Happy St. Stephen's Day!

Saturday the crowds came out in Budapest to celebrate St. Stephen's Day.

St. Stephen's Day is the celebration of Hungary's birth. It could be compared to America's 4th of July, but it was 1000 years ago instead of 200 and it celebrates a king's achievement rather than opposition to a king.

Quick history lesson... St. Stephen is the patron saint of Hungary who killed his uncle in a fight for the throne, hung his body in pieces around the country, and united Hungary as one country. All more than 1000 years ago. He was sainted a few years after his death and Hungary kept his hand in St. Stephen's Basilica. Yep, a 1000 year old hand that you can still see on display in the church. Looks like Tales from the Crypt. Now Hungarians celebrate August 20 as St. Stephen's Day and the forming of their nation, when they parade St. Stephen's hand around the city and have lots of festivities.

On our first St. Stephen's Day roads were closed to traffic and trams all over down-town to accommodate the thousands of people who came out to join the festivities. Even the bridges hoisted the Hungarian flag as people swarmed from one side of the city to the other.

There was music and dancing in traditional Hungarian style.

We watched an air show from the castle as planes whizzed across the river and under bridges.

There were many performances on the cobble stone streets. Felt like being in Medieval times.

We ate Hungarian food from the many fair booths and window shopped through all the hand-made crafts. No buying for us this time!

The evening culminated with a HUGE fireworks display along the river. Three locations of fireworks all going off on the same time was an amazing site!

We didn't let the party end there though. Went out with friends in the castle district. This bar was built in the 1700's! So cool.

Our first Hungarian festival was a great experience. Looking forward to the beer festival next weekend and the wine festival two weekends after that. Lots of fun to be had!

Tourists

Our dear friend, Bekah, arrived in Budapest a couple days after we did. She was ready to explore our new home with us.

So that is what we've been doing, taking a little time to be tourists in our new city. This is what we've seen...

The Castle District.

The Parliament District.

(This is the view of Parliament from the Castle.)

St. Stephen's Basilica.

(Where we saw the decaying hand of St. Stephen, the King of Hungary around AD 1000.)

The Jewish District.

We've also squeezed in a bit of shopping, a lot of walking, some great meals, and a trip to my school. There is so much to do and see. More to come for your blog viewing pleasure!

Where is Budapest?

I'm sure many family and friends had to look up Budapest on the map when we said we were moving there. So here is some info about our home-to-be.

It is landlocked between six other countries: Croatia, Slovenia, Austria, Slovakia, Ukraine, and Romania.

Very smart people come from Hungary, including Houdini (the magician/escape artist), the guy who invented the Rubik Cube, the guy who discovered vitamin C, the guy who invented the atomic and hydrogen bombs, and a lot of Nobel Prize winners.

It was communist until 1989.

It is said to have the most beautiful Parliament building in the world, which sits on the Danube River.

It snows in winter. (Not sure how I feel about this yet...)

Hungary sits on 80-something thermal springs and has turned these hot-springs into Roman/Turkish bath houses. Spa here I come!

There are many hiking and cycling trails, parks, and camping sites to enjoy throughout Hungary. Margaret Island sits in the middle of the Danube in Budapest, containing these fun activities.

We will live near that bridge on the Buda side of the city (the left side of the picture.) It's the same side as Buda Castle, which will loom over our new apartment.

We're definitely looking forward to exploring our new city and enjoying some of the things Kenya doesn't offer. 4 weeks!