Believe it or not, the flag belongs to Istvan!!! He used to live in the U.S. and brought it back to Hungary when he returned 3 years ago. It was a nice addition to our decorations!
Danube River overflows
While we were in Greece, Budapest was deluged with much needed rain but it was heavier than we've ever seen here before. Gravel from our yard was washed out into the street and there was standing water everywhere in town.
In addition to the rain, the Danube River also received water from countries to the north causing the water to overflow its' banks, covering the road that runs along the river. The cruise ships that line the river bank one after another have been closed for business for over a week because the water is covering their walkways!
We've had a busy week entertaining Barbara and walking off all the homemade ice cream we've been making. On Wednesday, we went into town to do some sightseeing and Barbara wore her pedometer to see how far we walked. The grand total was 11.66 miles!
One day this week while Glenn was bike riding with Istvan (in training for a longer bike ride this coming week-more about that later), Barbara and I went into town to Margaret Island to get some fun exercise. We decided to exercise some other muscles and ride across the island. It was a lot of fun, and it was nice to get off our feet for a change!
Goofin' off in the guard's room
On Thursday we took the train to Vienna for the day. Vienna is only 2 1/2 hours away so we decided it would be a shame for Barbara to be so close to Vienna and not get to see it. We caught the 8 pm train back to Budapest, and we were so exhausted that it was all we could do to crawl into our beds that night!
We went to Schonbrunn Palace early in the day and spent a large portion of our time there because it is soooooo HUGE! This is only part of the palace as you walk into the front gated area.
As you walk around to the back of the Palace, this is the view you see of the "backyard". The concrete you see in the middle of the picture is a large water fountain. If you are a faithful follower of our blog, you may recall a picture of me standing in front of the fountain where I was spouting water.
This is the view looking back at the Palace from on top of the hill in the backyard. It was quite a hike up the hill and it was pretty hot, but the view was well worth it! What an awesome flower garden too!
Glenn gets hot and takes off his pants (legs)
Dried fruits and candies in the market
We strolled through the open-air market and Glenn bought some wasabi peanuts to snack on. We ate lunch in the market at a little cafe. Glenn and I had wiener schnitzel (fried veal patty) and french fries with a side salad, and Barbara had sausage and sour kraut. Both meals were typically Austrian and very delicious.
The fruit looked so succulent but we didn't want to have to carry it around all day in our backpacks.
The tourists were out en masse
I enjoy the street artists
Some are goofier than others
Barbara enjoys talking with the men selling tickets to concerts
Happy Birthday, Karen!
On Friday we celebrated Karen's birthday, which was actually 2 weeks ago, but with AGM and all that is required to be ready to go, we postponed the celebration until this week. A couple of the ladies on this side of town met for lunch at a Hungarian restaurant in the suburb of Diosd, not far from our house. Barbara and I had cold fruit soup and a salad, and we enjoyed both of them very much!
Barbara leaves on Monday to return to the States and Glenn leaves the same day to go on a biking/camping trip with Istvan for 2-3 days. They are going to ride bikes around Lake Balaton which is 210 miles. Glenn has been training for the past couple of days by riding with Istvan 2-3 hours at a time. Lake Balaton is the largest lake in Europe and is a major resort area for Hungarians and Europeans alike. Glenn recently bought a bike from Istvan's sister for $20, but it needed a spare inner tube, a better seat, new handle bars, grips for the handle bars, a water bottle, streamers, flappers for the spokes, and saddle bags for carrying his camping equipment which included buying a new tent, an inflatable pillow, and a new sleeping bag. I think he will have a good time and I know I will too! I have a thousand emails that need to be written, including our newsletter so I will be busy myself.
In other news, our son Chris and his wife Kate are closing on their house this Thursday so we would appreciate your prayers for them, that all will go smoothly and without mishap. They are busy tieing up loose ends and saying good-bye to friends and family, and will be arriving in New Jersey on Saturday, July 18th. They will be living with Kate's grandmother while he goes to school to become a physician's assistant.
Hope your summer is going well!
3 comments:
Great post, Mom! I love Istvan's flag - too cool. Looks like y'all had a great visit and I'm so glad you were able to spend time with Barbara. What a fun trip!
Have a great ride, Dad! Can't wait to hear about it!
streamers and flappers, huh? sounds like glenn's good to go!
Brings back wonderful memories. Thanks Cile...
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