The city from the top of a Zikurat

Zsolti enjoyes getting on all the different kind of public transportation in the city.
Capital of Hungary, Budapest is divided into 2 parts by River Danube and 11 bridges connects the two parts together. ( The latest one was just barely built, even new for me.)
The development of the city is very much visible in the souther region of the city where the new National Theather stands.
2 years ago the glass buildings behind Zsolti were not there yet.

Lake day

Finally the weather became hotter... so the natural waters became little warmer too. This summer first we could visit one of our favorite place with my friend Elvira.
Zsolti enjoyed splashing too. He even found a little friend for today.

Grill party with friends

Most of my friends became moms and dads through the years. Now some of us got together for a fast grill party. It is not easy to catch up 2 years. :)

The rainy days continue...

My poor brother was not lucky this year. He spent his only one week holiday for the year, at the inlaws house mostly because of the rainy, stormy weather. Good thing that he loves his motherinlaw who cooks wonderful dishes for him. Not even his motherinlaw cooks great but his fatherinlaw is an excellent cook too.
We were lucky to enjoy some of their foods too.

Trip to the parents of my sisterinlaw

I got a kind invitiation from the parents of my sisterinlaw 2 years ago after I moved to the US. Now we could visit them on the other side of the country. The weather was very sad when we left Budapest, so we could only hope the rain will stop by the time we got to our destination.
By the time we arrive, the little kids were already hungry so they started the family lunch.
Today Zsolti had to deal with 5 girls on that day.

A very very long time friend of mine

In a real friendship there is one thing wonderful... you can keep continue even after 5 or 10 years just like you saw each other last night.
Judit is a friend like that. We grew up together and spent lot of time together, now our lives sail different ways but we still like to know how is everything. It was a wonderful night we spent together I had a chance to recall my memories about John and how we got together. :) While we shared stories the rain washed the streets of Budapest.

Pusztavacs - In the middle of the country

Some of our relatives lives in the middle of the country. The country was torn apart by the decision after the war Hungary lost 2/3rd of its territory. In 1960 geographist located the middle of the country and that was the time when Pusztavacs became famous.

In 1978 an architect created a monument for the exact location close to the village. In the 80's there were Peace festivals there, I participated in some of them. We found old photos about one of the festival. This tradition stopped in 1985 because lack of organization

Wonder of a moment

On the way home I saw breathtaking scenes from the train...

Visiting the sister of my mother

Zsolti was not yet born when I visited the sister of my mother the last time.
We dont even know why we thought they live so far - it is only an hour with a train - so my mother decided she will visit them more often from this time on.
The youngest daughter is already 12 years old. She helped with our bags, it was a relief.
In the countryside it was a habit to built a house beside the older relatives. That is visible on the picture. For some reason both my brother and me love this old kind of porch.


















The day we arrived was really hot so it was refreshing for the youngsters to splash in the plastic pool. I actually enjoyed simply staying in the shade.

















It was a coincidence that we found the whole family at home, that was the reason they invited us for this weekend so we can enjoy their company. One thing we did not know about, my mother's sister and her husband celebrated their 22nd anniversary. 22 years ago my mother was the witness for her sister that is why she held the cake for them on the picture. Their kids bought the cake for their parents as a surprise, it was a nice moment.

Special day of my mother

Early in the morning Zsolti and me left the house for doing some rounds... getting ready for the birthday of my mother.
I already knew where I would like to buy the cake for her but I needed to get some administration done before getting the cake.
The heart of the city, Downtown is mostly filled with offices and banks. That is where we were heading to when we passed by one of our famous sight the Chain Bridge...
During the night is it nicely lit... this is how it looks during the day... the royal castle is visible in the background.
I got very lucky because I found a very good cake for my mom. We had a nice lunch together and after we tried to play with one of her gifts, UNO cards. I did not know I can buy this card in Hungary. It seems things change a little... so Zsolti tried to teach my mom how to play UNO. Heni with her 4 years did not let us play though. :)
















Finally when our stomach was ready my mom got her cake for her 50's birthday. Heni enjoyed the cake the most. She started to dig the cherries out with her little hands. In few seconds she had cream all over on her. :)

Big adventure on the way home

I promised little Heni she can come with us on adventures... today we managed to get into a real big adventure.
It was not raining when we left the house but on the previous days there were raining... so we were prepared for rain.
Heni got friends with that big dog although every time the dog turned she started to run away.

On the way home we got into a huge storm and within minutes the rain collected on the streets so the public transportation stopped... the electric trolley could not pass the tunnel which was filled with water...
Little Heni was laughing and enjoyed the adventure with us.

Liget time

The early waking was very hard for Zsolti so as soon as we got back from my father he went immediately back to bed. Suprisingly even with Heni's chatting and singing he did not wake up till noon.
In the afternoon the weather was pleseant so I decided to bring the kids out to the fresh air.
This time they seemed to get along quite well as the photos shows.

