“You’re wearing lederhosen. Don’t judge me.”

So we had to be on the bus by 7 am, I’m sure you can imagine that none of us were exactly pleased, but to top it off, it was freezing. I don’t mean slightly chilly, I mean I legitimately put on my shirt that I had for the next day, was wearing my jacket, and scarf, and even put on my second pair of socks! It was that cold for the entire 2 hour bus ride; needless to say I was a bit cranky when we finally arrived at Pannonhalma.
The site of the Roman city of Panonia, also the first abbey in Hungary, founded in the 11th century by King Saint Stephen… yes they actually call him that. So amazing, they had remnants of the roman fortifications, as well as parts of the walls from the 11th, 14, and 17th century. Incredibly beautiful, and a fantastic vista…almost made me want to convert, but not quite. It’s still a monastery and there is a boarding school run by the monks.
We then piled back on the bus to a drive to Vescprem. The 20 of us on a large tour bus was by far one of the funniest rides I’ve taken (including every bus trip with the swim team). It could have been because we were given all of 15 minutes to grab lunch for ourselves at a local market…so of course we all bought beer. The director was mildly amused. We finally got to “the Queen’s city” which was very beautiful and all go immediately to a pastry shop where I tried my first mignon. A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. Basically a small cube of chocolate, mousse, cake, and tons of sugar; it certainly kept me going. We climbed to the top of the city’s fire tower where there was a spectacular view of the area, and then after that we toured the Bishops Palace. Unbelievable, the entire building was filled with gifts from the monarchs of Europe, and we were given a tour by the sweetest old lady, with our Director, Elizabeth, translating the whole time. The little old lady took quite a liking to our group and even let us into the Bishop’s private chapel. Probably the best part though were the booties we had to wear over our shoes…nothing turns 20 year olds into 5 year olds faster than the ability to slide a good 10 feet across marble.
We then made our way to the town we would spend the night in, Nagyvazson. This was probably my favorite location, exactly what you would picture if someone asked you to describe your ideal European village. After unloading from the bus we followed Elizabeth to the top of a heavily wooded hill. At the top was the most beautiful place I have ever been, this includes Yosemite and the BVI. The ruins of a 15th century monastery sat in a small wooded clearing, beyond which was a field of wildflowers, with the sun setting in the background. I don’t have an extensive enough vocabulary to describe the setting to do it justice. Suffice to say that using your imagination would be far more accurate.
We then got up bright and early once again to enjoy a lovely Hungarian breakfast; then we were off to the Herend Porcelain factory! We got a tour, and were able to watch the porcelain in varying stages, the forming, detailing, and even painting. It was so great. Not to worry everyone, I’ve picked out a set for my wedding. We then got to try our hand at making porcelain roses! So, I now have a Herend porcelain rose, made by moi.
Afterwards we rode in our wonderful bus down to Lake Balaton. Adorable village and freezing water. Spent a while hoofing it around the peninsula, and then piled back on the bus for the drive to Budapest. Somehow by this time, the novelty of the bus had worn off and I was ready to kill someone. Although the ride was certainly made more entertaining by Vin, who regaled with tales of his afternoon at the lake; which he spent getting drunk by himself. The title of this particular blog comes from him; apparently he was getting some looks from a German guy while sitting on a bench boozing with his bottle of wine…. Oh Vin.
Of course we finally got back to the city, no incident reports, and made it back to my apartment. Ali and I decided to try the little Chinese food place at my metro stop. Basically, we pointed, they piled the meat and veggies over rice, and we took it back to heat up. We sit down, famished, and begin to eat. I take about two bites of rice before Ali realizes she is unsure of the type of meat that we got… I take on look and about die. LIVER. No, not kidding. So, I had my first Chinese takeout in Hungary, and had liver. Appropriate, no? I ate it, wasn’t half bad, although it hardly qualified as Chinese. Poor Ali ate her rice and veggies. (I ate her liver leftovers of course.) So, in conclusion, we are off to the Danube bend tomorrow! I am terribly excited, so will leave you with a Hungarian phrase to add to your repertoire

Hol van a WC? “Where’s the restroom?”