It rained all night, which cooled things off a bit the next day. We checked out of our apartment and drove west for 25 minutes passing through the suburbs of Budapest. This section of the city was very Eastern European in appearance mixed with an occasional modern building housing a company or business. Just outside the city stands the largest Flea Market in Central Europe. The market was quiet because it was Sunday morning.

It contained the normal items one sees at a flea market: porcelain, pots and pans, jewelry, old clothes, and various knick-knacks. What made this Market unique were all the old Soviet Union items: Communist posters, magazines, military supplies, and propaganda. The boys each purchased a Soviet medal and Seamus found an old WWII surplus Russian Air Force hat in excellent condition! Faywen even found a little comedy/tragedy theatre pin and I found a piece of Hungarian embroidery.  It rained off and on while at the market. But it didn’t dampen our spirits as we explored each row of booths. Almost nobody spoke English, though I did communicate via a bit of German with the older vendors. Overall it was a fun time seeing what folks collect in Central/Eastern Europe!

About a 30 minute drive from the flea market was Memento Park. The park was opened in the late 1990’s and it contains old Soviet and Communist statues from around Hungary. After the collapse of Communism in 1989, the Hungarian people decided to gather and establish a public park as a  “Memento” or keepsake of their Communist past. I was impressed that the Hungarians had such foresight to realize they needed to preserve even the “bad” part of their history!  

The statues and plaques were fascinating to look at. Many were in disrepair, rusted, or disassembled during the fall of Communism. I particularly liked the “Glorious Revolution” statues and the iconic Lenin statues.  The entire garden like park was surrounded by a wall and had an eerie quality. The statues were also a humbling reminder of the corruption of government and the suffering of the common civilian. I believe it will be a place the kids will never forget.

• 

• 

We ate lunch at a McDonald’s just off the motorway.  McDonald’s restaurants are popular in the old former USSR countries. They seem to be everywhere in Slovenia, Czech Republic, and Hungary. However, unlike American McDonalds’ the Central European versions are much cleaner, family friendly, and offer a LOT of healthy food options! The Hungarians made the best “picture perfect” burgers I’ve ever seen!

After lunch we drove north and into Slovakia. Bratislava, the capital, is just over the border from Vienna and the detour only added 30 minutes to our travel home.  I‘m so glad we decided to go that path home. We visited Devin Castle, which is in ruins. It’s just west of Bratislava and sits on a hill overlooking the Danube River and the Morava River, which empties into the Danube at the river bend.

• 

• 

Devin Castle was one of the prettiest castle ruins I’ve every visited. It reminded me of Urquhart Castle in Scotland lying along the hillside ridge with the ruined tower keep built into the rock cliff.  Like Urquhart, Devin was destroyed by gun powder explosions. Napoleon Bonaparte blew up the castle in 1809. There was a small museum inside the Keep as well as a courtyard with Medieval games for kids and adults!

The breeze was cool on the castle ridge and afforded us breathtaking views of the Danube River valley and gently rolling foothills! The small Morava River passed through luscious green farmland before opening into the Danube just below the Tower Keep.

There were two sections to the castle. The Keep and inner wall were from the 13^th century and the outer courtyard and buildings were built in the 15^th century. There were practically no other people on the castle grounds and so we able to take amazing photos of the ruins set against the green grasses and setting sun accented by a thunderhead off in the distance. Devin Castle was well worth the detour and a lovely way to end our trip to Hungary and Slovakia.

Today was another warm, but beautiful day in Budapest. This morning we crossed the Danube River to the Buda side in order to explore Castle Hill. Buda Castle and St. Matthias Church came into view as we crossed the Chain Bridge. Scotsman, Charles Adams in 1896, engineered the bridge.

• 

• 

Once at Castle Hill we purchased tickets for the “jump on jump off” open air mini bus tour that stopped at four different destinations on top of the hill. The little mini-buses held about 20 people and we enjoyed whizzing around the old cobblestone streets feeling the cool breeze whip through the open sided carts.

