Budapesht

Budapest (play /ˈbuːdəpɛst/, /ˈbuːdəpɛʃt/ or /ˈbʊdəpɛst/; Hungarian pronunciation: [ˈbudɒpɛʃt] ( listen); names in other languages) is the capital and the largest city of Hungary,[1] the largest in East-Central Europe and the eighth largest in the European Union.

I'll be heading to Budapest in just 5 days.  My traveling companion will be my recent college graduated daughter, Mira.  Upon arrival in Hungary, I will be met by my parents (who will have flown in from Palm Springs a day earlier) and my sister-in-law Dana.  Dan, my brother, will be at work and will join us when he is done for the day.  I have never been to Eastern Europe, but have images of ancient buildings and architecture, cobblestone streets, women wearing aprons while baking bread and sweeping their sidewalks, and warm potato stews for dinner.   I think many of these images come from when I lived in Bavaria, Germany almost 30 years ago.  Replace the potato stew with bratwurst and it is Germany.  Aside from a  trip to see The Grateful Dead in Europe, 1991, I have not been back.  


Why Budapest you might ask?  Or not, if you have been there and know it's charms.  Well, I can't take credit for any personal quest to journey there. but rather my brother is in Budapest and it got my parent's attention as they often like to visit him when he is working on location in other countries.  When my dad said he wanted to take Mira there for her graduation present, I jumped on board! 


I want to record my trip and make note of special experiences by posting them in a blog.  Not having done a blog before, I thought I should get a handle on it before I leave on Thursday.  If you are reading this, you are reading the very first one! Lucky you! : ) 


Two suitcases are sitting on my bedroom floor waiting to be packed and readied for the journey.  I'm thinking simple, simple, simple.  This does not come easy for someone like me.  I love things! I like choices! I like to be prepared for any occasion! The weather will be similar to how it is here in Sebastopol, and perhaps a little warmer even.  Today was 85 degrees fahrenheit, which gave me a taste of what I might be comfortable wearing.  It's hard to imagine discomfort when the weather is so cool so I'm thankful for the bit of "suffering" today (quotes are because I know there are those who are dealing with serious 3 digit heat).  Skirts, tasteful tanks, and walking shoes are going to be my go-to outfit, but I'm bringing many accessories!  


Last word from Dana was that Dan wanted to drive to Croatia (about a 6 hour drive from Budapest) the weekend we arrive! Wow! Again, not on my bucket list, but super excited to explore a new territory I've only read about in the news.  I know very little about that country.  Planning to do a lot of reading from my two travel books on the plane!  We will be landing in Frankfurt, Germany, for two hours before switching planes to Budapest.   I am very excited to be going to Germany again, if only to be in the airport! "Eine Bratwurst und ein bier bitte." Painful as it may be to be so close and yet so far away, I will be happy to eat some German food and smell the familiar aroma of the country (Am I imagining things, because maybe there will be the same ol' Starbucks and McDonalds as there is here? Please no!).


So, there you have it.  I'm off on an adventure.  How I'll update this blog, I'm not sure.  Maybe from my phone! They might be short and sweet, but full of pics.  : )  


Thanks for joining me. 
Venusrises 

(Tracy)