Traveling Part 4: Hungary

Hungary was not what I expected, but more than I could have hoped for.

I guess that can be expected when you visit a place so near to the heart of your best friend (In my case Phil). Philip was called to serve his mission (For the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) in Hungary. He lived there from 2005-2007. 

Hungarian is notorious for being one of the hardest languages to learn in the entire world. It is commonly found on lists of the top three hardest languages. Phil lived a year in the country before he felt like he could communicate effectively and that was pretty common for most missionaries. 

I got to Hungary only knowing a few key phrases like Jó éjszakát (Good night), szia (hello and good bye), köszönöm (Thank you) so I was pretty shocked when the first family we stayed with spoke about as much English as I did Hungarian. The first place we stayed was in Győr with Katinka, an adorable lady  who Phil baptized along with her daughter Lydia. She and her family welcomed us into their home like we were their children.

Phil and Döme, the dog.

Győr is a beautiful town with a fairy tale sort of feel to it.

While we were there a friend of Katinka's family named Tibi Bácsi took us out on a horse and buggy ride. He is legit, and so cute. :-) As you can tell it was pretty cold out, so we got bungled up in Katinka and her Husband's coats.

Tibi Bási, complete with pipe.

 We travelled to Szombathely next and stayed with the coolest host ever, Jenő. He is a DJ, a dance instructor and choreographer. He took us all around in his car and treated us royally. 

We also ran into Dio, a cute beautician that Phil knew on his mission. She called Phil her son, while he was there and took care of him and other missionaries by giving  them free haircuts. When we went back she kept up the tradition by giving Phil a nice stylish haircut. 

Szeged was our third stop, where we were greeted by what the branch in Szeged calls, the paparazzi, a.k.a. Géza. If you saw all the pictures he took of us and posted on Facebook you'd understand why he is called the Paparazzi. Despite that detail, he is LOVED by the missionaries for his stupendous cooking skills and genuine care. Géza was one of those golden investigators who was completely ready for the gospel. Phil was the one who first stopped him on the street and Géza will never forget him for it. Phil was actually transferred after only teaching Géza the first lesson,  but in Géza's eyes, he owes his church membership to Phil. 

Phil and Géza in the town square where they first met.

Szeged is probably the most beautiful city. It is near the southern border and because of that it is alway a little warmer. There are also lots of young people around who attend the University of Szeged.

This is a szalona sütés with the YSA in Szeged. I was excited when I found out we were doing a camp fire, I was ready to bust our the smores. Instead, they pulled out chunks of pig fat with the skin still attached. They roast those over the fire, letting the fat drip onto slices of bread. Then, they eat the crisp chunks of pig fat when its cooked. It's actually quite tasty. 

While we were in Szeged, there was a wine festival. Let me tell you, Europeans LOVE their wine ;) Although we didn't get to join in on the drinking, we certainly enjoyed the live music each night and the kürtös kalács (a Hungarian sweet bread in the shape of a cylinder covered with sugar...yum).

Our last stop before we came back to the states was Budapest, the capital of Hungary. I learned that Budapest used to be two separate cities, called Buda and Pest, separated by a large river (the Danube River). Eventually they built a bridge connecting the two cities and Budapest is the result: A neat city with lots of culture and zest to offer. We stayed with the Mihalik family, an  investigator family Phil loved on his mission. They were so sweet and hospitable and even drove us to the airport. 

Our last day in Hungary Phil and I toured the the city with our new friend Doni and saw incredible sights.

The market in Budapest

The Freedom Bridge

The Buda Castle

Saint Steven's Basilica

The chain bridge

The Hungarian Parliament building, the largest building in Hungary.

Would I go back to Hungary again? IN A HEARTBEAT.

Can I speak Hungarian any better? A little.

Would I ever live there? Very Possibly.