Day 1

I landed at Ferihegy Airport after a quick layover in Prague. The first thing that I thought was how little the country had changed. The billboards looked the same. The streets, cars, dyed haird. I don't know why I was expecting some huge make-over. It was nice though to have the familiarity. It was quite difficult to start speaking Hungarian again. It was really a strange sensation to be back. I was still quite apprehensive and a little nervous when I got there.

I stayed for the most part at Csoti Szilveszter (family name first in Hungary) and his wife, Noemi's place. He was my lone Hungarian companion. They live in the western part of Budapest called Kobanya. They have a wonderful place especially according to Hungarian standards. They have a nice computer with high-speed internet. Nice furniture, and most importantly an extra room. Well, I guess not extra...it was their baby girl's room. But she kindly offered it to me while I was there.

We then ate dinner at their place after Szilveszter came home from church. It is very odd to call him by his given name. Szilveszter is just a rather large mouthful, and no shorter names really work. Szilvi is a girl’s name and Veszter sounds odd. His family all calls him Ocsi, which means "little brother," even his little sister calls him that. After a while I did get used to it though. Szilveszter works at Nu Skin. Just about every
member either works for Nuskin or Tahitian Noni.

I was exhausted from the flight, but I was itching to see the downtown of Pest again. My first stop was at Deak Ferenc Ter where I made a beeline to the Danube. Seeing the river really brought me back to Hungary. It was a moving experience to feel again at my second home.This the Royal palace and the castle. The light was just about perfect when I arrived at the river. I could not have asked for better timing.

I just strolled along the river for a while soaking it all in. And then I made my way to the the gigantic Szent Istvan Basillica. Seeing this building really reminded me that Hungarians sure know how to light up their buildings at night. This is Budapest's largest church, which can hold more than 8000.

My last stop was to my favorite building of all time. For five months I lived less than 5 minutes away from this building. Each and every day I would walked past on the way to the Metro. Seeing it again from down the street was simply breathtaking.

The best view of the building is from the other side of the river. And here I am a couple of days later...

I then just headed home, filled with love once again for Hungary and the Hungarian people. My first day in the country was a prelude to the rest of my travels--beautiful buildings and lots of walking.

Check back in a few days to hear about the Church in Hungary....