Sooooooo to catch you all up.. the internet has been spotty, so finally we are back in Vajta where I hope I can fill you in on some of our travels. We'll keep it short and sweet so its not too boring, and if you have any questions you can ask us anytime!
After Paris we sepnt 5 whole days in London area with my great friend from Bible College, Emma Rees! It is so great to have a local show you around, always the best experience. When we toured through London we didnt have to do a thing, Emma knew how to get everywhere like it was the back of her hand. She took us to all the great places, like Big Ben, London Bridge and Westminster and so on. I have been to London a couple other times, but this time we decided to go to see the Tower of London. It was the original Castle in the middle of London, where the kings of old lived long ago. Inside we were able to see the crown jewels! They are probably worth millions of dollars, and they date back to the 1600's! Such a cool change of pace in London.
I also got a little Beatles pilgrimage in. As some of you may know, I am an avid Beatles fan, an influence of my mom. I went to Abbey road first, and after saying good bye to Emma, we headed up to Liverpool which is where the Beatles grew up and got thier start as a band. We did a Beatles taxi tour there, and I was in Beatle heaven! I was telling Chaney and Jono that I could die as of that moment, since the dream of my childhood had been fufilled. (Since my other childhood dream was to marry one of them, this is the closest alternative!) The city of Liverpool was amazing, and all of the history and the places that are mentioned in many Beatles songs are there, like strawberry fields, Penny lane and Elenor Rigby and so on. Probably my favorite experience!
After Liverpool we took a ferry to Belfast, and then toured through Ireland. Probably our favorite country as a whole so far. They are the nicest people, and the country is probably the most beautiful since it rains almost 24/7! We stayed at Clay Worrels' church in Waterford, which is where they make that expensive crystal you probably walk by in department stores. We went to the castle in Cork and kissed the nasty blarney stone (which they do sanitize amazingly), so hopefully we will get the gift of gab and not a cold. Such a Beautiful place and I would recommend Ireland to anyone really, we were so sad to go.
We flew to Brussels from Dublin, and we tried some waffles, fries and chocolate. The Belgians are supposed to be the creators of the French Fry, and while they were some of the best who knows if they actually did. They have great waffles, but no syrup like America. Smurfs come from there as well, but we didn't see them. That evening we went up to Holland, and stayed with a family outside Amsterdam/Harlaam area. Their daughter goes to school here in Vajta and they have been pastoring a church in Holland for over 10 years. They were so great to us, and so hospitable. We were so blessed by them and pray that God blesses them immensely as well.
We went to Harlaam for a day and saw Corrie Ten Bloom's house, and toured around a bit. We also did a day in Amsterdam of course, and went to Anne Franks house which was Brilliant! I remember reading her diary as a girl, and its amazing to be there and see it. But... they don't let you take pictures which I was sad about. We didn't go to the "coffee shops" which was okay with us. It would have probably just been depressing to see all those poor girls in the windows. It was a beautiful city besides that.
You will have to check out all of our pictures on Facebook as they are posted. I will stop here for now and fill you in on the last portion of our trip, as most of you have probably not even read this far and are bored out of your minds...
If you ever get to England, you need to go to one of thier carvery dinners. As its about 5 pounds, and you get a ton of amazing food. Any 3 meats of your choice, potates, vegetables, yorkshire pudding and cranberry sauce- Yum!
Friday, July 20, 2012
Friday, July 6, 2012
Hello friends and Family!
As we continue on our Journey through Europe we have finally come into France, one of my most anticipated spots because I took French for so many years. It has definitely come in handy. Not that I am good at speaking French by any means, but I can get by.
Our first stop in France was Monaco, just to add another country to the list. Then we headed to Marseille. It is a beautiful city on the French Riviera. Its popular but not quite so as its near neighbor the city of Nice (Hence the name ha ha!). Marseille is probably best known for the Chateau D'If, which was made famous by the book, the Counte of Monte Cristo. It is the oldest city in France, and it was amazing! It was first used as a defense in the 1600's or something like that, and then during the Napoleonic years they used it as a place to imprison those who opposed the emperor Napoleon. It was awesome and you will have to take a look at my Facebook photos!
