BUDAPEST! (Are you Hungary?)

A long time ago in a land far, far away- a young sister missionary sat at a desk in the Mission Office in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala overlooking a dusty street where young boys were playing soccer. This missionary was reading a letter from one of her favorite friends. This friend was telling the missionary about her own mission call to Budapest Hungary. I was that young missionary and I was still a new missionary, struggling with a foreign language and trying to appreciate a new culture. I was almost green with envy as my friend was heading to eastern Europe where I had dreamed of going and working in orphanages! (To add salt to the wound- she also told me that she was dating the ONE boy that I would have given a couple of teeth to have dated!) At the time, I knew that I was where the Lord wanted me and now I can absolutely see the truthfulness of that! If I never went to Guatemala, I might never have met the man who is now my husband and definitely would not be where I am today.

I am thrilled that I had the opportunity to go to Budapest last weekend with my favorite people. We took Kailey's good friend Kirsten with us and had a wonderful time!


Shelby and Kirsten with the snowgirl they built.


Kailey and Madi in the pool.


A picture of Claire (that Jake just couldn't resist jumping into...) at the pool.


Claire and Danny


The water was so nice and warm! It was a swim through pool- where you could go through a sliding glass door to the pool outside.


Jake didn't really have time for a picture- but loved the steamy pool.


We had to see Budapest as well. This is in front of the eternal flame, near the Parliament.


The kids by the Parliament Building. It is a gorgeous building. (365 towers and 300+ rooms- Did you know that Hungary lost 2/3 of it's land after WWI?)


It is equally beautiful inside- we saw the crown and scepter (plus the changing of the guard) and this is the room where the members of Parliament meet.


Shelby with the Parliament building. Our tour of Budapest was a long one and we enjoyed swimming so much in the morning that we didn't have enough time to eat before the tour. (The kids thought they were starving in Hungary!)


So, the kids didn't really want to listen (plus although the Parliament building was interesting- it wasn't thrilling for the kids). After we left the Parliament, we met up with another tour group and the tour guide had to say everything in both English and German. (This may be the quickest way to lose your short audience in a very short amount of time!)


This is what the kids did instead of listening to the tour guide.


Here we are at Heroe's Square.


Jake and Madi with the St. Matthias Church in the background. (By this point we had left the tour and had a nice meal at a little cafe. The hot chocolate was lovely!- We also stopped at a little grocery store and stocked up on snacks.)

The real reason why we went to Budapest was the AQUALAND Resort. It is the largest indoor waterpark in Europe. We stayed in the Ramada Resort and had great little apartments that were very nice and the waterpark was connected to our hotel.

Emery on a slide. They had great stuff for all the different age groups.


Claire on the rainbow slide.


Claire in the wave pool.


It looks more like Thailand than Hungary.


Shelby on one of her favorite slides.


What a nice sister! Claire helps Emery get her towel adjusted. (Sorry about the view in the background. Ewww.)


I had to smile a bit. I was definitely the woman with the most clothes on. Most women wear bikinis whether their bodies look good in them or not. Danny felt like he fit right in with the "Hungarian Bellies." (I'm glad he wears trunks and not a speedo. Double ewww.)


Jake won the award for most covered for men and boys.


Kirsten, Shelby, Kailey, Emery, Madison, Jake, and Claire.


Madison and Emery totally enjoyed the crepe with cocoa.


A vacation is not a true vacation without ice cream. Jake, Kirsten, Kailey, Claire and Shelby enjoy their Magnum bars.

After swimming, we went into the city for dinner and a little bit of shopping. Typical for us- instead of Hungarian- we found a nice little italian restaurant.

Madi really enjoyed her italian hot chocolate. (It is thick and super chocolaty and I love it too!)


The Russian/ Hungarian (?) Stacking dolls- aren't they cute? (It was in this store that Emery got her hand stuck in the glass door. OUCH!)


We went to church on Sunday and even found a congregation that held their services in English! (We met a very nice family who are in Hungary with the U.S. Embassy.)
Kirsten was very sweet and took our family photos.


A view of the Chain Bridge from the tunnel on the Buda side.


This is the Chain Bridge that crosses the Danube. You are looking at the Pest side.


Kailey took some fun photos as we were driving by. Budapest is a very pretty city during the day but it is absolutely gorgeous at night. (Sorry we don't have a picture to share of that.)


The sky was blue on Sunday! You can see Gellert Hill and the Liberty (or Freedom) Statue. (FYI- it was erected in 1947 to remember how the Soviets saved Hungary from the Nazis.)


The Oktagon- the area where we had our final meal in Budapest. (T.G.I.Friday's- not a real traditional Hungarian establishment...)

Thanks for the great memories Budapest!