Györ

Before I begin this post, I suppose it is worth mentioning that today is my birthday! I am 27 years old today. We don't really have much planned - maybe go out to dinner, or just order in some sushi or something (mmm, sushi). We just have too much else going on to make a big fuss, and we did go out to a nice dinner in St. Andrews (more on that later!) that I'm okay with calling my "birthday dinner." But, it is my birthday today. Thanks for giving birth to me, Mom!

Now, back to business!

DAY 4 continued...

When I left off yesterday, we were getting on a train in Budapest to head off to Györ, the wedding city. The train left at 3:10 p.m., and it took about an hour and a half to get there. The ride was very scenic - there were huge fields of sunflowers along the way! It was so pretty.

Field of sunflowers along the train route

When we arrived in Györ we took a cab to our first hotel, the Hotel Hedyn. We were in the hotel next door to the rest of the family for our first night in Györ, along with my cousin Molly and her boyfriend Arturo. The hotel owner was very friendly, although a bit strange. He helped us carry our luggage upstairs to our room, and on the way he asked if we would like to stop and see Molly and Arturo, who were already in their room. We said sure, so he stopped at their door and then tried to just open the door without knocking! Thankfully, it was locked (they were napping). The guy was all "you know them, right?" as he kept trying to open the door and I was thinking, "yes, but I still would knock first!" He then did try to knock but they did not answer (I don't blame them), so we continued to our room, which was very quaint (and colorful!) with a window over looking the Danube. I then went back to Molly's room and she did answer my knock this time, but she was a bit thrown off! Poor girl, I don't blame her one bit.

The Hotel Hedyn

Our first room in Györ (Eric is looking out the window at the Danube)

As soon as we got settled in our room, it was time to get ready for dinner. Jacob's parents were hosting a dinner for both families as well as a couple of Jacob's friends who came from the U.S. for the wedding, sort of a rehearsal dinner but without the rehearsal. We all met in the hotel parking lot at 6:00 p.m., then walked to the restaurant, Bisztro, together. We walked through Györ, which is just an incredibly charming little town (although apparently it has the fifth largest population in Hungary). It was a very pleasant and scenic walk.

Sites of Györ

The group walking to the restaurant

Cute little alley

Awww, Jacob and Zita leading the group

The dinner itself was really very nice. We drank a bit of wine, and started our meal with soup. Eric and I both had the traditional fish soup, which was delicious. For dinner, Eric had salmon with vegetables and I had turkey layered with apple and smoked cheese. That turkey was EXCELLENT. It also came with mashed potatoes, which is never a bad thing!

The dinner table

Fish soup (look at all that fish!)

Eric's salmon

My amazing delicious turkey

It was also so nice to meet Zita's family. Her parents are very sweet and her brother Laszlo is also very nice. All of the parents exchanged gifts, such as Hungarian cookbooks for Jacob's parents, and Eastern Illinois University (where my uncle is a professor) t-shirts for Zita's parents. Zita's father modeled his EIU t-shirt right away! It was very cute, and everyone had a wonderful time chatting and getting to know each other (despite the language barrier)!

Jacob and Zita at dinner

Zita's family - her mom, her dad (putting on his EIU shirt), her brother Laszlo and his girlfriend Aggie

Molly showing off old pictures of Jacob to Aunt Debbie, Zita's father, and my mom

Molly, Heather and me at dinner

After dinner, Zita's parents escorted the rest of the adults (except Uncle Peter) - and by adults I guess I mean parents, because technically I suppose we're all adults - back to the hotel, where I heard he kept them up late doing shots of pálinka! The rest of us continued on to an awesome little pub called Kazamata. We drank local beer, which really hit the spot. However, after one beer we were all ready to call it a night. We were back to the hotel by 11:30 p.m., although Eric and I stayed up quite a bit later looking at pictures of the trip so far!

Kazamata pub

Everyone enjoying their drinks (even Uncle Peter!)

DAY 5: Saturday, July 11, 2009 - Wedding Day!

Eric and I planned to wake up early and spend some time walking around Györ, but since we stayed up late, that did not really happen. Instead, we met Molly and Arturo in the hotel lobby for breakfast (more meats, cheese and rolls - I never had salami and cheese on a roll for breakfast before!). Then we all got dressed, checked out of the Hotel Hedyn and in to the hotel next door, the Amstel Hattyú Inn, where everyone else was staying.

Our new hotel (that's me at the bottom, running away from a bee. There are lots of bees in Europe, and this one took a particular liking to me.)

Heather and Eric modeling our new hotel room

We met up with Heather there (obviously, after looking at the above picture) and the five of us went for a short walk in to town. We walked down the main pedestrian drags and over to the Supreme Court building. Once again I was amazed at what an adorable city Györ is! We really enjoyed it there.

Me, Heather, Molly and Arturo on the streets of Györ

Eric and me by the Supreme Court building

Seriously, how pretty is this?

The girls with naked canoe man (yes, he is anatomically correct from all angles, but this blog is family-friendly so you only get the back side.)

Statue of a naked guy holding an animal? Maybe a deer? And maybe a gun? I don't know, but it's artsy.

Loving Györ!

After our walk we stopped at the thermal baths for a couple of hours. What better way to relax away days of hectic sightseeing to prepare and refresh for a wedding, right? It really was so relaxing. They had a good number of different pools, both indoors and out, but my personal favorite was the "adult pool." It was the warmest and was in a darkened room with "stars" twinkling on the ceiling, and one skylight that looked like the moon. There was also a long ledge/seat thing that you could lay on in the water, like a bed, while you soaked. We spent most of our time in there! Then we had lunch before heading back to the hotel.

Inside the thermal baths

Arturo, Molly, me and Heather enjoying a soak

Fun in the baths

Molly, Arturo, Eric and Heather at lunch

As soon as we got back to the hotel I started getting ready for the wedding, while Eric went for a run along the Danbe (during which he was treated to an eyeful of nude male sunbather). Not too much longer till wedding time!

Up next: Jacob and Zita get married!

Remember, if you want to see more pictures of Györ, including the front side of naked canoe man (not to be confused with naked sunbather), check out the Györ album on MyLifeAsALawyersWife.Shutterfly.com!