After Marseille we dipped down into Barcelona. We decided to camp out here, to save some money. But it wasn't so bad, the public transit is easy and we were right across from the beach! Barcelona is the capital of Gothic Architecture in Europe which makes for some very intriguing cathedrals!
Next we headed to one of my favorite cities, Paris! I was so excited to see such an iconic city. The Louvre was awesome, seeing the Mona Lisa was definitely a highlight! The Eiffel tower of course, and climbing the 41 flights of stairs was a fun workout. Finally the Notre Dame, but we were sad but Quasimodo wasn't there! And just to clarify, from what I can tell, some French like Americans, some don't. I used French everywhere I went. Not that it was perfect, not that my conjugations were always correct, but if I did a bad job people were nice about it. Paris was different. Not so many nice people, and some downright mean. So not my favorite people group, but they do have a great country.
We met an English man in our travels that told us that God gave the French some of the best countryside in Europe, but then to make it fair, He put the french people there ;) We had a great time anyway! Miss you all!
As we continue on our Journey through Europe we have finally come into France, one of my most anticipated spots because I took French for so many years. It has definitely come in handy. Not that I am good at speaking French by any means, but I can get by.
Our first stop in France was Monaco, just to add another country to the list. Then we headed to Marseille. It is a beautiful city on the French Riviera. Its popular but not quite so as its near neighbor the city of Nice (Hence the name ha ha!). Marseille is probably best known for the Chateau D'If, which was made famous by the book, the Counte of Monte Cristo. It is the oldest city in France, and it was amazing! It was first used as a defense in the 1600's or something like that, and then during the Napoleonic years they used it as a place to imprison those who opposed the emperor Napoleon. It was awesome and you will have to take a look at my Facebook photos!
After Marseille we dipped down into Barcelona. We decided to camp out here, to save some money. But it wasn't so bad, the public transit is easy and we were right across from the beach! Barcelona is the capital of Gothic Architecture in Europe which makes for some very intriguing cathedrals!
Next we headed to one of my favorite cities, Paris! I was so excited to see such an iconic city. The Louvre was awesome, seeing the Mona Lisa was definitely a highlight! The Eiffel tower of course, and climbing the 41 flights of stairs was a fun workout. Finally the Notre Dame, but we were sad but Quasimodo wasn't there! And just to clarify, from what I can tell, some French like Americans, some don't. I used French everywhere I went. Not that it was perfect, not that my conjugations were always correct, but if I did a bad job people were nice about it. Paris was different. Not so many nice people, and some downright mean. So not my favorite people group, but they do have a great country.
We met an English man in our travels that told us that God gave the French some of the best countryside in Europe, but then to make it fair, He put the french people there ;) We had a great time anyway! Miss you all!
Sunday, June 24, 2012
We are underway on our adventures!! Our package never arrived with our tickets, but we did happen to find passes at a good price in Budapest at the Eurail office. We missed out on most of Croatia, which is quite sad, so we will have to come back someday. We had a great time in Split, then took a ferry over to Ancona, Italy. Split was a great city to do in a day, and beautiful at that. There is this great bell tower that overlooks the whole city, and the view is beautiful! Of course, Rome was amazing. You could be there for a week and not see everything. For sake of time, we went to the most important things. The Colosseum, of course. Then the Vatican city and Sistine chapel was awesome, we had a great time going up to the Capella of St. Peters Basilica. You actually walk up about 50 flights of extremely narrow stairs, and walk in a curved dome shape staircase around the actual dome, and then come out for a breathtaking panoramic view of the entire city. Its hard to explain, but lets just say, if you get claustrophobic at all, don't think about it!
