Budapest, Hungary. August 12-14

It's always nice for me to get back to Budapest.  I feel a sense of place here as I relive my days as an 18-19 year old kid, as well as each subsequent return every 4-5 years.  The city changes and so do I. We spent a nice amount of time at home with the family.  I really regret that I have no photos of conversations around the dinner table. Here, we met Kata, and later Andras and his girlfriend.  The kids and I ventured out a couple times.  One day was to the "children's train," a train that runs through the Buda hills and Children serve as ticket takers, but luckily not drivers.  After our ride, we enjoyed the deep fried dough treat, Langos, and then headed to Pest to see the controversial WWII memorial.  This memorial had made international news headlines for the past few months and I really wanted to see it myself.  I won't go into the controversy here, a couple of my photos explain the situation.  Basically, Hungary (like the US) is an extremely divided country.  The right wing supports Prime Minister Orban's pro-Hungarian stance, while the left wing would consider themselves pro-Europe.  I talked to people on both sides and do empathize with each.  In the case of this monument, however, it's tough to know why Orban did it.  Popular opinion was against this monument almost from the beginning.  It shows the Hungarians as victims of German oppression in WWII and white washes Hungarian collaboration, which is nearly impossible to disprove.  I was moved by the tenacity of the protesters, though they weren't at the site during our visit.  They placed numerous artifacts and memorials in front of the statue in witness to the victims of Hungarians during the Holocaust.  I will be curious to see (and will hope to see) that they still remain during my next visit. Ironically, there was a playground and a fountain right next to the monument, so the kids got to enjoy the experience as well.  The next day we went to the Transportation Museum with Agnes and her kids, and I tried to reenact some of the photos I took 4 years ago both at the museum and at Heroes Square at the entrance to city park.  After this, the kids and I had Somloi Galuska and Palacsintas at Gerbeaud and headed back to Agi and Dezso's with a stop at the riverbank for a view of the castle.

Fonyod, Hungary (Lake Balaton) August 9-11

At first I felt like I took fewer pictures of this portion of the trip, but when I started uploading, I realized I did fairly well.  Time definitely slows down for me in Hungary, because I find I make far fewer plans, someone is always cooking for me, planning the day for me, etc...  We basically just relaxed, which is the Intent of a visit to the Balaton.  It's so funny to watch Hungarians at the lake.  They slowly walk into the water when they get hot.  They stand in chest deep water for awhile (which, by the way, is quite far from shore on the South side), and then they walk back to shore.  I need to look this up and see if there is a term for the Balaton stroll, because there really should be.  I've never seen anything quite like it.  The kids interacted well, though I must admit it was more difficult this time. I think that's natural because they are more self aware than they were at 2 and 4 years old.  One highlight was on arrival when we rented one of the slide paddle boats, (all of us) and we ended up with the gold playboy bunny one because it had the largest slide.  A picture of everyone on that thing would have been priceless.  I took the kids out on one alone (yellow Lamorghini) a couple days later and snapped some pics, but it doesn't compare to Gold Playboy with 10 people on it.  The kids noticed that Hungarians, in a claim to fame, sport far more speedos than anywhere else  we visited.  We also went to a circus, and drove around the lake on the north side hitting Keszthely and its palace as well as Balatonfured on the way to Budapest.  I asked Agi to drive because I didn't want to drive in the city and I thought I'd be safe if a 65 year old woman drove us home.  Well, she drove approximately 100 miles per hour on the motorway, while I regretted my request, white knuckles, and watching my $7.00 a gallon benzin level decrease at a precipitous rate.  I love Hungary!

Ptuj, Slovenia. August 7 and 8

Leaving Rovinj, we stopped at Skocjan Caves in Slovenia.  Unfortunately, my phone was out of batteries at this point, so I couldn't take any photos, but fortunately, photos weren't allowed in the cave anyway.  It is one of the largest cave complexes in Europe with an underground river, dramatic caverns, a bridge crossing the river, and numerous impressive stalactites and stalagmites.  After this, we continued on to Ptuj, where we stayed slightly outside of the town in te village of Gorisnica.  For me, the hotel was like heaven after camping, camping villages, and dormitories.  Plus, their outdoor restaurant included a play area, so I could enjoy a beverage while the kids were completely occupied on the swings and such.  (Gunnar enjoyed their slightly questionable art right next to the play area!). The next day we headed into Ptuj.  I chose this town as a nice halfway point between the coast and Hungary.  Plus, I had read in a guidebook that it is the most beautiful town in Slovenia.  Well, while the town wasn't dramatically gorgeous, but it was pleasant and peaceful.  It dates to Roman times when it was called Poetovio.  We particularly enjoyed touring the castle and the interactive exhibit with Kurant costumes.  The Kurant is a folk character invoked during Carnival in the region.  Phoebe and I looked terribly stylish, I must say!  The next day we headed back into Croatia (each entry in and out of Croatia earned passport stamps...the only ones on the trip other then Frankfurt airport, sadly) to visit the Krapina Neanderthal Museum.  This was highly impressive.  It's a brand new museum and very interactive, so the kids even liked it and didn't complain!  My biggest take away is that the Neanderthals were extremely intelligent, and I felt a certain sadness in their demise.  We saw how they buried their dead, nursed the sick, practiced seasonal rituals and were probably even verbal.  These new and exciting interpretations will only continue to evolve over time.  Following this, we drove some small roads across the Croatian countryside and eventually entered the land of the Magyars, finally some flat land for me, Hungary.