about the school system in Hungary. Students go to school, Mon through Fri, only for as long as it takes them to finish their work for that day. Once their daily work has been completed, they are free to go home. They are not allowed to return to school that day. Most children, from what we have heard, go home before lunch. Some children go to school for specific subjects such as English, math, etc. and are done for the day. This cleared up a lot of confusion on our part. At all times of the day, we see children walking the streets all through town. We did not understand why they were not in school, we now do.

New Years

New Years is a huge celebration in Hungary! Special decorations, horns, costumes, and wigs are for sale to help bring the new year in. There are also a number of firework stands.

New Years Eve was very loud with fireworks consistently being set off from about 4pm to well after midnight. We could hear people shouting and celebrating. Both of our neighbors had parties and we could the American music coming from inside of their homes. At midnight the sky lit up with a terrific display of fireworks, from all directions.

Traditional Hungarian New Years customs include the following:

Burning a straw man will do away with all things bad from the previous year

Do not sew or do laundry on New Years Day it's bad luck

Wash your face with cold water in the morning for health all year

Kiss your significant other at midnight

These are just a few of the traditions...Hungarians definitely know how to celebrate the New Year!