After Rome was Florence, and we stayed in a small town in the countryside of Tuscany. I think I enjoyed the small Town more than the crowded touristy city of Florence. I had the best pizza of my life there. The difference, garden ripened tasting vegetables and fresh flavorful ingredients. Basil of course helps anything. Who would have thought that freshness could affect quality so much? So much better than the methylene gas ripened vegetables we consume in the States.
We took a side trip to Pisa, and saw the leaning tower. Pretty cool sight. It was 15 Euro to walk up it, so we decided not to. The next day was Venice. Super cool city just to get lost in. For all the winding streets and beautiful architecture and bridges, its hard to take a bad picture. I loved the masquerade masks, and I wish so badly I could take one home for my artistic actor in training sister! She would have loved to have one!
Finally, we spent our last days in Italy in the Cinque Terre. Highly recommend by my friend Emmi Genovese and Rick Steve's (Author of Europe through the Back Door), we were not disappointed. If you have not had the opportunity to travel here, put it on your bucket list. It is a set of 5 small villages on the Italian river set right up into the mountains. We stayed in Vernazza, the 4th village, and it was the best by far. The smallest and the least touristy by night. In the evening the locals come down and join the few tourists smart enough to stay there. they have had some bad flooding, and the city has had to be remodeled. Despite this, it is still beautiful.
Italy was overall amazing. The Italians are crazy, passionate, aggressive and amazing. Its been a great trip so far, and we are looking forward to many more countries.. That's three down, about 13 more to go! Pray for us! Miss you and love you all!
After Rome was Florence, and we stayed in a small town in the countryside of Tuscany. I think I enjoyed the small Town more than the crowded touristy city of Florence. I had the best pizza of my life there. The difference, garden ripened tasting vegetables and fresh flavorful ingredients. Basil of course helps anything. Who would have thought that freshness could affect quality so much? So much better than the methylene gas ripened vegetables we consume in the States.
We took a side trip to Pisa, and saw the leaning tower. Pretty cool sight. It was 15 Euro to walk up it, so we decided not to. The next day was Venice. Super cool city just to get lost in. For all the winding streets and beautiful architecture and bridges, its hard to take a bad picture. I loved the masquerade masks, and I wish so badly I could take one home for my artistic actor in training sister! She would have loved to have one!
Finally, we spent our last days in Italy in the Cinque Terre. Highly recommend by my friend Emmi Genovese and Rick Steve's (Author of Europe through the Back Door), we were not disappointed. If you have not had the opportunity to travel here, put it on your bucket list. It is a set of 5 small villages on the Italian river set right up into the mountains. We stayed in Vernazza, the 4th village, and it was the best by far. The smallest and the least touristy by night. In the evening the locals come down and join the few tourists smart enough to stay there. they have had some bad flooding, and the city has had to be remodeled. Despite this, it is still beautiful.
Italy was overall amazing. The Italians are crazy, passionate, aggressive and amazing. Its been a great trip so far, and we are looking forward to many more countries.. That's three down, about 13 more to go! Pray for us! Miss you and love you all!
Sunday, June 10, 2012
Hey Friends and Family!
Here we are making our final preparations for backpacking! If any of you have been on facebook recently you might have heard of our adversity's regarding our train passes. We had to have our train passes sent to my mom, because they only ship to America. She sent them in a box about 4 weeks ago, and they have not arrived. They told us they would arrive in 6-10 business days, which usually doesn't happen, but they never take 4 weeks. They have not arrived yet, and we were set to leave yesterday. We are a day or two behind schedule as is, and so now we are trying to figure out what we want to do. If the passes arrive while we are gone, we can return them, but it will take takes four weeks to process. We will also loose 85% of the money we spent. We can them buy them here, but it will cost us 20% more. So we will end up spending a lot more than planned! So please pray for us that we will have wisdom in deciding what to do. Also pray our passes come on Monday as they could still possibly come!
