In today's episode I will share the details of our time in Budapest. And here we go...
To our great advantage, and pleasure, a dear, dear family that Spencer knew in Romania, has since returned to their home country of Hungary, and so we contacted them to let them know we'd be in Budapest and we'd love to see them, if it was convenient for them.
Convenient or not (surely not, but they'd never say it), they transformed into the House of Rusz Bed and Breakfast/Travel and Tour Guide Company. The picked us up from the train station, fed us a lunch fit for a king, (mmm, chicken Paprikash), and then started our sight-seeing tour. After years of hearing of Reka, Timea, and Norbert, it was so fun to finally meet them. Reka made sure I was always bundled up and never left behind :), Timea provided the itinerary and historical information, and Norbi provided a little manliness for Spencer to not feel too left out :) Not that he really needed to feel left out, Reka made sure he felt like a king!
Here are some of the wonders of what Spencer and I have decided is the most romantic city in the world:
Did I mention in Vienna I was reeeeeally tired? Well, I was, a little. So I missed most of the lovely country-side as we trained from Austria to Hungary, but the sleep was so dreamy!
We suddenly felt we were not in (Ar)kansas anymore, when we arrived in Budapest. I don't think we were expecting it to feel so foreign! I think the thing about Hungary is that we get used to being able to get by without knowing French, German, Italian, etc., since if you know English you have a sense for at least some of the roots of the words, and if you see the word written, you can kind of figure it out, plus so many people speak at least a little English. So you can get by as a tourist most places in Europe. But as far as I know, Hungarian isn't related to any other language and I'm pretty sure they just use the entire alphabet in different scramblings for each written word. Those people must be SMRT. Anyway, it was impossible. Thank GOODNESS for our hosts!
First thing, they took us back to their apartment to feed us a lunch for royalty! This is Reka (getting into the fridge) and Timea (at the sink) preparring our Chicken Paprikash and some yummy soup, corn, etc.
After lunch we jumped on the bus and started our tour. This is called "Hero Square" and if you look closely you can see that each set of columns houses a statue of a notable King. Timea had studied the history of each king in the square and thoroughly educated us. Spencer and I are kind of nerds for things like that. We couldn't have done better if we had paid for a tour, I KNOW that.
This is maybe the national library? Hmm, don't remember. But there are buildings everywhere you look that have murals and columns and are rich with history hundreds of years older than our oldest buildings. It's crazy!
After taking us to the mission-home/branch meetinghouse to "freshen up" a bit, we headed towards Castle Hill. And that's literal. Castles on a big hill. Over looking the river that separates Buda from Pesta. Wowza. It was breathtaking.
This bridge crosses the river and is lit up at night by hundreds of lights. The Rusz's timed our tour perfectly so that we would come to the bridge just as the sun set and the lights came on. It was magical. There's a legend about those lions that guard the bridge. Something about the artist saying that if anybody could find an imperfection they could have something awesome. Oh, man, my story telling is becoming an awful lot like my joke telling.
We stopped and took a picture of another couple who was trying to take this picture themselves. It was so picturesque that spencer and I thought we'd try it. It looks like it worked better with a tiny little part-Asian with not so many layers and with her hair done. Guess I was not factoring that in when I imagined how perfect this picture was going to be. It was still a peftect moment.
It was pretty dang cold. Everybody was lending me their layers because I'm a baby.
After we crossed the bridge we walked along a lovely little street until we found a little "Piano Bar" restaurant. It was cozy and there really was a pianist playing for us. We sat down to order and then they told us that they don't take credit cards. Wha?!? So Spencer and Timi ran to the nearest ATM and accidently pushed the wrong button and got less cash than he planned. He realized it but figured it would be enough, having checked the prices. Well, when he got back he realized he had unknowingly looked at the prices of only the appetizers and that he was not going to have enough cash. But we were already ordering so what could he do? It was getting cold and late and so he just hoped that we would have enough. In the end, we of course didn't. Spencer had to borrow money from Norbi and Timi (which we paid back, sheepishly) and use a $10 US to tip, which really made Norbi mad. In the end, it was a lovely meal with even more lovely company so it was all good.
Spencer was excited to see that a couple of the Cliff and April Clive family Christmas Newsletters were permanent decorations in Reka's and Norbi's Room/living room.
That night we went back and spent the night in their apartment. Timea gave up her bed and planned to sleep in the same room as Norbi and her Mom, but she didn't really sleep much, as she had postponed her preparations for a big test in the morning so that she could show us her town.
Spencer had committed to take me on a "date" and have some alone time even though we were going to be with mission friends for a great deal of this trip. So the next morning we ventured off alone, much to the disapproval of our tour guide, who didn't think we'd make it on our own and insisted it was "impossibly" expensive. One of the things we wanted to do most in Budapest was the Bathhouses.
After our super romantic date (and after Timea's test) we met back up with Reka and Timi and went to see the Parliament building and instead saw a line from there to here. So we tried our best to schmooze our way in, but all the tours were booked until long after our train was supposed to leave, so we had to say farewell to that idea. But this garden across the way was worth seeing. This is Cadence's favorite picture from our trip:
We headed over to the famous Cathedral (I can't even remember what it's called now. Dang it.) Timi was feeling a little stressed and needed some time alone with her chinese food, so Reka and Spencer and I went to the cathedral and gave her some decompression time :)
This one actually had an elevator, which we forced Reka to take with us. And which is why I enjoyed this vista more than most, possibly :)
I didn't mean to take a picture of "two shining domes" (Spencer's words, not mine), but here it is. Pretty regal, eh?
This cathedral was truly impressive. The giant red marble columns whispered the devotion and blood, sweat, and tears that were given to erect a symbol of dedication to Christ.
Hey there, conference center, found a friend for you:
Reka, though a member of our church, loves this place and feels a special warmth and reverence there. I thought this picture of Spencer and Reka in such a place was an appropriate ending to our Budapest story.
After the cathedral, Reka and Timea took us to the train station, with much fear and worry that we would never make it through the rest of Hungary without them. I felt the same way. It was nerve-wracking to say good bye to them and then wonder how in the world to even know if we were getting on the right train, and then how to transfer trains between there and Romania, with no Hungarian guides. We were so grateful for all the ways they opened their home to us, made precious time for us, fed us, guided us, and entertained us. What a wonderful family. There is no tourism as valuable as being in the home of a native and hearing and seeing from their end.
And then off we were, on our own.
I have to admit I was extremely nervous when it got time to transfer and it was late at night, it was raining, we were hungry, we were still in Hungary, and we weren't sure where to stand or how to not miss our next train. But the Lord was looking out for us, and helped us find the ONE passenger who spoke Hungarian and Romanian. She sat with us and made sure we got off at the right time, helped us order food at the tiny little stand at the station, and made sure we got on the next train. Glad that our next stop would be were people speak Romanian, we settled in, and relaxed a little, until the border patrol asked to look at our Passports. This is normal, of course, but when you are in Eastern Europe and you've seen those movies about innocent tourists being abused and taken and confused and used by border patrol who speak some language they don't understand.... I was concerned when they rudely took our passports away somewhere where I couldn't see. And then when they took my HUSBAND somewhere where I couldn't see. I knew they were in the connecting area of the two cars, so I kept my eyes and ears completely tuned to that door. Well, obviously nothing happened. They just asked him questions in Romanian about our stay and were of course brusque and not polite but nobody got detained or anything.
And then we made it to Romania!!
And that is another installment. Thanks for tuning in!
