The view from Budapest

We invited all the Aggies that we knew in Budapest to come and watch the big game with tu.   We had some great food, great fellowship and to top it all off, the Aggies won.  I know that my neighbors are wondering what was going on at our house all night with all of the yelling.  When they scored the go-ahead touchdown, the place erupted.   

What a great night!!  We all agreed that this is a new tradition in Budapest!!!    

 Kendall is doing a school report on the Budapest Art Museum.  Since she has never been there, we thought it would be good to make a trip!  I was taking the boys to the Orthodontist just a few blocks away so we decided to stop by on our way home.  It was a good experience for the kids although they lost steam fairly early.  We saw an exhibit of Rembrandt sketches and a Carvaggio exhibit that featured many beheaded biblical characters.  There were 5-6 pictures of John the Baptist’s head on a tray and the feature work was David holding Goliath’s head.   The boys were into that!!!

  
The museum also has a pretty good exhibit of Egyptian artifacts.

All in all it was a good visit.  It’s hard to believe after 3 1/2 years, we had never been there.

On the way home, we saw this bathtub on top of a car.  We all had a good laugh!!!

It’s 5:30pm the night before Thanksgiving.   I’m about to send the final copy of a 125 page report to my boss that we’ve been working on for the past week and a half.  I’m not coming back to the office until December 4th!!!!!  YIPPEE!!  I haven’t had a day off to speak of since June so I’m ready for a break. 

At the moment, some time off is at the top of my list of things that I’m thankful for.  I’m sure tomorrow, I’ll remember to be thankful for more significant things

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Last week was Trent’s 12th birthday.  This was his year to have a family birthday party and he chose to go to Vienna for the day.  Valerie and I have wanted to take the kids on a train trip ever since we lived here in Budapest, but it has never happened.  As we started planning the trip, we decided this was our chance.   Only Kendall had been on a train before so the kids were very excited about it.   Jessie, our good friend and adopted family member, was along for the trip as well.

The train ride was lots of fun as we ate breakfast on the train, played cards, and just had a great time.  Unexpectedly, another family from the kid’s school was on the train as well.  The kids had a good time playing with them and the adults enjoyed visiting.

Upon arrival in Vienna, we embarked upon the “Eat your way through Vienna” tour.   Here are the details:

First Stop - Vienna Christmas Market - We were excited to find out that we arrived on the first day that the  Christmas market was open.  The highlight of this was the wonderful Kase kreiners which are sa usages with little bits of cheese inside stuffed in a warm hot-dog like bun.  They are totally incredible.   We shopped a little bit as well and bought some small gifts for friends.

 Second Stop - Starbucks - No trip to Vienna would be complete without the obligitory trip to Starbucks.  I enjoyed my overpriced Grande Peppermint Mocha.   Other than the fact that it was about 400 degrees in there, it was fun and a good rest.

Third Stop - Shopping Street - We visited a bunch of shops on the shopping street.  Trent was able to spend some of his birthday money at Foot Locker on a Nike Bag and some cool shoelaces.  Kendall found some treasures at Claire’s accessories.

Fourth Stop - Figlmullers - This is the store with the biggest & best Wienerschitzel in Vienna.  We have been here many times and it never disappoints.

 Final Stop - Christmas Market at Night - We had to go back to the Christmas Market to see it all lit up.  They had the Christmas Tree lighting at 5:30pm so we wanted to see it one more time.  Then,  we hit the bakery for some incredible treats.  I had some Applestrudel that was unbelievable. 

We then rode the train back home and arrived around 11pm.  Everyone was thoroughly exhausted, but satisfied knowing that we had a great day.  As we were walking on the train platform after getting off the train, Reed said, “Dad, that was a great experience!!”  That pretty much sums it up for all of us.  Great day, Great memories.  One of the great treats of living in Europe.  People wait their whole lives to visit a great city like Vienna and we can just pop over for the day.  What a blessing.

  

 

Last weekend was the annual Middle School Musical at ICSB.  This is Kendall’s favorite event of the year as it gives her the chance to do something she loves so much.  This year’s play was Roger’s & Hammerstein’s rendition of Cinderella.  Kendall was one of Cinderella’s Step Sisters and she did an incredible job.  It is fun to see your children doing something that they were uniquely created to do and this is it for Kendall.  She thrives on the stage and has a lot of fun doing it.  Valerie also helped out as Drama Coach again this year and she probably enjoys it almost as much as Kendall. 

The picture is Cinderella’s family.  From left to right: Joy (stepsister)-Tarissa, Stepmother-Janie, Portia (stepsister)-Kendall, and Cinderella-Emily.

It was Kendall’s last middle school production, but it was a great one.

It snowed here today for the first time this year. Overall, this is pretty early based upon our experiences over the past few years. It only snowed for a little over an hour, but it snowed pretty hard.   It is pretty amazing since a week ago it was down right balmy.  The cold came fast and the snow followed right behind.  Winter is definately on its way.  Now I have to figure out how to get Snow Tires on my van since every person in Budapest is thinking the same thing and the tire places are going to be backlogged.