Good Morning,
I think it is time for me to catch up on my blogs...I have been putting pictures on my Facebook but have neglected my blog!! Since my last blog, have visited Budapest, Hungary. We spent the first day walking around and happened upon the Parliament Library, 1956 Uprising when the Communist killed 2500-3000 civilians and over 13,000 wounded that started with a student demonstration that attracted thousands and then the crowd was fired on by tanks and soldiers on top of buildings that caused a river of blood thru the streets in the square where the Parliament building were. We took a private tour of the of the memorial of the 1956 memorial. While in Budapest, we became very familiar with taking the Metro, Tram and City Bus. We did have a few days that were rainy but we still managed to see what we wanted. While in the subways, we saw lots of people who apparently we're living in the Budapest. We saw the Chain Bridge, Liberty Bridge, Fisherman's Bastion that was built in 19th century to serve as a lookout tower. Matthias Catholic Church built in 1015. Another city with beautiful architecture. They also have a Statue of Liberty that is Black and Gold that sits atop one of the higher hills. We enjoyed the street musicians playing the violin and accordion as we walked around the town centers. Buda was the city on the West Bank of the Danube and Pest was on the East Bank of the Danube. They unified the two cities in 1873 and named it Budapest. We were going to take a trip down the Danube but it was a rainy/cold day so we decided to take the tram home!! Budapest is cited to be one of the most beautiful cities in Europe.
We decided to take a day to go to Velkey Folkmar, Slovakia as this is the town where my Mom's Dad was born and where he lived before he came to America. It is a windy road up the mountain from Kosice, Slovakia. Once we arrived , we went to the only grocery store there and asked about the names that my Mom had written down of her Dad's parents. The women in the store did not speak English but there was a man in the store and he said to come with him and he took us to the city manager. The city manager was in his car going somewhere but he got out of his car and took us to his office. He only spoke a little English but he called his son and he was translating. After some time, he said he would go and pick up the translator. While we waited he had his secretary come and give us refreshments. He returned with his son and we spent about an hour or so with them. They could not find my great grandparents names but he gave us a contact in another city that may have records. He also gave us a beautiful book that he had written about life in Velkey Folkmar. Of course it is in Slovakian but has lots of pictures. My Mom and Sister had visited with my Zeda back in the 70"s to Valkey Folkmar. The manager told us that American's rarely come to their town. We would have stayed there overnight but there was not a hotel. We left them with heartfelt thanks and gave them our addresses to come visit with us if they ever want to come to the states. What amazing people to just stop their day and help us!
As we traveled to the country side of Poland, we found Kosice where we spent the night in a different sort of hotel that had a solarium like atmosphere on the first floor and the hotel rooms on the second floor. We found St. Elizabeth's Church just around the corner from our hotel. It is the largest Cathedral in Slovakia. Kosice is the 2nd largest city in Eastern Slovakia. We walked around the square and once again found great food in a local restaurant and amazing buildings. As we traveled to Kosic, we saw these birds sitting on very large nests on a couple of telephone poles. Not really sure the type of bird. It seems that Cannoli Oil is a crop that is also grown in Poland. As you can see by our smiles....we are still having fun moments and lots of laughter!!
On the road again out of Kosice, Poland....so many castles in the countryside. They liven up their landscaping with the purple and blue guard rails. Traveled through lots of small villages and we came thru this town that had all these older homes made of wood and wood carvings. We had rain and then saw snow on the mountains. In just such a short drive, we are seeing amazing scenery...and again, pictures cannot show the beauty that we are seeing.
We have almost daily planning sessions to see what we have seen and where we want to go next which makes it such a fun trip for all of us.
Please go to George and Pat's blog or my Facebook to see pictures. I will research putting pictures on my blog for next years adventures.
~" A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step."~
We send our love and our prayers to each of you in our daily prayer.
I am trying to catch up on my posts......some of you may have seen this travel news with pictures on my Facebook!
Hugs,
Tom and Maryann
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