It had been a long 7 weeks...and when we got through customs we were so happy to see Josh on the other side! We met him in Frankfurt so he was on our flight to Budapest.
Landing in Budapest after a long day!
These girls tried so hard to make it through dinner. We were finally able to find a place to eat. Apparently in Budapest the norm is to make reservations...we went to several places being turned away until we found this place. The only availability was a small space upstairs.
They helped our tired and cranky kids with coloring pages.
We used an air bnb and were a bit unimpressed! This is the first time we haven't been happy with using them. It started with the code not working..which led to this...
Then we made it in the apartment and it was less than desirable area, but we made it through the week!
After a restless night of sleep--the girls woke up jet lag at 2 AM--we woke up to Elise's 7th birthday! I had brought birthday provisions in our suitcase and she was surprised to wake up to the banner and the present.
We stepped outside to this weather:
Our first day was Elise's favorite...not just because it was her birthday, but because we were going to spend the day with the Qutubs. She was so excited to see her friend, Jennah. I was excited to see Linda in her home country. It was so neat listening to her talk to people in Hungarian- we got to see a whole other side of the city with her being our tour guide.
Lunch was delicious and so was the company!
Linda surprised Elise with a beautiful birthday cake.
This idea of putting the kids up there was not Mr. Safety Josh's idea--he was ready to catch!
We loved having the famous "flower" ice cream cones.
Trying to get a good picture of the bridge and Parliament building!
The next morning we got up early for a tour of Hungary!
We started out by seeing the Esztergom Basilica.
The pictures with the church is in the background we are in Slovakia.
More ice cream!
The next morning we decided to have a lazy day and let the kids sleep in. We then ventured off for lunch and had no idea the movie stars we would run in to! We ate at the Vintage Garden and sat just a few feet away from Mila Kunis and Ashton!
You can see them in the right hand corner!
The kids had been eyeing the Budapest eye for a few days! They loved it.
We had a great dinner at a local food truck area right by our apartment.
We only used the trains one day in Budapest-it was pretty easy to just walk everywhere! This day we did a ton of walking.
Great picture of Pest vs. Buda
We opted for a golf cart ride rather than hike up the big hill!
This was our nicest meals the whole trip and gave us a great view of the Parliament.
We took the funicular down!
We took the kids to a precious train museum that they loved. We were able to sit and have a drink while they played!
We got a babysitter this night and had a great night out on the town! We were right by a famous ruin bar- it was really cool!
Our last full day was one of my favorite! We explored Margaret Island and so much fun going to the baths. The kids loved it too!
We brought a picnic for lunch.
The dads got their workout in!
The musical fountains were so neat! They were like the Bellagio or Dubai fountains, but for children. Their songs were set to children songs. The kids were dancing and loving it.
The thermal baths were so neat! They felt warm and were also very clean.
Trying to get my last bit of alcohol for awhile. ;)
We were sad our trip was over! Our flights home were very smooth though- so we are thankful for that.
Look at the difference in the weather! It was quite a shock to land in the desert heat!
The airport is the only place besides our compound you don't have to wear an abaya. I'm wearing this shirt to show spirit for my friend Summer who just recently beat breast cancer!
