I stepped off my airplane in Budapest and in no time at all, was hugging Bettina at International entryway. In fact, it took less than 15 minutes from when the wheels hit the ground to when we were sitting in the car. I'll call that a new record. She was so surprised by how light I was traveling! We got home and spent some time catching up! While it had only been a little over a year since I last saw Bettina, there was so much to catch up on and talk about. I came to Budapest to spend time with Betti and hang out with her and her family. I know, this is a friendships that I plan on doing everything I can to maintain, because it is so special and unique. June 1st 2016On the first day, I met her godmother. Her godmother has been so nice to me, even before I ever met her (if you remember, last time I was in Budapest, she sent us out to lunch). This time, she gave us a wonderful tour of the city. To start, she is a journalist, so she has connections all over the city. So, our first stop was at the Google Office in Budapest. Every Google office is decorated in a theme about the place that it is in. This one was nautical themed, because of the saunas and baths in Budapest. We enjoyed the swings, the unique seating locations and the cool decorations. Certainly a unique thing to do in the city. |
We then got a behind the scenes tour of one of the oldest theaters in Budapest. We could stand on the stage like we were actresses performing infront of a huge crowd and look at the ways the stage can move to create different scenes. It was quite cool. And, we of course couldn't help but doing a photo-shoot while we were up there! For lunch we went to a Hungarian Israeli restaurant, which was quite fun. I got to teach Bettina about the different things we were eating. And it was delicious. We also got fancy desserts at a nearby bakery that were unbelievable! It was so delicious. Mine was a layered cake with poppyseeds and seaberries. I had never heard of seaberries before, but supposedly they are very good for you, but very tart, unless of course they are cooked into a delicious sauce with sugar.
On the way back, we went to Margarite Island. We had been there on my first trip to Budapest. And while it was a nice day for January, it was still cold that we just walked onto the island, took a picture and left. This time, we got to see a water fountain show to music. It was actually really good! We also took a picture in the exact same space a year and a half later.
To get back to Bettina's house, we took a boat ferry. It weaved back and forth on the River Danube while we looked at the Parliament and the castle and the statues from the boat deck. It was quite an enjoyable and relaxing evening.
June 2nd 2016 On the second day, we went out with her entire family. The first thing that we did was go to a hospital under the mountain to learn about how it played a role in history. It was quite interesting and I learned a lot about Budapest in both the cold war and WWII. We then went and explored the castle grounds, which we were at a year and a half ago, but was much less sunny and now there were flowers! We found some absolutely gorgeous views! Oh and had amazing ice cream! I had a cherery poppyseed flavor and a cottage cheese flavor. YUM!! |
In the afternoon we traveled around the mountains of Budapest. We took a train that was worked by children, almost like a camp. And then climbed up to a chairlift that we took down the mountain and got to see incredible views of the city. It was gorgeous!
However, after all of this excitement, the most incredible thing that we did was also a gift from her godmother. She got us tickets to Recirque, which is a version of a cirque du soleil show, and it was incredible! The acts were beautifully done and blew us away. Some of them were things I'd seen before, like silks, but others were acts that I'd never seen, one was two high ropes that had slack in the line. My personal favorite act was the partner acrobatics without any aids. It was beautiful. I enjoyed the show so much, it was a great evening. Afterwards, we went outside and explored the area around the theater and took some beautiful pictures, as shown below:
June 3rd 2016
After two crazy busy days, we decided to relax and spend some quality time together. So, we did nothing other then spend the morning shopping! This does make sense, as I consider Bettina the girly-girly friend that I never had growing up. We found this awesome playsuit and a really pretty dress for me. It was certainly a blast. That night, I taught her how to make my mom's famous pasta and cheese! Her family loved it! She then taught me how to make a Hungarian pastry that they call an apple pie, but doesn't really resemble apple pie. It was very tasty! To end the evening, we tasted some frutty Hungarian liquor and wine and enjoyed the hot tub. We girl talked for bit and enjoyed each others company.