Glenn and I had 3 uninterrupted weeks in Budapest and they were soooo nice. The break from traveling was very restful, and we got a lot of things done, such as getting new glasses. These are NOT them, but these are what I had to wear for the man to measure my face and eyes so the manufacturer of the lenses would know where to put the line on my bifocals! Only kidding. I got progressive lenses so there's no visible line.
Glenn and I went into town one day to drop off our application for Kazakhstan visas for an upcoming trip. We had a few minutes to kill so we walked around a little and I took some pictures of things that still surprise and delight me!
European ice cream display freezers beat Baskin Robbins freezers hands down!
The buildings are beautiful! The flowers are equally so!
The buildings are very ornate, and when the sun shines on one that has been recently pressure-washed, it is a sight to behold!
The ferris wheel is a new addition to the Budapest skyline. (There's one in Vienna so does that make us copy cats?)
One day I took the train to Vienna to spend a day and night with my friend, Kellye. We enjoyed a couple of Starbucks' frappacinos and walking around the downtown area. We came across an American high school choir singing in Stephensplatz. They were amazing, even though we didn't recognize any of their songs.
While visiting the ladies room, I came across this wonderful "No touch" button that opens the door to let you out of the bathroom without touching anything. It's got an electric eyes so you just wave your hand in front of the button and it opens the door! The things some folks think of these days are awesome!
At the end of our 3 weeks, Glenn and I went to Greece for a "retreat" for those of us who work in member care, medical support and children's education. We actually stayed on Evia Island, about an hour and a half (over a bridge) from Athens. It was a lot of fun and we enjoyed getting to know the folks who were not on the member care team as much as we enjoyed being with our team members!
On our free day, we took a trip into Athens to visit the Acropolis and Mars Hill. The Acropolis, built in 5 B.C., is the "Sacred Rock" of Athens and is the most important site in the city. It is one of the most recognizable monuments of the world, a real tribute to ancient Greek culture. Mars Hill (also called the Areopagus) is a marble hill just a stone's throw from the Acropolis, the location of the apostle Paul's famous speech about the "unknown God". (Acts 17)
The photo above is taken from Mars Hill. It was so hot that I decided to skip the climb up the Acropolis, and waited on a bench under a shade tree for our group to descend. (I'd already been to the top of the Acropolis on a previous visit.)
One of the best things about our 5 days in Greece was being able to see Brian, a friend from Marietta! He grew up at FBCM, but is now on staff at another nearby church. He comes out several times a year to help us at cluster meetings with member care appointments for our personnel. At this retreat our member care team didn't DO member care appointments; Instead, Glenn invited counselors like Brian to meet with all of us (including the member care team)! We got to see what it was like to be on the other side of the table!
Thanks, Brian!
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