Ben's Early Birthday in Budapest Part: 2

Our next stop was the House of Terror. This building was the headquarters for both the Hungarian Nazis and Soviet Secret Police. It looks like a normal apartment building on the outside. There is some art on the outside to represent the iron curtain and other aspects of the 40’s-60’s. When you walk in you see a tank on a fountain inside the first floor with a wall behind full of dead victims of the building. You start the tour on the top floor and then work your way to the basement. The first part showed Hungary after WWI and all the destruction. Then you go into a conference room with the Hungarian Nazi party (Hungarian Arrow Cross Party) outfits and a mannequin shouting speeches in uniform. Then you go through rooms filled with video of victims telling their stories. Then you walk into the sections about the Soviets. The next floor deals with injustice and propaganda and other things from the Soviets. There is also a room with a winding hallway titled “Peasants”. The cool thing is that the hallway’s walls are made of soap bars. Then you walk through the religious oppression section before you take a elevator to the basement. 

As the elevator goes down you watch a video about how executions were done at the prison which is located in the basement. When you arrive the prison cells look like something from your worst nightmare. They are small, smelly, and dark. You see the beds and interrogation room. Then you see the room for executions. It was a small room with a 8 ft wood pole with a noose at the top and a wooden step. I couldn’t help but feel horrible for the people who went through this place. I also couldn’t believe that idiots like Glen Beck and other extreme conservatives back home compare Obama or Liberals to the monsters that ran this place. I want to bring them there and maybe it will make them shut up for 10 minutes. Then we walked through a room celebrating the 1956 revolution. Then you see video of the Soviets soldiers leaving after 1990. 

Pictures of the victims go from floor to ceiling.

Propaganda/ Everyday life room.

Hall of Tears.

Finally, we ended on a room full of pictures of people who were the victimizers, but never brought to justice. It was incredible how many there were. Many have passed away but many are still around. We left the museum and were happy to have seen it but were definitely given a dose of reality.

We then worked our way toward dinner. We couldn’t resist the temptation when we saw a Fridays and ended up eating at it. I know that sounds ridiculous and their food is not that great. However, we have been here since August and it is nice to have a little taste of home. I ordered a Cajun meal and Dana ordered a BLT. We also got an awesome ice cream shake with Kahlúa and Baileys in it. After we finished we had trouble with the card again. I ran across the street got more cash and then we took the 8 p.m. train home. 

It's like we never left home. :) ha, ha. 

We had a great time and look forward to visiting Budapest again before we go home.

Ben's Early Birthday in Budapest Part: 1

Me in front of Parliament.

We finally figured out the downtown train station for Budapest during our trip to Pécs. So we decided to travel to Budapest this past Saturday for the day. We had wanted to go back since we didn’t get to experience it much during our training. So I wanted to go this last weekend since the weather is FINALLY better and also as an early birthday present. 

We caught the 8 a.m. train to the downtown station in Budapest. When we arrived we had a couple of goals in mind. We wanted to spend time at the Buda Castle, we wanted to visit the House of Terror, and we wanted to have some nice meals. The first thing we did was purchase a book of 10 public transportation tickets. We also saw what we think is the only Starbucks in all of Hungary. We didn’t go in because the coffee shops here are far better than any Starbucks we have had.

Dana in front of Parliament

So we hopped on the subway (metro) to the palace area. We came out of the station and saw the view of parliament that we hadn’t seen since we first arrived in Hungary. It is a beautiful building and we hope to explore it more on another visit in the future. We walked along the river and came to the famous Chain Bridge that opens to the Buda Castle. The castle is at the top of a somewhat steep hill. There is a tram that goes up it but it had a huge line so we just decided to walk it. The climb was very easy and we felt that the people waiting below were idiots. The view from atop the hill was beautiful. We also happened across the changing of the guard. That makes our 3rd changing of the guard experience (London, Prague, and Budapest). 

Chain Bridge

The line to ride the tram up to Buda Castle

The Tram

Half way up the hill on foot. :)

Chain Bridge over the Danube

Changing of the Guard

Man playing the trumpet for the change.

We walked around and took in the sights and then decided to get lunch. The weather was great and we found a place with big open windows to the outside and we ate. The food was good and we enjoyed relaxing. Then I flagged down the check and I tried to pay with a card. They tried it about 10 times and they said their machine was broken. I asked where the nearest ATM was and they said not to far. I let Dana stay as I went on the hunt. I spent the next 40 minutes on a mad hunt for the stupid ATM machine. As you can guess, it was not close to the restaurant. During my hunt I accidentally walked in on a conference that I was shuffled out of, I cursed at tourist walking in “la la” land taking up the whole sidewalk, and I saw the same sites over and over as I tried to find an ATM. I eventually was guided to the Hilton found an ATM and returned to Dana. We paid I left a crap tip because I was angry and we got on with our day. So if you travel in Hungary make sure to have plenty of cash. I already knew this but I was running late that morning and did not have time. 

