Budapest: day 2 and 3.

What a crazy couple of days! I don't have a ton of time (or battery life on my computer), but I wanted to share some adventures. Last night we took a night tour on the Danube. They light up all the major buildings and bridges, so it is absolutely gorgeous! We had a couple friends who are working with NATO in Brussels come down and meet us, so the only tour available for the time they could make was the "party tour" - needless to say there were quite a few inebriated individuals who made evening more interesting.

This is the Hungarian Parliament Building:

The Castle in the background of one of the major bridges:

Today we took several adventures. My absolute favorite was visiting the Budapest Zoo! We got to pet and hang out with sloths! Look how cute my new friend is!

We then ventured to the train station (from which we will be departing quite early in the morning for a 12 hour train ride  - on a very sketch train as you can see below (prayers would be appreciated - I'd rather not die on the way to Sarajevo in a train catastrophe):

From there we headed up to The Castle for the evening to see the sunset over the city.

It really was like Hogwarts up there. Castles are pretty amazing.

We ended the evening walking along the Danube and then finishing with dinner while watching Italy beat England with PKs (penalty kicks for you non-soccer individuals).

Budapest has been very, very good to us. I will be sad to see it go.

Budapest. Day 1.

Well. Flying here was fun. Almost missed my flight in Amsterdam to Budapest, made it with 5 minutes to spare!

We explored some this evening. Ate some food. Walked up and down the Danube. This bridge was gorgeous.

Tomorrow we will continue exploring. See the palace - visit the baths - go to the markets - test out the metro system:

No amazing stories, yet. Most of the evening I was out of it because of travel slosh-iness.  There will be many more adventures tomorrow!

stressssssssssssss.

Okay. Stressed. Very stressed.


I leave tomorrow. I know I said I wouldn't put a picture of my room up, but this is what it looked like this morning:

This is a marked improvement from the last couple days. The bed is gone - the dresser is empty - the closet is completely packed up - the books are all in boxes - and bags are packed (the third iteration - there will probably be at least two more repacking sessions)


And this is what my room looks like right now:

The dresser is gone (to Molly's house!) - more boxes are packed up - all of Kingsley's stuff is in the corner - and my bags are still mostly packed (in the right corner - you can't really see them).


I am currently watching So You Think You Can Dance (I don't know what I'm going to do without this show this summer!!!) and eating cookie dough. When the show is over, I am going to pull everything out of my bags, go through it all, and repack it all into the bags again. I'm trying to whittle things down a bit. Not because I have no room, but because I don't need everything that I have packed. 


I don't leave until 5:35 tomorrow evening from Denver, so I have the morning to do my last minute shopping and packing and cleaning. Kessy (Erin Kesler to those of you not in the know) is picking me up at 1ish and we're going out to lunch. She's going to be gone in the Dominican Republic for Peace Corps with her hubby when I get back, so I don't know when I'll get to see her next :(


My next post will be from overseas (who knows where from really because it all depends on internet access and time). Be assured that it will be amazing, though!


Goodnight and Goodluck.

adventure is almost out there: packing and goodbyes.

Much goes into the preparation for an excursion such as I am about to undertake. Mentally I've been preparing since I was accepted into the Project Bosnia program. My packing preparation has been taking place for weeks now. I do several iterations of packing so as not to forget anything important. Lists are made and remade. Countless trips to Walmart are taken (it would be Target, but I can't seem to go into that store without buying half of the things I see - I don't have that problem with Walmart).

 Now, it's crunch time! Not only am I packing for my trip, but I'm also packing my life away in boxes. This is for the convenience of my brother and Hollie, but also just in case I manage to get a job and need to leave the second I get back from Europe. My room is an absolute mess. I would include a picture, but it would probably scare the children.

 My current quandary lies around what to pack. Not only am I spending the summer working an internship at a location to which I have never been (and therefore have no idea what I might need beyond the recommendations of people who have been before), but I am also attempting to pack for a 3 week backpacking trip across Europe. Those of you who know me well know that I am not a light packer. Not because I am high maintenance, but because I am a "pack for all contingencies" person. What if my sandals break? What if someone steals something that I only brought one of? What if there is a freak snow storm in the middle of Sarajevo? (okay I'm not packing for a freak snow storm, but I still feel like I should) This is how my mind works. I also try to bring enough things to share just in case someone else didn't bring something. You would think with so much traveling in my past that I would have this down to a science now. Alas, it is not so. I need help!

 Beyond all of this, I have to say goodbye to everyone! Some people may not be in Denver when I get back, so who knows when I'll see them again :( I finished up my last shift at the Mac Grill on Saturday and had to say goodbye to everyone there. They were so sweet and everyone pitched in for a card and gift cards! (Including $50 to Amazon Kindle - they know me so well!) I cannot wait to sit down once everything is packed and get some new books for the summer - I've had my eye on a few for a while! A big thank you to all of you, and while I will not miss the Mac Grill (no surprises there), I will miss all of you dearly and we'll have a party when I get back :) I am just all around horrible at goodbyes. So everyone I did not see or get a chance to talk to, I hope you have a wonderful summer and that you don't melt in this ridiculous Denver heat. To those that I did see, I apologize if it was awkward. Awkward goodbyes are my specialty.