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Travels around the world (with Beth and Chris)

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14 Aug 2014
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Lake Balaton

Cruising down the highway out of Budapest toward Lake Balaton….

Balaton is the largest lake in Central Europe (48 miles long) and is a summer destination for many Hungarians. We drove for a while on the southern side of the lake. Chris and I agreed it had a decidedly Jersey shore vibe – minus the salt air and replacing sandy beaches with grass (I know, weird). Time to cross over on the car- ferry, the lake was a milky blue-ish color and was dotted with sailboats. Stopped for Hungarian lunch and a (small) glass of dry rosé wine for Beth. Now picture the Finger Lakes with vineyards covering the hillsides rising up from the seam formed by water and land and this is where we are (I never thought any destination could be a cross of the Jersey shore and the Finger Lakes, but here it is, before us in Hungary!)!

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We stayed in Badacsonytomaj in Pension Óbester, a family-run place (8 rooms) amongst the grape vines and walnut trees – with two dogs, a cat, a tiny tiger kitten, a lake view.

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After a short rest, we decided to take a trip up the wine road which happened to be right around the corner! We sampled a few deciliters of wine (with the help of a Hungarian woman living in Germany who also spoke English – so friendly!), bought some bottles of a dry white cuvee, made our way to a hilltop restaurant, and in between stopped at the tourist trap in the village for a scarf to keep warm (when we left Budapest it was its usual hot self, so neither one of us was prepared to be chilly). We both ordered a Hungarian dish – potato pancake wrapped around pork and cheese (yes, it might sound sorta yuckky, but it really was so tasty!) enveloped in the restaurant’s fleece blankets so that we could remain outside absorbing the vineyards and lake.

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In the morning after a breakfast overlooking the water with the hotel dogs and cats (well, not at our table, but we were all outside together!) we made our way down the lake to the Castle at Szigliget – a multi-level medieval fortress/ castle remains/restoration. Afterwards, we drove toward Budapest and inland for an interesting tour of the Herend porcelain process.

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Back in Budapest again….

xo

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11 Aug 2014

Date night on the Danube

So we’ve settled back into our place here in Budapest after our incredible death race road rally in Romania.

Tonight we decided to take one of our favorite bottles of local white wine down to the Danube and watch the sunset.  We found a quiet bench in one of the riverside pedestrian parks along the Danube and watched the city transition from day to night.  It was amazing watching the bridges, monuments, and castles illuminate as dusk enveloped us.

Once it was dark and our wine was spent, we walked toward home and stopped by one of our favorite riverside restaurants to enjoy some local wood fired pizza, and a little more wine!

C

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02 Aug 2014

A day in Transylvania

We arrived in Brasov late afternoon on Wednesday and took the free, interesting, and informative walking tour. This gave us the opportunity to explore the surrounding Transylvania on Thursday.

We started with the bears. About thirty minutes outside of Brashov, we turned onto a dusty, pot-holed dirt road and made our way to the 70 hectare brown bear sanctuary Libearty outside of Zarnesti.  With the help of the gentle guide, we obseved some of the 81 bears that have found their home here – rescued from mostly abusive situations. She said each bear has its own personality, but her favorite was a friendly blind bear, Max, who came out for a visit after she softly called him. The bears range in color from dirty blonde to almost black, and are assorted sizes – the growth of many were affected by their unfortunate beginnings. Thankfully these bears have been rescued from living cruel lives as “entertainers” or inappropriately as “pets” (legal up until two years ago) and are being cared for in the next best situation to being in the wild where they would most definitely not survive. Oh. They get to eat LOTS of honey too 🙂

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Back in the car to wind our way over the mountains and through the beautiful Transylvanian forest, past the junky souvenir strips (what’s with all these garden gnomes??) and small stands of cheese, honey, and water bottles filled with brightly colored mysterious liquid. We find Peles, the royal Romainan castle we are looking for. It is sufficiently opulent wih beautiful furnishings and 161 rooms (30 of them bathrooms); it was built as a summer home to the Romanian king at the end of the 1800s and took 39 years to complete.IMG_2167~01

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After a full day in the car we refresh with Romanian white wine and start toward the Restaurant Transilvania (someone has been on TripAdvisor!) for some local cuisine. As we approach the square we hear music and see a crowd of people forming an impromptu dance floor. These couples are not shuffling around in circles. They are actually dancing cheek to cheek, anticipating each others steps, enjoying the ritual and each other- you can tell by their faces and the way they move.

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So far we have not encountered one blood-sucking vampire….Another delightful day, just Honeybuns and me ♥

xo

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