If all goes well, we will hit up 15 European countries! Starting from Hungary we will travel to Croatia, Italy, Switzerland, France, Monaco, Spain, England, Dublin, Brussels, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Germany, Chech Republic, Austria again, Poland and back to Hungary. If anyone has any cities or places in mind that they would recommend, please post a comment!
Chaney arrived on Saturday, and with the delay we have been packing and repacking, washing clothes and relaxing, So it has not been a huge loss of time in our vacation, just a loss of time in traveling all the places we wanted to see. We will try to post often on our trip, and post pictures too! Stay tuned! And please pray that our tickets come, and that we are wise with how we travel. Also we need prayer for protection in our journey! Thank you so much for your prayers and support! We will keep you posted on all happenings!
Love, Jono and Sarah
Here we are making our final preparations for backpacking! If any of you have been on facebook recently you might have heard of our adversity's regarding our train passes. We had to have our train passes sent to my mom, because they only ship to America. She sent them in a box about 4 weeks ago, and they have not arrived. They told us they would arrive in 6-10 business days, which usually doesn't happen, but they never take 4 weeks. They have not arrived yet, and we were set to leave yesterday. We are a day or two behind schedule as is, and so now we are trying to figure out what we want to do. If the passes arrive while we are gone, we can return them, but it will take takes four weeks to process. We will also loose 85% of the money we spent. We can them buy them here, but it will cost us 20% more. So we will end up spending a lot more than planned! So please pray for us that we will have wisdom in deciding what to do. Also pray our passes come on Monday as they could still possibly come!
If all goes well, we will hit up 15 European countries! Starting from Hungary we will travel to Croatia, Italy, Switzerland, France, Monaco, Spain, England, Dublin, Brussels, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Germany, Chech Republic, Austria again, Poland and back to Hungary. If anyone has any cities or places in mind that they would recommend, please post a comment!
Chaney arrived on Saturday, and with the delay we have been packing and repacking, washing clothes and relaxing, So it has not been a huge loss of time in our vacation, just a loss of time in traveling all the places we wanted to see. We will try to post often on our trip, and post pictures too! Stay tuned! And please pray that our tickets come, and that we are wise with how we travel. Also we need prayer for protection in our journey! Thank you so much for your prayers and support! We will keep you posted on all happenings!
Love, Jono and Sarah
Monday, May 21, 2012
End of the semester!!!
Dear Family and Friends,
It’s that amazing time of year
again. When school is passed and summer begins! Not that we are at all glad the
semester is over, that means many friends and loved ones are to depart back to
the states or other parts of the world. We are just excited for this next
season of life.
Jono
and I will be here for the next three weeks approximately. We are going to be
helping out here at the school with conferences and daily service needs until
the Day of June 9th, when we will meet Chaney in Budapest! We will
be travelling with my best friend Chaney this summer via Planes, trains and
automobiles all over Europe.
Your
next Question is probably “Where in Europe are you going?” I know this is the
next question you would ask because 99% of the time people ask that after I
tell them we are backpacking for the summer, which is great that people actually
want to know! However, I always respond “Everywhere”! as we are indeed, going
everywhere. We are starting in Budapest, going down to Croatia, and from there,
everywhere else. We plan to do 15 countries in 5 weeks, overambitious yes? Fun,
definitely Yes! We are very excited, nervous, happy, and every other emotion
one could feel in these moments.
We have
been praying and asking the Lord, Jesus for direction for our lives after this.
We have had a few offers in ministry, but we feel that the Lord is leading us
to stay here, in Vajta. We decided to step out in faith despite the lack of
funds, and now here we are, some of the next interns for the fall semester! We
have been accepted into the internship program. From this we will receive the
last remaining credits we need to get our bachelors, and will also be serving
the students and staff as well.
The
only problem, which is really not a problem, is we are waiting on the Lord to
provide the necessary funds. We feel that the Lord is leading us here and if He
really is, He will provide the money. We know that He can and He will, but
please pray for us as we move in this direction that the Lord would provide for
us to be here and that we would have faith in him and his past faithfulness to
us.
