The One Where I Went on A Trip, And Remembered To Write About It

No, I'm not finishing the Vienna Post just yet.

Or telling you about that trip I took to Rome (before Christmas) yet either.

But instead: the trip I took last weekend!

There's something fun about not going in any sort of order.

I was just realizing I haven't really posted anything about my life lately.

Things about me, sure, in the form of fill-in things.

But nothing really about me.

I'm a bad narcissist. Sorry.

I'll work on it more, I swear.

So, Sunday late morning

(after a lot of coaxing from my friend Laura)

I left my hermitage dorm room and

we met our other friend, James, at the train station.

Where were we headed?

This cute little Hungarian City called Vác.

They're known particularly for some mummies.

No. Really.

An old Dominican Church was sealed up a long while back

and they were renovating the church in 1994 and they discovered the sealed off crypt. They found, in perfect condition, some sealed hand-painted wooden coffins complete with perfectly mummified remains inside them. Their clothes, their rosaries, the burial shrouds -everything was in perfect condition. The conditions down there in the crypt were apparently perfect for this to occur. The lids to these coffins were beautiful, and they even had three of the mummies on display. The link up there has some pretty awesome pictures (no photography allowed inside - so none of my own).

They're also known for their cute Baroque style city center, a huge cathedral (which seems really out of place in such a quaint city), a prison (still functioning) where they used to house communist prisoners (and was reputed as being the most cruel of the prisons of the time), and a triumphant arc (built for a visit by Maria Theresa).

I'll stop talking and let the pictures do the rest for me:

I'm so glad I went,

it was just the cure for too much work and stress.

Good times with good friends,

blue skies and pretty colored buildings,

a walk along the Danube,

and just taking a moment to enjoy the fact that

I get to live in Europe.

Sometimes you need a reminder to be thankful.

What are you thankful for this week?

What A Day For A Daydream [Lovin' Spoonful]

There's really been not a lot going on here this past week since the fieldtrip. I've been to a few meetings, but mostly I've just been bored - and I've enjoyed being bored. If any of last year is an indication of what this year is going to be like, I'll take boredom over over-stressed any day!

But because of that I really have little to talk about (the weather has been a bummer, I've been looking up future graduate school plans, etc). So, just to tide you over, here are some pictures from the fieldtrip we went on last week. There are more, but I haven't had time to sort through and edit any of those yet. So, enjoy these for now :)

couldn't have asked for a better day

to take pictures on a pond.

I love reflection pictures :)

The colors!

I think my FiveFingers were more of a hit

than some of the sites we went to!

Seriously, teachers, colleagues, others,

came up to me all day asking about them.

(For the record, they're amazing shoes!)

Old busted down tombstones

at a Serbian Orthodox Church.

That branch grew too heavy,

bent down to the ground,

and now seems to be rooting there

while still attached to the original tree!

So pretty!

Graffiti in an old pool at an estate.

No fieldtrip with our department

is complete without a Hungarian wine tasting.

This one happened to be in some wine cellar.

A still morning on Lake Balaton.

Boat Trip to Visegrad, Hungary

So, that boat trip down the Danube I went on? It was pretty awesome.

We went to Visegrad, a small castle-town on the Danube Bend. It has a population (according to Wikipedia, and Wikipedia never lies!) of just under 2,000.

I cannot tell you how amazing it felt to relax as we meandered upstream, sun on my shoulders, wind in my hair. Not having to worry about papers or deadlines or anything even remotely associated with schooling. It was three hours by boat there, so it was a nice time to snack on the "lunches" they prepared for us, chat, and read some of my book (of which I will write a review next post, as it was pretty darn awesome - and even more awesome that I have time again to read what I want!).

Don't worry,

that wasn't our boat.

But too funny, right?

Then we had three hours in the city. We were met by drummers as we got off the boat and led up to the lower castle where they had set up a "medieval tournament" for us to watch. It was silly, pretty kitsch, but incredibly fun. Plus, this girl loves all things hand-combat and projectile related, so I was in (over-choreographed) heaven. Among other things there were: swords, Battle Axes, Falconry, Throwing Stars, Bow & Arrows, and crossbows (I really, really want to learn how to shoot one...). At the end they let us try our hand at the throwing stars. Guess which girl did the best of all the girls and most of the guys? Yep, this one! So, mom, with my degree in Medieval Studies and my assorted fencing and throwing-star skills, I can successfully get a job at a medieval faire. See! I won't be unemployed forever!

Then we walked over to the old (mostly reconstructed) Renaissance palace of King Matthias of Hungary. The same palace that was discussed to a gross extent in my East Central European Renaissance class this past semester. So, needless to say, me and one of my friends in the class tried to play tourguide. The views were beautiful from there!

And then we made our way back. And since we were going downstream, this time it only took 2 hours. How's that for water-power?! Nothing exciting to report from this leg of the voyage, as I slept the whole way home. What can I say? Moving vehicles of any kind put me to sleep. And it was raining and I was inside the boat this time rather on top (because of the rain), so I was warm and had my headphones on. But all-in-all it was a lovely day!