Stop #1 took us to the main square, St. Matthias Church, and the Fisherman’s Bastion. It was busy, but not crowded as we ascended the steps to walk along the walls of the Fisherman’s Bastion. Built in the 14^th century the geometrical open towers and long walls allowed wives of fisherman to come and watch for their menfolk returning down the Danube River. Atop the Bastion walls we could see how important and majestic the Danube River is to the city. The river winds its way through the city like a giant artery, truly the heartbeat of Budapest!

• 

• 

The Church of St. Matthias sits directly behind the Fisherman’s Bastian in the heart of old Buda. Built between the 13^th-15^th centuries St. Matthias is a perfect example of Medieval Byzantine Church architecture. The creamy white stone gracefully rose in columns and buttresses to meet the colorfully tiled roof. The entire cathedral sparkled in the sunlight.

Inside the eye was drawn to the countless colorful paintings and patterns on every surface. Zigzags, circles, diamonds, and swirls framed walls and religious art frescos. There were also lovely cases full of artifacts from the early uses of the church, including items that belonged to St. Istvan, the patron saint of Hungary.

• 

• 

• 

• 

Just a few minutes before noon we gathered at the door to the bell tower. The church bells rang and we began our ascent within the tower. We stopped at two viewing platforms to see the bells. Since our family were veteran church tower “climbers”, we found the mere 197 steps to be easy! Once at the top, the little narrow stone path encircled the pinnacle of the tower. There were stunning views of both Buda and Pest!

Down the street from the church was a traditional Hungarian Lace shop, where we purchased several pieces of lace. Hungary is known for its lace-making and embroidery work. Several selections contained paprika pods embroidered into the lace. I asked the shopkeeper about the paprika and he explained that Hungary is the largest producer of paprika in Europe and the little spice is used in many national Hungarian dishes.

We caught our mini-bus and made our way to stop #2. The Hungarian Military Museum contained artifacts and uniforms from the 18^th-21^st centuries. I loved all the beautiful brocade and furs used in making the 19^th century Austro-Hungarian uniforms. The Communist room was also fascinating. There was even a US army uniform on display!

• 

• 

Stop #3 dropped us off at Buda Castle, which was really a complex of 18^th-19^th century buildings. Today the buildings house the National Art, History, and Science Museums of Hungary. Because it was later in the day we chose to forgo a museum and just admired the square and architecture.

Stop #4 was at the foot of the hill and took us to the Castle Gardens. The roses and ivy colonnades were my favorite parts of the gardens. It was lovely day and a bride and groom wee having a photo shoot in the small ivy colonnade. The kids even found a nice soft green patch of grass to sprawl out and take a nap!

• 

• 

We crossed back over the Chain Bridge and walked down Andressy Ave, which is the main pedestrian shopping street. Faywen even found a statue of William Shakespeare! While shopping we found a whimsical wooden stacking doll of all the former Soviet leaders. However my favorite find was an antique headscarf from a nearby Hungarian village. We finished the day with another lovely dinner sitting outside watching the locals and tourists alike meander up and down the pedestrian way. Though this time Liam chose NOT to eat Hungarian spicy chicken wings!

Our first full day in Budapest was quite an adventure. We purchased a family metro pass and jumped on the subway to the Dohany Stop. Dohany Street Synagogue is the second biggest in the world behind Temple Immanuel in NYC. It was built in the mid 1800’s and is still and active place of worship today. The Synagogue can hold 3,000 people and there is one Rabbi on staff.

We took a tour of the building and gardens. Liam and Robert had their hats, but Seamus was given a traditional Kippah to cover his head. Unlike in the Christian church where men remove their hats, in a Synagogue men must cover their heads. Faywen and I only had to cover our shoulders, which our dresses already did so.  The inside was very ornate with a main floor for the men and 2 levels of tiered balconies for the women and children. Placed near the front was the Ark containing the Torah and other holy Mikra as well as an ornate covering cloth, which was made of gold and red velvet.

• 

• 

• 

During WWII the Budapest Jewish Ghetto housed 220,000 Jews from the city and countryside. Many died from starvation, dysentery, were transported to nearby concentration camps, or were outright killed in the ghetto. Those who died in Budapest were buried in a mass grave in the Synagogue courtyard gardens.  Today it is a lovely memorial garden and contains the names of those who died.