Visiting my father

Changing of our plans and mostly the weather made it possible to fit an other trip to our schedule.
Around 3 in the afternoon the decision was made we are going to visit my father today. The trip was a little adventurous as the train stop is few miles away from the village he lives in and the bus connections are not too good...
We were blessed with a good weather, even the sun was peeking on us.
After an hour walk we arrived, shortly we took another walk around the village.
Long time ago I was a postman in that village so I knew the people who live there quite good.
I visited unexpectedly my old friend who was home! and she was very happy to see us.
After solving some of my father's computer program we spent the night in his residence and left early in the morning.

Little "ex-fiancée"

As much as the weekend was hot, today is suprisingly really chilly thanks to the rain all night and not it seems all day. I actually enjoy this weather although it is not easy to travel on public transportation in this weather with long skirts like mine. I already forgot these "pleasures".
Todays program was visiting Zsolti's kindergarten "fiancée". She is the same playful girl only at least a head taller (just like Zsolti). Few months ago her sister was born so now she should be the responsible older sister but it is not easy to live up to such tasks at the age of 7.

Zsolti and the Badminton

From the time we got to Fót ( little city not too far from Budapest) where Viki and her family lives Zsolti was around the badminton set... then suddenly he decided he is going to play... just right after lunch... he tried to recruit someone... but we all told him wait till 4 because the sun is burning plus our stomach was not ready for the challange. First Viki's mother and me tried to teach him how to play... later he was hunting down all of us to play... and this is how he got better and better.

After our last day I took a fast group photo with friends and our hosts. The hardest part is to get Zsolti look into the camera... very goofy.

Knight adventures

On the fourth day of our stay we got to visit an old city with an old castle. The city was filled with life as this was the weekend of the knight games.
The very first event of the day is the march of the participants in costumes. Some of them arrived from different countries in Europe and they enjoy the parade as much as all the Hungarians do.
















The most important event of the day is the fight of the knights. Most of the crowd bought tickets for the show even though the stadium is not covered so it is very trying to stand on the sun even for the audience. On the long main road there is a big craft market with all kind of goodies for kids and adults. Zsolti was all the stands. Good thing Viki and her sister was in yellow and orange I could easily spot them in the crowd but Zsolti was in grey and black... that is a little difficult to find.

4 days with Zsolti's Godmother

Viki Zsolti's Godmother is a very busy lady so we were very happy to spend 4 days with her.
When we got to their house, her mother was making peach jam, hmmm it was intoxicating.
The next day we went to the market and searched for some more berries so Viki can make a delicious berry cake. It was quite a hot day, so before we got home we decided everyone deserves an ice cream cone :)
















I saw very attractive cakes in the shop but we wished to taste the cake of our hosts.

It was refreshing to be in the house again, so grateful all of us started to help around the berrycake.
The preperation took so long the cake was only done the next day but we did not mind.
Till then Zsolti was eating watermelon practically all day long... amazing how much he can eat if he wants to.

Movie morning with my mom and busy afternoon with a friend

One of my mother's dream came true, we went to see a movie she wanted to see. Wish the whole day would have been that happy. It was not a Monday but it started like a disasterous Monday.
The traffic was against me and it took a lot longer to get Zsolti to my friend. Finally I was there and I was still in time... when it turned out my cellphone stopped working and I could not get into the apartment of my friend without a phonecall...
After 15 minutes of sreaming around the building someone who also lives there left the house and I could get in... after this challange was over I missed all the possible bus, underground lines. So getting to the movie theatre took 45 minutes ( instead of 20) .. the good new I still made it to the beginning of the movie... and after all those traumatic events I could sit down and relax...
After the movie I went back to my friend where Zsolti had fun... and I told her the whole story.
I got to know her grandchild who is the same age as little Heni. This little lady was so talkative and very cheerful. At the end of the day we went to have an ice cream cone with all of them. Nice ending of a hard day.

The playground is a popular place

My mom ( Nagyi = Granny in Hungarian) loves to go to the playground with the kids.
She also love to have photos of her and her grandchildren. It is really a challange to get Zsolti in the picture though... As always he was climbing and jumping like if I could follow that fast movement. :)))

Church visit

This week we had a chance to get to know new missionaries from the Hungarian LDS Church. They invited us to church on Sunday. It is in a peaceful square far from the traffic.
The Sisters were guiding us to find the place. On the first picture left my mother in white, then a lady new to the group, Sister Bowen, Zsolti :), Sister Dodge.
Both of the Sisters are from Salt Lake City and they were happy to know I "came" from the same city.

Checking out a new playground

Finally we could spend some time together with my brother. He works a lot from noon till late night.
He got a camera from me for his birthday few days ago and he enjoys taking photos of everything. Here we take photos of each other.
I recognize many improvements in the city. One of them is a brand new playground in the city park. ( At least new for me - it is about a year old and some older "kids" found it too - considering the graffiti on some of the furnitures.)