This 'n that

Sign indicating locksmith

I just realized that I hadn't blogged for over a month!  I guess I thought that posting about the flood and some beautiful pictures of our landlady, Elizabeth's yard would keep you up to date with our lives here in Budapest.  Perhaps we have been here long enough that I don't think I'm seeing or doing anything that would be new and exciting to report.  Actually, I am grateful for the most part that our lives are just humming along.

We had a warm spell in the past week, in the 90's nearly every day.  Most homes don't have air conditioning, so after 3 or 4 days, the heat begins to wear one out.  We happen to be very fortunate because we have air conditioning in our bedroom, so we were able to sleep well every night.  An additional bonus was our patio area.  The humidity remained much lower than in Iowa, so in the evenings, we had dinner on the patio and then just "chilled" there until about dark or whenever the mosquitoes began to buzz about.  By dusk, we could tolerate the warmth of our upstairs apartment until bedtime.  We ate lots of salad last week.

The library is in an old building in the center of the city.  The thickness of the walls and the central courtyard help to keep the building relatively cool.  Often, it will seem that there is air conditioning in the library because it is so much cooler than on the street.  We switched from offering coffee to offering iced coffee and iced tea.  We had some patrons who were really pleased with the cool drinks.  The bigger challenge that I faced last week was trying to arrive at the library before having my face turn red and my hair curling in all the wrong places.  The bus that we ride down the hill is sometimes one with air conditioning, so that wasn't too bad.  From there on, there was nothing with air conditioning and the suburban train is often very crowded when I go in the morning.  I was happy to arrive early enough at the library most days to put a cold cloth on my face and have a nice cold drink of water before any one came.

Our weather here just continues to be a study in contrasts.  Yesterday, started warm and sunny, with temperatures in the 70's.  Today is cloudy, drizzly and the evening temperature is 57 degrees.  Windows are closed and the duvets are back on the bed! 

Typical stucco home, surrounded by fence and beautiful roses

Looking down a winding street

Last Monday, we went to Szentendre at the invitation of our library assistant, Zsuzsi.  This is her home and she wanted to give us a guided tour.  Though the day was warm, we enjoyed hearing about this small city that has existed for centuries!  It is primarily an artist colony and tourist destination, and bedroom community for Budapest.  It makes me think of LeClaire, Iowa, though Szentendre is larger than LeClaire.  They both are quaint villages near larger cities.  It has a rich history with different people groups moving through it, some settling and thus contributing to the diversity of the people's ethnicity.  Just recalling the different churches that we passed, I remember Greek Orthodox, Serb Orthodox, Catholic and Lutheran.  I feel like Americans think we have the most ethnic diversity - the melting pot.  When I hear about the history of Europe, I think it was probably the original melting pot.  We enjoyed our time in Szentendre and wanted to share some of it's beauty.

Standing at an overlook of the Danube River

Sign indicating eye doctor or optometrist