Outside we saw three memorials. The first was a modern stain glass panel. The second was a plaque with engraved names of gentiles that helped save Jews from persecution. The third was a metal silver Holocaust Tree whose branches were an upside Menorah. The leaves were engraved with names. All three memorials sat in a pretty garden oasis in the midst of the city.

We visited the cellar museum, which had photos from the time period and then the Jewish Museum, which was next door. Inside the museum were artifacts from Jewish settlements from as far back as 300AD all the way through modern times. I liked the 12 stain glass windows from the old Budapest Jewish high school that survived the Communist takeover in the late 1940’s. I’m glad the kids were able to visit a real Synagogue and learn about Judaism in Budapest.

• 

• 

After visiting the Synagogue we ate at a local Kosher Deli and then caught the subway to Hero’s Square. Built in the late 1800’s as a memorial to celebrate Hungary’s 1,000 yr. old birthday, the square depicts heros from Hungarian history. Victory stands holding her palm leaf of peace in the centre. The 7 great Magyar Chieftains of ancient Hungary surround her. The two colonnades have statues depicting Hungarian kings and saints.  

Behind the square was a lovely little lake and garden park. Along the edge of the park sat a quirky complex of buildings. Mr. Ignac, was a 19th century architect. As a tribute to the Hungarian people, he built Vajhandjan Castle for the millennial celebrations in 1896. It was originally made of cardboard and plaster. The display showed the various building styles from the 13-19^th centuries throughout Hungary. It was so popular with the people that wealthy entrepreneurs and even locals donated to have the structures constructed for real!  The buildings now house the Agricultural Museum, Concert Hall, and reception venues. The gardens were amazing and there were lovely statues of famous Hungarians, including one of the well-known early Hollywood actor, Bela Legosi! The cool park grass was also a nice place to take a short nap before walking to our next destination!

We took a short subway ride to the Opera House only to discover it was under renovation. From there we walked to Liszt Square. The composter was born in Hungary and the people still love his music! Ferenc or “Franz” Liszt was a flamboyant pianist and ladies man, the Elvis Presley of his time!

Nearby we had a delicious ice cream and meandered through Liberty Park, saw an ex-Soviet monument, the American Embassy, and the house of Janos Von Neumann (John Neumann) who was a very important mathematician and considered to be the father of Computer Science.

• 

• 

Once back at our apartment we cooled off and rested before walking a block to a local restaurant called Mango Cowboy. It was there we discovered that Hungarian spices are really hot! Liam had the Hungarian BBQ wings. Needless to say I was fanning Liam as he sweated and turned red after eating a few of the wings. It was lovely sitting outside watching folks walk by and listening to the live Latin American music from the Peruvian café next door…truly a cross-cultural experience while sitting at a table in the streets of old Budapest.

• 

• 

Once again Robert and the kids had a four day weekend, which gave us the opportunity to travel to yet another little unknown country…Hungary! We drove through Slovenia and into southern Hungry passing through the countryside with its ever changing architecture. Central European homes and villages with their pastel colors and red tiled roofs gave way to a more gray/cream palate and Eastern European style. This was very evident as we approached the suburbs of Budapest, Hungary’s capital. People still live in the old Soviet Communist Block housing. Gray and tan square buildings with multiple floors and no outdoor balconies dominated the suburbs. Every once in awhile a block building would be painted a pastel color, perhaps an attempt at making the ugly ducklings beautiful!

Once in Budapest we found our apartment, which was located in a typical inner city open square. The kids found the 1930’s elevator intriguing, especially since you had to close the outer doors before the main elevator door shut! The buildings were old, but the apartment was modern in décor and quite nice.

• 

• 

• 

Before we arrived in Budapest we stopped off at Lake Balaton. It is the largest fresh water lake in Hungary at 80km long and 20km wide. We found a nice resort town to stop in and strolled out onto the local pier. The lake was a creamy, milky blue color lined with creamy brown and tan rocks. Many ducks enjoyed sunning themselves on the lakeshore rocks!