The
internship program is a 13 month commitment, and if we started in the fall we
would not be finished until Next September, 2013. This is a big commitment, and
truly quite sad for us and many of our family and friends. Our deepest regrets
to all or family and friends that we will not be with you for a while longer,
we dearly love each and every one of you! I am reminded of a verse my teacher
shared with us. “Though I am absent from you in the flesh, I am with you in
Spirit rejoicing to see your good order and steadfastness in Christ!”(Colossians
2:5).
We will
try to keep you updated until our departure! Please let us know if there is any
way we can be praying for you all, we are with you in Spirit!
Love,
Sarah and Jono
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Life as we know it...
Its been so long since we have written, I am slightly embarassed.
We have been on our annual ten day outreach. Every semester all the students are required to go on a ten day outreach. Jono and I went to Budapest. We did many activities there such as homless ministry, street evangelism, street dramas, working the church cofee shop, and decorating the Baby room. We were super busy as a result, but at the same time we had a wonderful time.
The plans for the baby room was to redecorate, but the church as well as the baby room is in a historicla building. So even though there were these great plans to redecorate, the city has to be ok with any updates they do. we started working cutting out shapes and sewing them on to banners, as well as making these flags that would hang from the ceiling. We worked on this every day, and we didnt even finish which is extremely vexing. It was so much work!
A group of us each day would go to the homless shelter and serve making and serving meals. My experience there was awesome. The homeless people there are very well take care of, as this is one of 40 homless shelters there. Even though I can get by in Hungarian with a few words and phrases, it was difficult to understand the homless people. They would often start talking to me in German haha, apparently I look German. Jonathan was able to share Jesus with one of the ex convicts that was doing community service there too. Such a sweet time!
We also had this really cool band come and stay with us in Budapest in Travis and Autumns tiny flat. There were 14 of us in total! This band, called the New Divide, travel around Europe doing free shows and telling people about Jesus. Its a super cool minsitry, one that I would love myself. And its cool beacuse they really just had the same heart we had on our ten day, to point people to Jesus.
They did a show in Tatbanya, a small town about a half hour outside Budapest. There was a big event that day, and therefore there were many kids at the park. They did thier set a couple times, and it was amazing how well the kids responded to them. They loved them so much they got thier autographs. Then to my suprise they wanted the other Americans autographs too. I guess in Europe even the roadies are cool! It really opened up a lot of doors for us to talk to the youth there. So all in all even though I had cold showers for a week, it was a blessing to have them there with us!
One of my most memorable moments was when the band did thier set in Budapest at the Calvary Chapel. They had an evangelistic message, and afterwards there was a frenchman who wanted to talk to someone about what was going on that night. The pastor remembered that I spoke a little French, and as a result he came and asked me to talk to him. I was scared but I was able to share the gospel with him, in French! I am not sure how well I did, but I know that the Lord can use it. I am continuing to pray for Phillipe, and if you think of it please do too. It was an amazing experience, as it was one of the first times in my life I was extremely comfortable sharing my faith, even though it should have been uncomfortable becuase my French is soooo bad!
All in all, it was an awesome ten day outreach. I have been blessed hearing all the stories from my fellow students about how God has been working in thier lives through ten day outreach. Since we have been back, it has been nothing but homework homework homework... As there are only two weeks left in the semester! How amazing is it that it went by so increadibly fast!
I am also organizing the Talent show this year. I have bever done anything like this, but it is really fun and I am really excited for it! Jono and one of the pastors here are going to be the M.C.'s. I hope I can post a video too for all of you to see.
Lastly, Jonathan and I along with my best friend Chaney are working on making arrangements for this summer. As some of you might know we are backpacking all over Europe! I am so excited as this is one of my life long dreams. If you can, please respond by posting on this blog your favorite place to visit in Europe, or any reccomendations you might have. We are totally open to suggestions!
Thank you all for your love and prayer! hope to talk to you soon!
