Photos and a Few Thoughts, From Kuwait.

Thanksgiving.
Enjoyed celebrating Thanksgiving with some of my sweet, fun colleagues.

Good people, good food and games = smiles.

Two Monthly Book clubs. 

Participating in two clubs gets me reading books I may not otherwise choose to read on my own.

My apartment building's (I can go in my slippers!), last month's, book club read: City of Lies: Sex, Death, and the Search for Truth in Tehran. Yeah, I only made it half way. That was enough of those true stories for me.

This month's read: And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie. I know, we DO read a wide range of books. I've never read an Agatha Christie book.   

Heading to the in-my-apartment-building book club.

In the other club, last month, we read The Paradise Guest House, a novel that takes place in Bali, Indonesia. This month: The Snow Child by Ivey Eowyn.

Of course we eat at both meetings.

The Novelty of Running.

I'm still enjoying running. It still feels novel and like a major accomplishment. But, my sensitive knee, has been limiting me. 

In November, I ran my first 10K.

Really Random Stuff.

I am not creative enough to even try to tie this stuff together.

Tim Horton's now sets up a stand at our school every Thursday morning, before school!

I snapped this, from my window, at the end of September.

January 8th. I'm not thrilled.

Wherever they are, I love sunsets.

My school has an amazing canteen.
"I say cafeteria, you say canteen."
I eat these stuffed grape leaves a lot! 

Arabic.

This, beautiful, language is Arabic!

Graduation from another class.  I am still a beginning beginner though.
(You just don't need to see me that up close, again!)

How awesome is this. I haven't made the purchase, yet, though. Hmm...

Christmas.

Got to do a small service project with friends. The note below is in, beautiful, Sinhalese. A language spoken in Sri Lanka.

The things that amuse me. The tree in my classroom.

My adorable, not-so-secret, admirer.

Wrapping it Up.

I wish I was at Pizza Express now.
I ♥️ food pictures.

I'm Actually here: at the new Starbuck's, in my neighborhood.

Next up: Home for the Holidays. Nebraska.

Budapest to Kuwait

New Years in Budapest

It was frigid, there were no outside concerts(which I remember from a past year) and no organized fireworks, but there was mulled wine, noise makers and plenty of crazy people setting off their own explosives.

Things I forgot about Budapest

-You have to put a coin in to get a shopping cart. It is nice that people don't leave carts laying around.

-You have to pay for your shopping bags at most grocery store.  It's a great idea because most people bring there own bags to save the money. 

-How much of a hike it is to Gellert hill.

But you are rewarded with beautiful views.

-How much you get/have to speak Hungarian because many people don't speak English.

-PDA. Compared to Kuwait anyway. Public displays of affection are pretty common.

Things are old and some are still in bad shape but it is all mixed to create such beauty.

Things that have changed in Budapest

A few notable advancements:

- There are now English friendly announcements in public transportation. And electronic signs post the minutes until the next bus and tram will arrive.

- More Cafes and more shopping than ever. Even many Mexican restaurants now. And there are now 9 Starbucks.

- There is a new, fourth, metro line.

- There are now 200 Forint coins(it's almost equivalent to a dollar).

- Turkish gyros, pizza and Chinese food are every. where. And Donuts seem to have exploded in the country.

St. Stephen's Basilica

Grandma Kato's Fresh Chimney Cakes

St. Stephen's Basilica 

The Chain Bridge

City Park

Fine Art Museum

Hero Square

The Parliament Building

Back to Kuwait

Turkish Air is really nice. Lots of leg room, a full meal for even short flights. They gave teddy bears to kids and served Turkish delight on one leg of the journey. Think Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe.

Today is a day to celebrate the prophet Mohammed's birthday in Kuwait. Because it falls on a weekend, we have Sunday(the first day of our week) off. I'm still going in for a few hours but just to get prepared for the week. Tomorrow it's back to the grindstone.

I hope your 2015 is off to a good start, too. Happy New Years.

Prague Vacation

Christmas in Budapest

Christmas in Budapest was nice. It seems it is not traditional, in this part of the world (I'm writing this from Budapest), to have a Christmas Eve service but a Christmas morning service.  We enjoyed broccoli cheese soup and Its a Wonderful Life on Christmas Eve and headed to the Hungarian/English service on Christmas morning. 

We also enjoyed a post-service coffee at the beautifully restored New York Kavehaz.

It was built at the end of the 19th century and was frequented by the elite of Hungary's literary world. One anecdote tells of how the famous writer Ferenc Molnár, on the day the café opened, threw the keys into the Danube so that it would never close.

Traveling in Style

On Boxing Day, December 26th, we boarded a bus to Prague (pronounced Praha in Hungarian and Czech), Czech Republic. 

On the way, our bus had personal screens for movies and television and served free hot drinks. 

Arrival

It took 7 1/2 hours, with one break and 3 other stops, to get from Budapest to Prague.  After arrival, we checked out the local cuisine. Prague goulash with homemade dumplings is pictured below. 

It was quite a bit different than the Hungarian version, pictured here:

A Tour in Photos

Christmas markets were still in full swing.  

It was very cold ( around 30 degrees Fahrenheit most of the time). We bundled up and began our 46 hour Prague tour.  We spent a lot of time outdoors, so we constantly consumed hot beverages.

Below is the famous Charles bridge, a walking bridge.

The tradition of padlocks, with the initials of couples carved into them, is here as well.

Chimney cakes, also, are in Prague. I ate 2. I also sampled sausages and mulled wine. Sarah said the homemade potato chips were amazing. And she liked the schnitzel (breaded meat cutlets).

One of our many hot beverages.

We also made our way up to the castle district.

Climbing around 380 steps to the top of one of the castle towers, was tough.

But, we were rewarded with some breathtaking views.

Observation and Such

- Rye bread is the staple. When you order a sausage or soup you get rye bread. 

- Cobble stones are everywhere. Even new side walks are cobblestone. Because of this I didn't see very many heeled boots.

- Lots. Of. Tourists. There are more tourists in Prague than Budapest. 

- Even though it was bitter cold we all ate outside at the markets.

- The architecture and statues seemed sort of dark and mysterious.

- It seems the whole world does big, sparkly shopping malls now. Starbucks, H&M and Costa Coffee have overtaken the world.

- Czechs love pizza and Italian food.

- We went to a English speaking church in Prague. It was special to worship, next to the castle, with people from all over the world. 

Final Thoughts

I have wanted to go to Prague for a long time, so I am really thankful I was able to experience it. I understand why everyone loves it.  It's delightful!

And then it feels like coming home, again, when arriving back in Budapest.