Rosemary Christmas Tree

This year instead of buying a Christmas tree we decorated our rosemary plant.

Mátyás Király Christmas Program

Baking Christmas Cookies in Hungary

I think that whenever you move, whether it be across town, across the country or across an ocean, you can't help but occupy your mind with the many things that are different. Needless to say I had a very long list when I first arrived in Hungary. But now I have lived here over two years and don't notice these differences as often.

This was my second year making Christmas cookies with my advanced-level English students. I figured I wouldn't be in for any surprises this afternoon.

We rolled out the dough,


cut out the shapes,


baked the cookies, made the frosting


and frosted them, exactly as I had planned.

But just in case I forgot I was in Hungary...

Three of my boys knocked on the window of the classroom and showed off a wild boar's head.

I made sure they washed their hands before they came back in.

Kalocsa

Pécs, Villány, and Villánykövesd

We finally went to Pécs!
After a disappointing attempt to see the lovely city a few months ago, Jon and I finally spent a couple afternoons in Pécs. Our friends Peter and Laura drove us down on the new M6 highway from Kecskemét, and we were there in under 2.5 hours.

the streets of Pécs

Pécs has a very Western-European feel, setting it apart from most other cities I've visited in Hungary. The city dates back to ancient Roman and early medieval times and was under Ottoman rule for over one hundred years.

National Theater of Pécs

Locks of Love

One interesting custom I have seen in some of the Hungarian cities I have visited is a gate covered in locks. The one in Pécs is the largest I've seen so far. If you look closely,

you'll see each lock is inscribed with two names and often a date. Couples symbolize the strength of their love and devotion by locking up their personalized locks and throwing away the key.

city hall

In Pécs we met up with the rest of our little tour group. The weekend trip was organized by a Hungarian friend Jon and I met this summer in Vienna. We didn't spend much time in the big city, but enjoyed walking around for a couple hours in the nice sunny weather before piling back in cars and heading to Villány.

Villány

Villány is just short drive from Pécs and is the southernmost wine region in Hungary. We stayed at a charming little B&B-type place owned by a couple who also owned a cellar. Once we dropped off our stuff, we headed to the cellar for a wine tasting followed by a big homemade dinner.

The owner of the cellar guides us through a tasting of his wines.

The next day Jon, Peter, Laura, and I soaked in the still-sunny weather while walking around the little town and its neighbor, Villánykövesd.

Villány's train station

The cellars of Villánykövesd

grapes climbing up a cellar

The weather was perfect. We found a nice path through the hills and did a bit of climbing to take in the view. That evening we had another homemade meal at the cellar and caught up with the rest of the group, who had gone to a nearby thermal bath for the day.

looking back on the hilly path

I waited and waited for this butterfly to finally land so I could snap a picture!

The next day the four of us visited Pécs again on our way back to Kecskemét. Everything was closed for November 1st (All Saints' Day is a national holiday in Hungary), but we walked through some lovely gardens and enjoyed the low-key feel of wandering through the city.

Mátyás Király Halloween Party

I helped organize my school's very first Halloween party this year. The kids dressed up, bobbed for apples, made toilet paper mummies, and the older kids stayed for a dance party.

The biggest surprise was when Jon and I showed up dressed up as a Jack-o-lantern and a ladybug because no one knew that you could dress up as anything for Halloween. Everyone, including my colleagues, asked us, "Why aren't you scary?!" Everyone else was a witch, ghost, vampire, or dead. It was funny to find out what little details of American culture had caught on and which ones had slipped through the cracks. I guess that's why we are here!

Pumpkin Carving Party

Jon demonstrates how to carve a pumpkin

Peter carves his first pumpkin

Tomi and Monica-Sophie

Laura shows off our homemade caramel apples

A lovely walk home from school

Doromb Festival

yurt with with exhibition of Alex Horsch's instrument collection

Alex Horsch gives the opening concert inside the yurt

Jon tries out a Balinese enggung during a workshop

More Budapest

Summer Vacation 2010: Vienna