Sarah and Jono
We have been on our annual ten day outreach. Every semester all the students are required to go on a ten day outreach. Jono and I went to Budapest. We did many activities there such as homless ministry, street evangelism, street dramas, working the church cofee shop, and decorating the Baby room. We were super busy as a result, but at the same time we had a wonderful time.
The plans for the baby room was to redecorate, but the church as well as the baby room is in a historicla building. So even though there were these great plans to redecorate, the city has to be ok with any updates they do. we started working cutting out shapes and sewing them on to banners, as well as making these flags that would hang from the ceiling. We worked on this every day, and we didnt even finish which is extremely vexing. It was so much work!
A group of us each day would go to the homless shelter and serve making and serving meals. My experience there was awesome. The homeless people there are very well take care of, as this is one of 40 homless shelters there. Even though I can get by in Hungarian with a few words and phrases, it was difficult to understand the homless people. They would often start talking to me in German haha, apparently I look German. Jonathan was able to share Jesus with one of the ex convicts that was doing community service there too. Such a sweet time!
We also had this really cool band come and stay with us in Budapest in Travis and Autumns tiny flat. There were 14 of us in total! This band, called the New Divide, travel around Europe doing free shows and telling people about Jesus. Its a super cool minsitry, one that I would love myself. And its cool beacuse they really just had the same heart we had on our ten day, to point people to Jesus.
They did a show in Tatbanya, a small town about a half hour outside Budapest. There was a big event that day, and therefore there were many kids at the park. They did thier set a couple times, and it was amazing how well the kids responded to them. They loved them so much they got thier autographs. Then to my suprise they wanted the other Americans autographs too. I guess in Europe even the roadies are cool! It really opened up a lot of doors for us to talk to the youth there. So all in all even though I had cold showers for a week, it was a blessing to have them there with us!
One of my most memorable moments was when the band did thier set in Budapest at the Calvary Chapel. They had an evangelistic message, and afterwards there was a frenchman who wanted to talk to someone about what was going on that night. The pastor remembered that I spoke a little French, and as a result he came and asked me to talk to him. I was scared but I was able to share the gospel with him, in French! I am not sure how well I did, but I know that the Lord can use it. I am continuing to pray for Phillipe, and if you think of it please do too. It was an amazing experience, as it was one of the first times in my life I was extremely comfortable sharing my faith, even though it should have been uncomfortable becuase my French is soooo bad!
All in all, it was an awesome ten day outreach. I have been blessed hearing all the stories from my fellow students about how God has been working in thier lives through ten day outreach. Since we have been back, it has been nothing but homework homework homework... As there are only two weeks left in the semester! How amazing is it that it went by so increadibly fast!
I am also organizing the Talent show this year. I have bever done anything like this, but it is really fun and I am really excited for it! Jono and one of the pastors here are going to be the M.C.'s. I hope I can post a video too for all of you to see.
Lastly, Jonathan and I along with my best friend Chaney are working on making arrangements for this summer. As some of you might know we are backpacking all over Europe! I am so excited as this is one of my life long dreams. If you can, please respond by posting on this blog your favorite place to visit in Europe, or any reccomendations you might have. We are totally open to suggestions!
Thank you all for your love and prayer! hope to talk to you soon!
Sarah and Jono
Saturday, April 14, 2012
Easter weekend......
Like I always say, been super crazy, no time to write. So here goes.....I'll try to catch you up.
We had a wonderful action packed weekend in Slovenia with the Fitzgerald family. The missionary's in Slovenia are some of the most gracious, loving and hospitable people I have ever met. They totally opened there home up to us, and if you think of it, pray for Ales and Whitney serving in Celje, Slovenia. They are so very busy with the work of the Lord, but the Lord is blessing them immensely.