During the evening we explored the Central Market and purchased our breakfast foods, including Hungarian cheeses and paprika spiced meats. Across from the massive indoor market we found a traditional Hungarian restaurant complete with live music played on a cimbalom. I was able to talk with the musician who spoke some German. After dinner we walked across the bridge from Pest to Buda. The capital city of Hungary was originally two separate cities and combined together to form Budapest in November 1873.

Along the banks of the Danube River in Buda is Gellert Hill, which is named after St. Gellert. We climbed the massive hill, that serves as a lovely city park for the residents of Buda. At the top we saw the old Citadella, stunning views of the city, and the “Lady Liberty” of Budapest. She first represented the freedoms won in the 1848-49 Rebellion, then the Soviet Liberation from the Nazi’s, and finally she has come to represent the liberation in 1989 from Communism. She is holding a palm leaf to represent freedom and peace. There was also a beautiful stone cross, placed in honor of St. Gellert who was martyred on the hillside.

• 

• 

Our first impressions of Budapest were that it was very different from other cities we had seen in Europe thus far. It still has a Soviet era, Eastern European feel mixed with an up and coming western European vibe. The people were helpful and friendly. As we walked back down Gellert Hill we passed over the bridge and watched the storm clouds roll in from the west moving along the river. Later that night we fell asleep listening to the thunder rumble and rain pelt against the old casement windows of our apartment.

Schloss Eggenburg is a 17^th century palace and UNESCO World Heritage Site. The palace is known for it’s symmetric, astronomical based building and gardens. We often went for a stroll in the lovely gardens because the palace was very close to where we lived. Here are a few photos from our various garden meanderings.

• 

• 

During our stay in Austria we were all blessed to make good friends. This post is dedicated to all our new friends!

• 

• 

Vatertag in Austria was actually on June 9^th, but we were in Slovenia at the time and opted to celebrate on the American date, June 16^th. Robert celebrated the day by getting to lay around and relax! His gifts included clothes, funny homemade cards from the kids, and a yummy steak dinner. In the evening we Skyped with Gree and PaPa, my parents, and wished my dad a Happy Father’s Day!

The Graz International Bilingual School or GIBS is a language school instructing in German and English with four other major languages given as options for students to study. Austrian education is typically well rounded and simple music classes are offered as part of the curriculum, though the music courses are not on the same scale as in America, Mrs. Canizares, the music teacher instructs basic music education to all levels of students at GIBS. If a student wishes to seriously study and perform music they attend the Music Conservatory in downtown Graz.

Mrs. Canizares, who is originally from New York City, often coordinates two concerts a semester for the GIBS community. She directs two after school choirs, a Jr. and Sr. Choir, and will arrange accompaniments to the choral songs for the various orchestral and band students who are at the school. The groups meet voluntarily after school for a few weeks leading up to the concert date. Liam and I were privileged to help instruct the younger kids for the March and June concerts. Mrs. Canizares was very happy to have a fellow music teacher and enthusiastic high-school musisian on board.

• 

• 

For the June concert the kids and staff choir presented “Jazz” music! The staff, senior, and junior choirs sang and the strings with a small saxophone and trumpet section played to accompany the choirs. Liam was the Concert Master for the instrumental players. Seamus loved playing his cello too. However, the best part of the concert was having Faywen play her viola for the first time in public in an ensemble. She played the viola for “A Million Dreams.” She really enjoyed the experience of playing in an ensemble!  She then stood up and joined the junior choir to sing “Route 66”! Faywen really loves this song, especially the recording made by Nat King Cole who is one of her favorite singers! The concert ended by inviting audience members to join all three choirs in singing “Halleujah” by Leonard Cohen. It was a wonderful concert and I’m so happy the kids got to be a part of a music group while at GIBS!

We packed up and headed north to Lake Bled. This beautiful blue lake is just NW of the capital, Lubljana. Lake Bled is idyllically set amongst the rolling mountains with a lovely castle perched high on the ridge, and a little island containing an old monastery. The steeple and bell tower of the Mother of God Church can be seen and heard from the mainland.  

