Budapest, Hungary

I went to Budapest this weekend and had such a good time. There are so many things to talk about, but I'm going to try and hit the most important.

Claudia, Francesca, Detti and I left for Budapest on Thursday. All of us girls go to the same University here in Vienna. Detti is from Budapest. Her and her family were kind enough to open their home up and let us stay with them. After being gone for 3 weeks, I didn't realize how much I missed "family life" until I stepped into their house. It wasn't just any house though; it was a home. Detti's family doesn't speak a word of English, and we spoke no Hungarian so our verbal communication was zero. Instead, we communicated through smiles and laughter, kisses and hugs. Detti's mom was an amazing cook and stuffed us full of food, a lot of food. Soups, meats, breads, cheese, strudels, vegetables, fruits, etc. I can't express the love we felt while we were there with the family. The trip would've been worth it if that was all we did. But of course it wasn't...

Budapest is made up of two cities, Buda and Pest, and they are seperated by a river. We spent the whole day Friday exploring both cities. In Pest, the buildings were impressive to say the least. Around every corner was something more spectacular, more wonderful, more breathtaking. We crossed one of the seven bridges that connects the two cities and headed to Buda. It was quite different. The buildings were replaced by nature. Lamposts turned into trees. Speeding cars became squirels running back and forth across the path. We hiked to the top of this hill. The view from the top was stunning. The entire city was layed out in front of us: a castle stood to our left; to the front and the right were thousands of beautiful buildings as far as the eye could see; in the end, Parliment stole the show with its grandose arcitecture. Friday night consisted of another large meal at home followed by a nightly stroll. We went to the Castle, which was now lite up under the light of the moon. Stopping at the top, we got yet another glimpse of the city, now glowing from all the lights. At the Castle, there was a man playing the most beautiful melody on the violin. I felt like I was in a movie.

Saturday morning, we drove to the countryside. The hills of Hungary are so unique. The roads twisted and turned, went up and down. We ended up in a small town, which resembled more of a village than a town. We went to an airstrip. There, we each took a ride in a glider/plane. I sat in the front while the pilot sat behind me. They launched us off like a sling-shot. (There was no motor to this plane.) We soared in the air like a bird for five minutes before returning the ground and back to reality. We stopped for ice cream on the way home. It was a small shop. Its reputation, however, is the farthest thing from small. People come from all over the world to taste the ice cream here. It's said to be the world's best. After eating it, I would have to agree.

We took a bus back to Vienna late Saturday night. Driving into the city, I smile came across my face. I was home.