Visit to Visegrád

Today we traveled out to the mountains.
We began our day at the highest point in Hungary to go sledding in the snow.
But we saw that it had been too hot this past week, so the snow melted and the mountain was too rocky to sled in the 4 or 5 cm of snow that was left.

Highest Point in Hungary 1014 meters

Then we went to the first capital of Hungary, Visegrád.
It is located north of Budapest next to the Danube.
It was the main castle of Hungary and during the middle ages most of the population lived only in that region.
We toured the castle.

School Bus

So I have been taking this school bus home for the last week.

This bus picks me up around 4 blocks away from my school and drops me off very close to my home in Budafok.

The only drag is that it takes an hour to get there and the bus is always packed full of people everyday.

Cold Soup in a Cold Hungary

A very popular soup in the winter in Hungary is Kocsonya.

It's a soup that is cooked for 5+ hours.

After it's cooked it's taken outside and sits in the -degree weather.

Then around dinner time it has hardened like gelatin and is ready to eat.

This meal is so popular that the city I was in last weekend even had their own festival dedicated to this soup.

It was -8 during the festival and people were still enjoying themselves eating this cold treat,

although they were drinking hot wine with it.

Relaxing at the Thermal Pools

On Saturday we went off to one of the many thermal hot springs in Hungary. This one has been around since the 1890's, but was remodeled in 2002.

It made for a great place to rest for the day, because this upcoming week is going to be hard with all the homework I have and practices at night. 

Friday at the Vineyards

I went to 2 different Wineries in Hungary on Friday
i was in the north western region of Hungary called Tokaji
Its a beautiful area with rolling hills and amazing wine

Cold Bus Ride to School

Today I took the bus to school like all the kids in Hungary do.
I bought myself a bus pass yesterday that will last me until the 14th of March.
It was a warm morning around -4 degrees Celsius, it felt much colder because there was a lot of wind
TB walked over to his girlfriend's house first because she lives next door to the bus stop. Her house and the bus stop are about a 1 km walk away from where I am living.
The bus comes at exactly 7:15, but we were there a little early just in case.
The bus was packed full of people off to work and school, which made the bus very comfortable compared to the frigid air outside.

First Day of School

I went to my first day of school today.
It was a lot of fun.
I have very nice kids in my classes. My teachers are helpful and everyone spoke English, which made it feel like I could have been in a school about anywhere in the United States.
My only complaint was that many of my classmates reeked of cigarettes, which stunk up the whole class, and they would go out to smoke every hour and thirty minutes.

In Hungary Safe and Sound

I flew in to Budapest quicker than expected.

I was the first person off the plane and my bag was the first to come down the ramp at the baggage claim

I know that this is going to be an amazing trip getting this kind of luck coming my way.

I was picked up by TB's parents and was taken to their home where I will spend the next 6 weeks.

Gone For 6 Weeks

I will be leaving this Friday to travel to Budapest, Hungary.
While I am there I will be staying with a very close friend. I will be studying winemaking, playing water polo and going to school.