The very next weekend my best friend Chaney came to Hungary to visit over her Easter break. We went with Martinah, Autumn and Travis to Budapest for the weekend, as where we live in Vajta is very far from the airport. We stayed with Travis who is a missionary in Budapest. It is soon to be Autumns apartment too, as Travis and Autumn are engaged to be married on June 9th. We will be attending their wedding as well., and are very blessed to have them as friends. They were very gracious hosts as well, pray for their wedding and marriage as they are in full time minsitry as soon as they are married. We picked up Chaney from the airport on Saturday at 12:15, and for the rest of the weekend we explored Budapest. Our photos were posted on Facebook, and in case you don't have a Facebook, here is a link that should allow you to see them. (http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.690569661224.2115080.52304402&type=3&l=140fcc04aa)
Chaney was very welcomed here at the campus by all the students, they were very sad to see her go. For her last weekend here, we all decided to go back to Slovenia, as the part we saw wasn't even the "good part." We rented a car and took off to Ljubljana first, the capital of Slovenia. It was a very beautiful, very clean city with a castle overlooking the city. We thoroughly enjoyed it here. Definitely the type of city I could live in.
That night we left and went straight to the Mediterranean coast, or technically the Adriatic sea. Even though it was overcast it was beautiful. We ate breakfast the next day by the sea and proceeded to walk around in Koper. We wanted to go drive on the coast for awhile but we had a little trouble getting around as they only drive manual in Europe, and none of us have ever learned how to properly. I thought I knew, but when I stalled turning onto the freeway right in front of oncoming traffic, I realized I had no idea what I was doing.
The worst incident happened in Koper when Chaney was driving. We knew that hills were hard for us, and upon seeing a hill in the near distance I directed Chaney to turn into a little parking lot to turn around. When we turned back onto the street she turned right back into the direction of the hill, the very direction I was trying to avoid. About a third of the way up, she stalled, and we had to literally reverse down the hill backwards with our emergency lights on. This took a long time, as we would stop anytime a car would approach us. The when she got to the bottom of the hill, instead of turn around, she went right back up the hill again! It was so awful, and I think I aged a few years from the stress...
Short story long, parents please teach your children stick shift! we went to Bled, Slovenia next. This is my new favorite place in Slovenia. It was breathtakingly beautiful. A very clean city again, with a small lake and an island in the middle. You could rent boats to row to the island with an old Catholic church in the middle, however it was snowing and raining and we were unable to. It rained the night we got there, so we went to the amazing castle overlooking Bled on Easter Sunday. We found ourselves watching traditional Slovenian dances in the castle, followed by an Easter egg hunt in the castle! The best egg hunt ever! We all three found an egg, (well we found one for Jonathan), which we redeemed for amazing prizes. It started to snow again so we were on our way again.
After Bled, we went to Vienna, Austria. This was beautiful drive through the Austrian countryside. (We sang the sound of music songs a few times!) We arrived in Vienna, and it was even colder and windier than Bled. We saw St. Stephens cathedral in Vienna, and made it in time for their big Easter mass. Cool to see, but extremely vexing as they charge 8USD to go to the service. So we stood in the back, which was free, but we had a nice time anyways. We saw a few more churches and cathedrals, but all in all, Not much to see in Vienna. Just a big cool European city like any other.
We ended up going back to Budapest early, but most everything was closed as Europeans take the Monday after Easter off too. I was sad to see Chaney go, but we had a great time. She will be back soon too, as we are still backpacking this summer.
.....Sorry this was such a long post, I just had so much to say!
...........and for the new European food of the week, we tried the Wiener Schnitzel in Vienna. We thought it was a hot dog sausage-like food, considering the word "wiener," but really it was just a breaded chicken breast. Not as cool as we though, but still good. The strudel made up for it...
Love you all!!
and for the pics of our Easter weekend trip...
We had a wonderful action packed weekend in Slovenia with the Fitzgerald family. The missionary's in Slovenia are some of the most gracious, loving and hospitable people I have ever met. They totally opened there home up to us, and if you think of it, pray for Ales and Whitney serving in Celje, Slovenia. They are so very busy with the work of the Lord, but the Lord is blessing them immensely.