Ruins on top of the hill and the palace in the background.

View from our Cafe. Before the fun started :(

Matthias Church

Fisherman's Bastion

View from Fisherman's Bastion

More of the Bastion

Inside Fisherman's Bastion

Man playing a bagpipe like instrument.

We made our way to the Fisherman’s Bastion and I cooled off after enjoying the view for a while. We looked at the cathedral behind the Fisherman’s Bastion and just really enjoyed it. We then ran into our friend, Debra who lives in Budapest. We joked about how funny it was to run into her and then parted ways. We then went over to the Palace and walked around it. We compared it to the ones in England, Vienna, Prague, Monaco, and other countries we have been to. It was definitely just as beautiful and had a great view. Then we went down the hill toward the city again.

Buda Castle 

Kids on a field trip to the castle

View from the castle

Behind the castle

The courtyard of the castle

The top of the hill as we were leaving

Come back tomorrow for Part: 2!

Stories Of Spring

Spring Is Here!
The weather is finally warming up here in Hungary. This last week it has been in the high 50's and low 60's. Perfect spring weather if you ask me. One of the best parts of spring is seeing everyone wear lighter clothes. The old winter coats are put up and replaced by colorful windbreakers and trench coats. Also my boots (with holes) have officially been retired. Now my feet feel so much lighter in tennis shoes or converse shoes. Between wearing less layers, a less heavy jacket and lighter shoes I feel like I've lost 10 pounds. Spring is the best diet ever!

DANA!
My nursery children are all very amusing. When I arrived at my nursery school today the children started chanting, "Dana, Dana, Dana" over and over. I did not encourage them in this, but I couldn't help but smile a little. The other nursery teachers found it a little less funny, but maybe they were just jealous that their names weren't being chanted. Besides, this is the closest feeling I'll get to being a 'rock star' with people calling my name so I might as well enjoy it. :)

Great Lesson.
Every week I try to come up with creative ideas for lessons. Sometimes my lessons are good and sometimes my lessons are good in theory, but turn out bad anyway. My lesson plan for this last week had all the right elements--writing, participation questions and a game. I was feeling confident, but like I said, you never know until you actually do it. Well, I did my lesson and after class one of my third graders came up to me smiling. He said, "Dana that was a great...(he pauses trying to find the right word) that was a great lesson!" I told him thank you and couldn't help, but feel a little proud too--it makes all those not so 'great' lessons not seem so bad now.

Dana's iPod List

I spend a lot of time on buses, trams, and trains. I love public transportation, but I do miss having my own car...sometimes. Two things I miss most about having a car are: one the freedom to go when you want and not being tied to a schedule. And two: being able to crank up my music.

Luckily we live in the age of iPods or just portable music in general. So I still get to crank my music up to a healthy level of course (I don't want to burst my ear drums) and listen away. Also, I never want to be one of those people who you can hear their music even though they are wearing earphones.

Here is a top 10 list of my most played songs on my iPod. Starting from least to most played (in order to build excitement). I have also provided You Tube links to the songs if you haven't heard them before now. Enjoy!

10. Buster Voodoo--by Rodrigo Y Gabriela
I love this song because it reminds me of warm days in Texas and gets me energized. I often imagine a great soccer/football match happening to this song.

9. Comfort Eagle--by Cake
This song has so many great layers. It has a great beat and lyrics, but also has a tinge of a political message to it. Besides doesn't everyone want to be called "Dude"?

8. Head Full Of Doubt/ Road Full Of Promise--by The Avett Brothers
"Decide what to be and go be it." This song really resonates with me. I listened to this song a LOT before coming to Hungary and still love it today. It's a song about finding yourself, dreams and learning about life.

7. When Your Mind's Made Up-- by Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova 
This is from the movie "Once." The whole soundtrack/movie is worth checking out and this is one of the main songs off of it.

6. Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk-- by Rufus Wainwright 
I don't even like cigarettes and hardly ever drink chocolate milk, but I still love this song. I can't explain why, but some songs just get under your skin and become addictive. Kind of like cigarettes and chocolate milk?

5. Vanilla Sky--by Paul McCartney 
The movie Vanilla Sky is weird, but this song is a gem. Besides what iPod list of mine would be complete without at least one Beatle. I love the lyrics, "your life is fine, sweet and sour, unbearable, but great." Doesn't everyone feel that at some point?

