Hungary

What a whirl wind week we have had. Last Saturday as Brian and I landed in Budapest, we were met by my parents and whisked away. First stop was a small little quaint town up river and then to a castle. We then went to Sopron to spend the night in a baroque palace. Sunday we met in a small branch and sat through Sacrament Meeting and Relief Society/Priesthood where we only understood some of what was said. Then we drove off to Tatabayan to another Sacrament meeting. There were only 3 members of the church in this city and 17+ investigators. It is not even a branch but a "unit". They meet in an old bakery. For the 2nd hour (yes, they only have 2 hours of church) we went to primary with most of the investigators. Again, we understood very little of what was said. As we came back to Budapest, we went to dinner at the Brand Presidents house. Mark and Shannon were great hosts, we ate well and had a great time.

Monday, we got up and went up to Castle Hill which is right by my parents apartment. Most of the museums are closed on Mondays, so we saw what we could and knew that we needed to come back during the week. Later in the afternoon we met my parents and took the sightseeing bus around Budapest. This helped us plan for the rest of the weeks activities. We had lots to see and do.

The Museum of Fine Arts is where we spent Tuesday morning. We took the English Tour of the Italian Artists. We saw many incredible pieces. Found Cezanne, Monet, Rembrandt, and Manet--as well as some others, it was very incredible. We then found a great taqueria (yes, Mexican food) and ate and met my parents to tour the House of Terror. The 20th century was not kind to Hungary and this museum pointed out all the injustice that affected the citizens of Hungary. Very sad place to be.

Back to Castle District on Wednesday to the War Museum, the Marzipone Museum, and the Hungarian National Gallery. This is where art from Hungarian artists or about Hungary were displayed. Alters that were taken from churches were on display there. We also went to the Roman ruins and the grocery store.

Thursday we were on our own so we pushed. We went to Parliment in the morning, St. Stephen's Bascilla, ate accross from the opera house, and went to the Grand Market, and to the Gellhert Hotel to see the baths. They were BAD!! For dinner we went to my new favorite restaurant: Vapiano. It was a great Italian restuarant. It is a franchcise with some in DC. I want to open one on this side of the states (business opportunity for someone with $$).

Friday, we decided to go to Vienna. We had to be back by 6 p.m. for waffle night at the Mission Home, so we set off at 5 am to catch the train. After 3 hours we were there and we were not disappointed. Vienna is beautiful. It is more diverse and a bit cleaner than Budapest. We went to Mozerthaus where he composed The Magic Flute, climbed the tower of St. Stephensplat Church, walked the streets which were beautiful, and ate weiner schnitzel. We wish we could have spent more time there.

We are now tired, but well travelled. Thanks Mom & Dad for being great hosts to us. We look forward to you returning home, but know you are well and have everything you need in Hungary. Enjoy the sights and sounds (we did). And eat at Vapiano again for us!!

We had a Ball!!

Saturday was filled with ball games. A rarity in our house. Meagan started playing soccer and had her first game. She plays a lot like her sister played--lots of smiles. But as the game progressed, she picked it up a bit more.


Emily played on our YW Basketball team, who had their first region game on Saturday. Emily during practice made a couple of shots--we were hopeful. During the game however, she could not hit the board. Luckily her friends in our ward could. We won, and now are in the semi-finals, next Saturday.