The very next weekend my best friend Chaney came to Hungary to visit over her Easter break. We went with Martinah, Autumn and Travis to Budapest for the weekend, as where we live in Vajta is very far from the airport. We stayed with Travis who is a missionary in Budapest. It is soon to be Autumns apartment too, as Travis and Autumn are engaged to be married on June 9th. We will be attending their wedding as well., and are very blessed to have them as friends. They were very gracious hosts as well, pray for their wedding and marriage as they are in full time minsitry as soon as they are married. We picked up Chaney from the airport on Saturday at 12:15, and for the rest of the weekend we explored Budapest. Our photos were posted on Facebook, and in case you don't have a Facebook, here is a link that should allow you to see them. (http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.690569661224.2115080.52304402&type=3&l=140fcc04aa)
Chaney was very welcomed here at the campus by all the students, they were very sad to see her go. For her last weekend here, we all decided to go back to Slovenia, as the part we saw wasn't even the "good part." We rented a car and took off to Ljubljana first, the capital of Slovenia. It was a very beautiful, very clean city with a castle overlooking the city. We thoroughly enjoyed it here. Definitely the type of city I could live in.
That night we left and went straight to the Mediterranean coast, or technically the Adriatic sea. Even though it was overcast it was beautiful. We ate breakfast the next day by the sea and proceeded to walk around in Koper. We wanted to go drive on the coast for awhile but we had a little trouble getting around as they only drive manual in Europe, and none of us have ever learned how to properly. I thought I knew, but when I stalled turning onto the freeway right in front of oncoming traffic, I realized I had no idea what I was doing.
The worst incident happened in Koper when Chaney was driving. We knew that hills were hard for us, and upon seeing a hill in the near distance I directed Chaney to turn into a little parking lot to turn around. When we turned back onto the street she turned right back into the direction of the hill, the very direction I was trying to avoid. About a third of the way up, she stalled, and we had to literally reverse down the hill backwards with our emergency lights on. This took a long time, as we would stop anytime a car would approach us. The when she got to the bottom of the hill, instead of turn around, she went right back up the hill again! It was so awful, and I think I aged a few years from the stress...
Short story long, parents please teach your children stick shift! we went to Bled, Slovenia next. This is my new favorite place in Slovenia. It was breathtakingly beautiful. A very clean city again, with a small lake and an island in the middle. You could rent boats to row to the island with an old Catholic church in the middle, however it was snowing and raining and we were unable to. It rained the night we got there, so we went to the amazing castle overlooking Bled on Easter Sunday. We found ourselves watching traditional Slovenian dances in the castle, followed by an Easter egg hunt in the castle! The best egg hunt ever! We all three found an egg, (well we found one for Jonathan), which we redeemed for amazing prizes. It started to snow again so we were on our way again.
After Bled, we went to Vienna, Austria. This was beautiful drive through the Austrian countryside. (We sang the sound of music songs a few times!) We arrived in Vienna, and it was even colder and windier than Bled. We saw St. Stephens cathedral in Vienna, and made it in time for their big Easter mass. Cool to see, but extremely vexing as they charge 8USD to go to the service. So we stood in the back, which was free, but we had a nice time anyways. We saw a few more churches and cathedrals, but all in all, Not much to see in Vienna. Just a big cool European city like any other.
We ended up going back to Budapest early, but most everything was closed as Europeans take the Monday after Easter off too. I was sad to see Chaney go, but we had a great time. She will be back soon too, as we are still backpacking this summer.
.....Sorry this was such a long post, I just had so much to say!
...........and for the new European food of the week, we tried the Wiener Schnitzel in Vienna. We thought it was a hot dog sausage-like food, considering the word "wiener," but really it was just a breaded chicken breast. Not as cool as we though, but still good. The strudel made up for it...
Love you all!!
and for the pics of our Easter weekend trip...
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.692564942664.2115484.52304402&type=3&l=477ed58955
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