Egészségedre! (Cheers!)

Budapest, with Buda on the left hand side of the Danube, Pest on the right hand side.

Szia!

As shown by the picture above, today was the first sunny day since Monday, so the sun was a welcome sight in comparison to the dense fog we had the past few days. The (slightly) warmer and sunny weather prompted some students to explore an area of Budapest near our hotel called Gellért-Hegy. This portion of the city contains a large hill that provides excellent views of Budapest in all directions. On top of Gellért Hill is a fortress called the Citadel, as well as the Liberty Statue. The opportunity to see the whole city just before sunset was a wonderful experience.

The Liberty Statue on Gellért Hill

Also, this morning we finished our last session of Hungarian language instruction with Erika at the College International. Overall, Erika taught us a lot about the fundamentals of Hungarian language, providing much more in-depth lectures than most students probably expected. Although we are not fluent in Hungarian, we definitely have a better understanding of how to pronounce the various words we see during our adventures throughout the city. We demonstrated our appreciation for all of her efforts by giving her a nice bouquet of flowers.

Budapest continues to be an awesome experience for the class because although we are limited in our understanding of the city's layout and directions, we are still able to find great venues full of excellent food and great fun. While we may plan to dine at a certain restaurant, a spontaneous choice has always been a worthwhile experience. In fact, in a quote that purely captures the spectacular cuisine in Budapest, Luke Nelson said, "The food is good." Yesterday, for example, we happened upon this place called "McDonald's," and it was McTasty. Everybody is looking forward to what the rest of this study abroad opportunity has in store for the group.

McSzia!

Luke Nelson and Jon Schut