Budapest

What a weekend we had! We toured all over Budapest in 2 days. The kids and I counted 10 types of transportation that we tried: foot, taxi, train, tram, funicular, cog railway, children's railway (operated by children!), chair lift, bus, and subway. Whew!


see more Budapest photos here:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=18565&id=1652978451&l=0846b49c1a

Hanging out in Debrecen

The kids and I are getting the hang of getting around Debrecen, at least on foot and with public transport! Our favorite past time seems to be feeding the pigeons in the city center and getting ice cream. :)

We're learning some lessons along the way, though, like when you are in a public restroom, take some toilet paper at the entrance BEFORE you go into the stall. (Learned that one the hard way)

And, just because you have room for 9 punches on your tram card, does not mean you can ride 9 times on that one ticket! (We learned that from one of Dave's colleagues, luckily not from the conductor).

Nathan and Kate's Hungarian Adventure - part 2

Today Nathan decided to be the film-maker while Kate is your tour guide....

Nathan and Kate's Hungarian Adventure - part 1

Nathan and Kate are documenting their summer through videos! They actually censored some of these to cut down the time, but I thought they were adorable as is. So, here's a few from Nathan in their uncensored version:

Exploring Debrecen

We had a good first weekend in Debrecen. The kids love the fountains and all the action in the city center - just a few minutes' walk from our apartment. We took the tram (with tickets bought by yours truly - all in Hungarian!) to the "Great Forest" and got in a paddleboat ride before a big thunderstorm. No worries though - we ducked in to a restaurant for an early Father's Day celebration. They gave us blankets to wrap up in! Sunday we checked out Debrecen's indoor aquaticum - fun waterslides for the kids and warm "theraputic" water for the grown ups!

Hungary - the first few days

We made it! Impressions of Hungary in our first few days:

• A fun flight on British Airways with "gifts" - socks, a sleeping mask, and a tiny toothbrush and toothpaste. The kids we so excited about all of their goodies!
  
• A cozy apartment - plenty of room for the 4 of us.
• Jet lag - the kids and I had a "party" last night at 2:00 a.m. and now they are still crashed out at 10:00 a.m. We'll get on this time zone eventually.
  
• Lots of graffiti!
• Tall, concrete buildings that remind me of their communist days.
• The security guard at National Instruments blabbering to me in Hungarian to tell me that I couldn't go in. Thank goodness for an NI employee coming out to translate - we were only there to pick up the car. :)
  
• Being totally overwhelmed in the Hungarian grocery store. We found some things to eat, but it's going to take some time to figure out how to cook here.
• Nathan finding Kinder Eggs (chocolate eggs with a toy inside - Dave usually brings these home as a treat for the kids) at the corner store in less than 30 seconds. Here's a kid who knows how to find the good stuff!
• Beautiful weather - warm but the evenings are incredible. The photo is of us enjoying "people watching" at the local beer garden.
  
• Hungarians sternly staring at us - I'm sure we must stick out.
  

We're off!

Our trip to Debrecen, Hungary is finally here! Our suitcases are stuffed and we're decked out with passport carriers and comfy shoes. The total transit time from Austin, TX to Debrecen, Hungary is 24 hours door to door, so don't expect us to be too perky after we arrive on Thursday, June 18, but we promise to update y'all frequently on our adventures. We are counting on all of you to keep us company too, so email us, Facebook us or Skype us! You can reach us on our cell phones too, but that's kind of expensive so use those those sparingly. Szia!