Boxes, Balaton and Language lessons

Hi all!

Our first few weeks of living in Budapest were very exciting... on the weekends! I was still trying to get in to the groove of not having 3 jobs and having to be somewhere every second. I’m still not sure I’ve figured it out. ;) We were lucky enough to be able to ship some things from the states that we couldn’t fit in to our luggage. Unpacking those boxes was almost like Christmas! We hadn’t seen our things for 3 weeks and had forgotten that we had even packed some of it!

We also had our first Hungarian lesson during this time period. All I can really say is... WOW! Our first lesson was easy-peasy! We learned numbers, colors and the alphabet. Easy enough right? WRONG! I think they teach you the easiest stuff on the first lesson to boost your confidence. Then they start to teach you how to conjugate and they hope you won’t lose your mind in the process! Brian and I started learning together once a week and I started taking a private lesson once a week since, well, I had a lot of time on my hands.

Brian and I got to meet up with our friend Daniel. Remember the one we met on the train going to Italy? Well he was going to Lake Balaton. We met up with him at a restaurant one night to get to know him. He was officially our first friend in Budapest and has been awesome! It’s always a funny story to tell other people how we met him. :) Brian also learned that night that just because it looks like a slice of potato, doesn’t mean it isn’t a slice of raw ginger... ew.

After a few days of wondering what to do with myself I decided to register for some expat websites and chat groups on Facebook. They have seriously been life savers! Anytime I have a question about anything I can go on there and another expat living in Hungary has a way to help. That’s actually how I got my first job here in Budapest. I joined a chat group on Facebook along with Brian. A Hungarian lady contacted him asking if I would possibly be interested in teaching her daughter English. We were able to meet up and she became our second friend in Budapest! Her name is Ildiko and her beautiful daughter’s name is Mira. Ildi was looking for someone to come and speak English to her and to Mira, sing English songs and play games so Mira could become used to the language. I started going once a week for an hour or two. I’ve spent the last few years working with many elderly patients and clients. It is so much fun spending time with a baby. Ildi has been wonderful as well! She always has great tips on where I can go to find the things I need or how to get things done efficiently in Budapest.

One weekend Brian and I decide to check out one of the very famous “bath houses”. It’s more of a spa/water park. Budapest is famous for it’s naturally occurring thermal water. There are many bath houses around the city that harness that natural water and use them in pools of various sizes and temperatures. We went to the largest which is called Szechenyi. It’s located in the middle of the city park and it is absolutely beautiful. There are 3 outdoor pools, numerous indoor pools and saunas. It was a nice warm day when we went so we spent our whole day in one of the outdoor pools. It was so relaxing and we heard more English being spoken there than Hungarian!

We also went on our own walking tour of the Jewish Quarter of Budapest one Sunday. I got a few books about Budapest before we moved here (Thank you Lindsey and Terri). One of which had some walking tours and it included information of each stop. The Jewish quarter of the city is actually one of the best places to get excellent Hungarian food for a decent price. A couple of the ruin pubs are also located in this area. It was really nice to discover a part of Budapest that we probably wouldn’t have seen otherwise. We saw 3 different synagogues, including the fifth largest synagogue in the world! We then decided to get some dinner before heading home. MMMmmmmm goulash!

Brian had his first 3 day weekend the weekend of June 11th. So we decided to check out Balaton and see for ourselves what all the Europeans already knew! It was wonderful! Balaton is a lake located about an hour and a half drive from Budapest. We stayed in Siofok but there are many cities all around the lake, each with their own character. We drove out that Saturday and met with Ildi and her husband Rudi for lunch. They have a house in a quiet little town on the lake. We had some wonderful food and even better conversation. Brian and I then went and checked in to our hotel in Siofok which was only about a 20 minute drive and right on the beach! We spent the rest of that afternoon lounging on the private beach of the hotel. Now I have to mention the the “beaches” on Balaton are not the beaches of California. The are mostly grassy along the southern shore and rocky along the northern shore. Also, the lake is very shallow for a long way out. Which means that it is also very warm! If you know me you know I hate cold water. Love beaches, hate cold water. So this lake is the most perfect place for me! Warm fresh water, sandy bottom, no sea urchins to step on. It is heaven! That night Brian and I had some dinner at a place right by our hotel and then decided to wander. We found a karaoke bar! I’m not much of a singer but I love to watch karaoke! We had a great time! They were singing tons of English songs until about 11pm. Then most of the requests were for Hungarian songs and we quickly realized that our lessons would not be as easy as egy, ketto, harom (one, two, three). :) The next day we spent on the beach! It was wonderful! We had some pizza for lunch and then rented a little paddle boat with a slide for an hour. We even took a nap on the beach. I loved every minute of it! For dinner that night Brian and I had sushi. I’m a sushi nut but I haven’t been able to find any in Europe that live up to the high standards of my faves which include Tanuki’s, Ra and Mido. That’s definitely something I will be having when we are visiting AZ for the holidays! The next day we wandered around a bit to explore the city of Siofok. They were having a festival of some sort where Candi met a llama! Well, we’re pretty sure it was a llama! Check out the pictures! We made it home in one piece and it was a great weekend.

The following week included lots of unpacking, repacking and getting ready for Barcelona! Stay tuned for that blog! We had so much fun I can’t even explain it all through writing! Thanks for reading!

XO,
Steph

Sorry

I have to write an apology to those of you who check my blog. I have clearly done a terrible job at keeping up with posting on a regular basis. I have been writing a little each day and I am almost finished with 2 posts including our trip to Barcelona. My goal is to get caught up (yikes) before we leave for Arizona on the 17th. That will of course involve lots of writing and posting so please don't give up on me yet! I will be doing my best to get these next posts up quickly so check back. Thank you so much for caring and I hope I don't disappoint you all any more! :)

xoxo,
Steph