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Yesterday was Valerie’s birthday and we had a great night celebrating in downtown Budapest. We started off at a cafe overlooking the Danube. The views were beautiful and the people watching was top notch. With tourist season in full swing, our favorite activity was trying to identify the language that different people were speaking.

Then, as we walked to the restaurant, we stopped in Vörösmarty Square and watched the end of the Germany-Sweeden world cup match on a big screen with hundreds of fans. It was fun to hear the German fans celebrate their victory waving flags and singing victory songs.

We ate at the Ocean Bar & Grill where we enjoyed a wonderful meal where we shared some wonderful shrimp and sea bass. It was a meal worthy of this celebration.

Then, we went to the Chain Bridge (shown in this picture) which was closed for a festival. There was dancing exhibitions on both ends with plenty of shops in the middle. We first watched an incredible performance by a group called Experidance. They were a fun group that took traditional folk dances and modernized them. They had lots of energy and were lots of fun. They played to a packed audience and we loved it.

While we were watching in this huge crowd, our language teacher Zsuzsa came up and tapped us on the shoulder. Amazing that she found us in the huge crowd. She told us that she was going to be dancing on the other side of the bridge. So, after the first performance, we went over and watched her do some traditional Hungarian dances from Transylvania. It was fun to see her outside of lessons and watch her dance which we have heard so much about.

It was a great evening and I’m so thankful for such a wonderful wife and friend to celebrate with. The evening couldn’t have been better.

Happy Birthday Sweetheart!