4. Winter Winds--by Mumfort & Sons
This band competes with the Avett Brothers for favorite new alternative band. This song wins top billing because it became my anthem of sorts through the cold winter months here in Hungary. "Remember spring swaps snow for leaves, You'll be happy and wholesome again, When the city clears and sun ascends." Truer words were never spoken.

3. Just Like Honey--by Jesus and Mary Chain
If this song sounds familiar that's because it was featured in the movie "Lost in Translation" at the end of it. Now if I could only figure out what Bill Murray whispered to Scarlett Johansson at the end of that movie I would have it made.


2. Solsbury Hill--by Peter Gabriel 
When I listen to this song I imagine all sorts of weird things like a talking eagle, running up hills and turning water into wine. However, at the end of the song I always feel more inspired and ready to take on the world...so there must be something to it all. :)

1. Us-- Regina Spektor 
I think this is me and Ben's theme song for the year. I like to imagine us running through different cities in Europe wearing our scarfs just like a noose, but not because we want eternal sleep. You'll have to listen to the song to get the reference. :)


Honorable Mention: Antarctica--by The Weepies
"I'll just remember the wind and the snow" is sometimes how I think I will remember Hungary. But now that spring is here I'll have to find a new song to remind me of Hungary.

Saturday School?

If you don't have the privilege of teaching in Hungary like me then you may never get to experience Saturday school.

You may be thinking: Saturday school...seriously? You bet! Here in Hungary the concept of a day off is sometimes a foggy concept. You see when we got the long weekend for the March 15th holiday we also took off that Monday, the 14th. Since Monday wasn't a holiday we get to make up that day on a Saturday.

I teach at a nursery on Monday's, which are on the same schedule as primary and secondary public schools. I still had my doubts though. I thought of two possible scenarios while getting ready for school on Saturday.

Scenario one:
Would parents really get up on a Saturday morning just to drop off their kids for a day at nursery school? Wouldn't the parents rather sleep in if they don't have to work that day? And also wouldn't the kids complain enough to the point where the parents say, fine you don't have to go to school today.

Or Scenario two:
The parents would be so excited to have a day off with the kids away at school they wouldn't care about getting up early to drop them off. Besides aren't all parents up early on Saturday's anyway? Taking your kid to school could also be done with some easy deception. All the parents have to say is hey you kids want to get some ice cream? And before you can say chocolate or vanilla their happy little selves are dropped off at school not knowing what happened.

So I walked my 30 minutes to school. Thoughts of sleeping still swirling in my head.

I get to the gate, darn it's open!

I get to the building and it's open too. So far Saturday school is looking like a real possibility. I get to the classroom and start setting up. I notice there are fewer kids than usual. When the kids spot me the usual cries of excitement ring out. "Angol nagynéni!"

I wave hello to the nursery teacher, but she looks surprised to see me. She then tells me that I didn't need to come in today since there are only about 20 kids in the whole building. So I pack up Mickey, put my coat back on and head for home. I put on my ipod and the first song to come up is "Schools out for the summer." Well, it may not be out for the summer, but at least it is out for this round of Saturday school.

Day Two In Pécs

Our second day in Pécs was beautiful spring weather. While walking around we even found the first signs of spring coming up. The day was spent seeing different building and sites around the city. In between all our walking we made time for food. Lots and lots of wonderful food. We had breakfast at our hotel, lunch at an italian restaurant, a mid-afternoon snack of coffee and ice cream and then dinner at a Hungarian restaurant. I don't think we went two hours the whole day without eating something. At least that is how it felt. Below is a photo tour of our second day. Enjoy!

The Basilica  

Spring flowers!

Some ruins by the Basilica 

One of the steeples flying the flag for March 15th

The door to the Basilica 

Part of the old city wall

Looking back at the Basilica from the old city wall

One of the cemeteries 

A sign with our niece's name

Some ruins near the Mosque.

Dining outside for the first time in 5 months!

Another tower along the old city wall

On the wall near the tower

Looking out from the tower

Looking back toward the city square from the tower

One of the archer positions in the tower

Statue outside one of the museums 

The crypt of the Basilica 

Ceiling of the Basilica 

Gates to enter the Basilica 

A nice ice cream and coffee shop. There are some teens
playing the violin in the back.

Me playing queen on the main statue in the square

The Basilica at night

The Basilica gates at night

The main square at night

The Mosque Church at night

Me enjoying a nice spring evening in the square

Ben in front of Mosque Church