Not in Kansas

We are officially not in Kansas anymore. More than once today we purchased fruit from a local stand and they either type the price on a calculator, or my favorite, we hold change in our hands and hope they pick the right amount. I don't think we have been swindeled though, becuasae if we are calculating it right, it is about $0.30 a peach. Also, we almost bought 2 kilograms of peaches instead of two peaches. That would have been considerably more expensive.

The day started off with our free buffet at breakfast. It was included in the price of our room, and very upscale for us. We were the only ones with our suits under our shorts. Everyone else chose to "dress up" in their blouses and slacks. No worries though, they don't kick us out becuase we carry our card that says we paid to be here. We get in free to the open air baths next door, and becuase it is free, we like to go for a short bit of time as many times a day as we can schedule in.

Back to breakfast. . . every food was labeled in Hungarian, but don't worry, there were translations. All the food was also listed in German. But on the upside, we know Wiener Schnitzel when we see it. At the buffet, the more interesting items included: Two types of full fledged hot dog style sausages, (Not breakfast sausage!) Eggs??? with ham chopped in them, fried bread??? Rice Pudding??? Lots of mustard for the sausages (not lots of kinds of mustard, just a giant vat), yogurt??? cereal! (with whole milk) tomatoes, peppers, cheese, various deli meat slices, and about 8 different types of bread. Can't wait to see if we get two sausage choices tomorrow also, or if they will mix things up at the buffet. (Note, doesn't it sound like nice fixings for a lunch sandwich? We think so to. Maybe we bring a bag tomorrow. Maybe we will sit in a place where no one would notice if something went in that bag. Maybe something for later. )

Before our breakfast had time to hit the bottom of our stomachs, we were out at the thermal pool with everyone's grandparents. It was homey. We hung out in the medicinal thermal pool, and the highlight of our day may have been when there was aquatic exercises led by the staff to the tune of cotton eye joe.

We hit the big 11:30 organ concert at the church (at 11:40 after we took the long route and Janna finished clipping her toenails. Ingrown toenails can be bad when you are so far from home) with our new (old, very old) friends. Luckily we didn't get there on time, becuase 30 minutes was about all we could take.

The Classic style church that was the site of the organ concert.

Then we went to the top of the Minaret. It sits up about 100 feet above the town in a small tower. Great view, you might think. Actually, it is pretty tight to go up a tower built of stones where the stairway spirals up and the passage way is about the width of Janna. You have to wait for the last party to come down before you can go up (for obvious reasons). There were some tense moments on the way up as Janna was tired, but Sue wouldn't let me slow down becuase she felt trapped behind Janna. The slower Janna went, the more upset Sue got. The faster Janna went, the more trapped she felt. 97 stairs is a lot to do without a break. Then, you are rewarded by coming out onto a ledge that is about 1 foot wide( with a guard rail) and the thought of going back down when you are done enjoying the vertigo. (And catch your breath). As you can tell, there isn't anything exciting for us to do tonight. Eger is a sleepy town, and the Hulk is on EuroSport. Anyway, Janna went faster on the way down, and Sue went down on her bottom. No worries.


Bum, Bum, Bum. . . the minaret. (Objects in this picture may have a smaller stairway than it appears to have)

We had dinner in this great restaurant on the square. It had a beautiful view and great food with live music. We both got drinks, soup, and an entree, and with tip it was less than $20. I could get used to these prices. Then we got some desert and left our bag (with our passports) in the sweet shop. We thought we might have won a day in the American Embassy in Budpest becuase we decided to let the nice man who doesn't speak English there pick up our bag for us when we left it. About halfway home, Sue realized we didn't have the bag, so we hurried back panicked. Nice man had it. Janna panicked more than Sue. So, no embassy. Funny story once you have your passport back.

Sue thinks it was Janna's fault, so now Janna is only in charge of the money, her watch, and her hair rubber band. Let me explain. . . We have a money belt that we purchased in the London airport. It is very feminine and has a strap like a bra and the front looks a bit like panties. We have dubbed it the money underwear. So, it is strapped to you, and you can't leave it anywhere. So, Janna is forever in charge of the things that are strapped to her before she leaves her room in the morning. Sue is pretty much in charge of everything else.

Our goal for Italy is to determine what exactly one means when one calls something baroque, gothic, neo-gothic, classic, modern, ect. Neither one of us are really into art or whatever you call liking buidings, but we think it might make the trip make more sense if we knew. Wish us luck.

There may be not post tomorrow, because we are arriving in Venice around dinner time, and internet is sometimes hard to find. So, no worries if you don't hear from us for a day or two.

BTW, did you know Venice is an island? Janna does now. She has finished both the books she brought with her and is now stuck with "Rick Steves, Itally 2008". Watch out Alex Tribeck!

Some pictures were added to earlier posts, so if you have a minute, you can see some good pictures from Vienna and Budapest.