In order to reach the charming little island we had to take a Pletna, traditional Slovenian flat-bottomed boat. Faywen was a bit scared of taking the Pletna boat, but the oarsman and Dad were able to coerce her aboard with a life jacket. After 5 minutes she was fine and didn’t even wear a life jacket on the return trip! She was confident in her swimming ability and the stability of the Pletna!

Once on the island we entered the Mother of God Church and each took a turn ringing the bell. It is considered good luck and a blessing to ring the bell. The rope dangles in the centre isle just in front of the altar steps.

• 

• 

• 

The bell tower next door was fun to climb and the windows at the top gave us great views of the lake. For the rest of our time on the island, we walked the small parish grounds and enjoyed the brilliant blue waters of the lake and shoreline vistas. However we could feel the humidity rising and see clouds building off in the distance~

Once back on the mainland shore we said farewell to Ms. Pat and Mr. Keith a lovely older couple from England we had befriended on the boat ride. Lake Bled is known for a specialty pastry made only in that region. After lunch we each tired a slice of the famous Lake Bled Cream Cake!

• 

• 

Faywen and I did a little shopping while Robert and the boys headed over to a giant “theme park” like hill slide. They all had 1 turns going up the ski lift and coming down the toboggan like slide! We all made it back to the car just as the skies opened and the thunder rumbled. Since we had the car stopped at IKEA in Graz for dinner

Slovenia is a beautiful friendly country than often tourists overlook. We thoroughly enjoyed our four day weekend in this charming former Soviet country many folks might remember as Yugoslavia.

The Lord blessed us with another beautiful day in Slovenia! Today we stayed nearby our home village of Postojna. Our first stop was a local hiking area that is full of various Natural Bridges. These natural wonders were caused when caves collapsed centuries ago. Liam and Seamus forged ahead a bit and discovered that the path to the smaller Natural Bridge became very rocky and slippery. He took a few photos of the small Natural Bridge and we decided to hike along the forest river instead. The forest was alive with the sounds of early Summer.

• 

• 

• 

For lunch we ate kebabs at the Donner King across from our apartment and then drove 20km to Predjama Castle. Built between the 13^th-17^th centuries Predjama Castle was an impregnable fortress. Even though the castle was often sieged the inhabitants survived due to a natural network of caves. The entire castle was built into an arched cave with an overhanging cliff face. From the top floors one could see enemies approaching down the valley!

• 

• 

The secret cave system was put to the test in the 15^th century, when the Imperial Army of the Hapsburgs held Sir Erazem, who was loyal to the Hungarian King, under siege for over a year. The locals considered Sir Erazem their Robin Hood because he robbed the rich Hapsburgs and gave to the local Hungarians and Slovenes. He was eventually killed when a bribed servant betrayed him and gave a signal for a canon shot to hit the weakest part of the castle. It was Erazmas’ toilet!

• 

• 

Predjama Castle was the most unusual castle fortress I’ve ever seen. The unique architecture utilizing secret cave tunnels, chimneys built of natural cliff faces, and a never-ending network of water channels to gather the natural cave water that’s clean and constantly dripping was clever and ingenious.

It was refreshing being in the castle, but our next stop was a nicer break from the afternoon heat. We had a 1.5 hour tour inside Postojna Cave. It is the longest cave network in Europe and the second largest in the world, behind Mammoth Cave in Kentucky. The first and last third of the cave visit was by rail train. The little mining train weaved it’s way through narrow passages that would open up into grand caverns. The middle part of the tour required us to walk 1km on foot. Our guide was very good at explaining the various caverns we passed through. I liked the Spaghetti Ceiling Chamber and the White Calcium Caverns. The cave is currently home to 8 underground species including the endangered blind salamander. There was also a small hydroelectric dam inside the cave that harnessed the small cave river’s power. It generated enough natural energy to power the nearby hotel, restaurant, and Visitors Centre. Thoroughly cooled off we enjoyed coming above ground to the warm sunshine.

For dinner the kids requested that Robert and I go “have a date” and they went to a really good Chinese place down the street from our apartment. Robert and I had a lovely meal out under a tree nestled amongst old Slovenian homes.