Hungary!

After a very long and much needed sleep, I woke up with my eye swollen shut! So…I definitely had pink eye! But Maggie and I were well rested and ready to see Budapest! First things first though…my eye. Petra’s mom suggested that I wash out my eye with camaeal tea and that really helped the itching but it was still so red. So before Petra could take us to see the city we went to a pharmacist to see if I could get medicine for my eyes but unfortunately they wouldn’t give me medicine without a prescription. So now what? Luckily, there was a “FirstMed” center right around the corner from the pharmacist and even luckier they spoke English and took me within five minutes! The doctor was very nice and gave me prescriptions that I got filled right away and then we could start our day!

The first stop was The Castle of Buda which overlooked the whole city on the Pest side. I learned a lot of interesting and fun facts like Budapest is split by the river Danube. The hilly side is Buda and the flat side in the Pest side. We took tons of pictures at the top and walked across the famous chain bridge which connects Buda and Pest. It was just a relaxing day and a nice tour of the city. For dinner, Petra’s mom made us a yummy dinner of pasta with sage cabbage soup and we had delicious wine that her dad gave us. After dinner, we headed out on the town to a place called Rumba, where we met up with Petra’s friends from high school. It was great to meet her friends and see what she does for fun!

On Wednesday we woke up to a great big breakfast served by Petra’s mother, of meats, vegetables, bread and great apricot juice which was so good and refreshing! After breakfast we headed out into the city and our first stop was to visit Petra’s school where she went to middle and high school. It was a huge building of many stories. It was much different than my high school so it was really neat to see. After that it was off to the Parliament building which is right along the Danube. We had an appointment to take an English speaking tour through the building. It was a massive building built in the 1900’s and housed the crown jewels and fun stuff like that! It was cool to see! We took tons of pictures outside of the Parliament and then walked around town. We then headed to Hero’s Square which is this huge square in the center of the city and it has statues of all of the hero’s in Hungarian history. We hung out there for awhile and then took the bus back to Petra’s house. For dinner that night we had a very yummy duck with fruit!

On Friday morning bright and early we went to Margaret Island, which is this little island off of the center of the town which has no cars. Its like a little park with pools and fountains and you can rent bikes or electric cars to ride around the island. We rented the electric car which was so funny. All three of us squeezed into the little car and we drove around the island. It was so much fun! We had tons of laughs as we drove all around and of course took pictures. Then Petra’s dad took us to the Citadel which was at the very top of the Buda side. Its at the top where their statue of Liberty is and there is a view of the entire city which was so beautiful! Then we headed to the mall to meet one of Petra’s best friends and hung out with her for awhile. Then we stopped on at Petra’s grandparent’s house to say hi. They are so cute! After that Petra’s parents took us to their lake house in Balatonfured on Lake Balaton or always called the Hungarian Sea. It was soooo beautiful!! The weather was a little rainy but we walked all around the lake and looked in the little shops. We had of course another delicious dinner of packed potatoes, which might have been my favorite dinner so far!

On Saturday, we got up and took the bikes out and road them all around the lake up to this town called Tihany which had an old monastery at the top and a beautiful view of Lake Balaton. Lake Balaton is also known as the Hungarian sea. We admired the view for awhile and then took a ferry to Szantod which is another little town on the lake. After getting there, a storm rolled in so we hung out for awhile and took a break while it passed. Then it was back on the ferry because we had to ride our bikes all the way back. Man…were we sore from riding those bikes! And did our butts hurt the next day!! But it was a really fun day and we got to see the beautiful country side! On the way back we stopped at a little fair that they were having along the lake. Then we headed back and it was time for Petra’s dad’s specialty which was a stew and her grandma’s apple strudel! Again it was delicious!
On Sunday it was time to go back to Petra’s house in Budapest. On our way home we stopped for lunch at Petra’s grandparents. They are two of the cutest, most friendly people I’ve ever met! They were so hospitable and welcoming! For lunch we had paprika rabbit and crepes with cottage cheese! And her grandpa’s homemade wine! Of course it was so yummy! I was so happy that we got to meet them! Her grandpa showed us his massive garden and read us some poems that he wrote! I really enjoyed meeting them and getting to experience their life. Once it was back to Petra’s Budapest house, Maggie and I had to pack up our stuff because we were leaving bright and early.

I really had the greatest time in Budapest! I was so glad I got to experience Petra’s life in Hungary! Maggie and I got to do her life thing for five whole days and it was so cool! We are so used to her doing what we are used to in the United States and it was awesome for us to do what she is used too. For one of the first times, I felt so foreign because the cultural was so different and I could not understand any of the language! Petra’s parents could not have been any nicer or welcoming to us and they truly showed us an amazing cultural experience that I will never forget!!!

Visiting Petra in Hungary! May 26-June 1, 2009