Do You Know the Way?

Super Saturday

2011-07-10T23:05:00.000-07:00

We are back to the States! Where in the States you may wonder? Well maybe this will clue you in. We are back home in California.

Just when you thought I was done blogging I fooled you. I'm going to try to keep it up for as long as I can. This is much more fun than the discussion postings I have to do for grad school. My travel companion and I drove up to SF for the day.

We were excited to visit the Renegade Craft Fair at Fort Mason. We headed up there last year and loved checking out all the cool and sometimes weird items made by vendors. If there is one in your area, you should really check it out.

Outside the Fort Mason building there were these cool wind spinners that would pop up with the wind and twirl down when there wasn't any wind. Pretty cool idea along the windy coast.

Boats in the harbor by the bay.

Crazy big succulents.

Super foggy today. You can hardly see the top of the Golden Gate Bridge.

The city covered in fog.

Always lovin' the cable cars.

After our trip to the Renegade Craft Fair we went to two of my other favorites, Sports Basement and IKEA. I know, Jeremy finally let me go in after dashing my hopes of entering an IKEA in Europe.

At night we headed to a Texas Hold'em Poker Night as part of the school auction. I want to state the fact that I've never played Poker or even really watched Poker at all before. I went hoping not to make a fool of myself and get out first. Thankfully I started at a beginner table and had an amazing dealer give me a few tips to start me out. At the end of the night I was at the last table, not quite sure how I got there.

In the end I got third place! I went home with a trophy and won a bit of money as well. Don't worry, I'm not going to Las Vegas anytime soon.

Have a great week!

Day 16: Traveling Home

2011-07-08T22:04:00.001-07:00

We headed out bright and early at 5:00am. Cleaning up the flat the night before made for a very short amount of sleep. Here is Justin's room. Jeremy and I got to sleep in the bunkbeds.

Justin's tiny kitchen. Most of the cooking is done in the Ippel's flat.

Hallway to the entry. Check out that new refrigerator on the left.

The living room. Mom and Dad's room for the week.

Once through security at the Budapest Airport, my fabulous husband got me a muffin and coffee. Isn't he the best?

Hungarian Airlines! Making us feel like celebrities walking out onto the tarmac.

When we got out of the plane in Warsaw, Poland we were able to touch the ground. Jennifer and I were a little excited.

Warsaw's Airport reminded me a little of a prision. There were many security guards in army-like gear with guns.

Justin, happy to be playing Angry Birds on the iPad.

You can tell they love me taking their picture so early in the morning.

Crazy bus to bring us to the terminal. Such a huge amount of space up front for this driver.

For our flight from Warsaw to Helsinki, Justin was sitting in business class. You can't see him in this picture because he's on the other side of the curtain.

Right before take-off they moved the curtain right in front of him. No more business class for Justin :).

Once in Helsinki, after answering numerous security questions I was reunited with the awesome lounge chairs. This would make a long layover in Helsinki manageable.

Lovely airplane food. It definetly made me miss KLM.

Thanks for following our family trip to Hungary and the Netherlands. We had a great time and enjoyed sharing it with you!

Day 15

2011-07-08T21:48:00.001-07:00

Happy 4th of July everyone! We celebrated by lighting fireworks just outside Justin's flat...just kidding, they weren't selling them out here for some reason.

Today we went to the journal shop. There is only room for about three people inside this shop at any one time. I kept running into the doorway when the pigeons would come my way. You know how I feel about birds.

BomoArt is the name of the shop. The journals and other products they sell are amazing. They are all handmade as well.

We had lunch at Nagyi Palacsintázója. We had amazing Hungarian like crepes. I had three different ones, cheese, Nutella and banana, and apple.

Jeremy had crepes that oozed chocolate like crazy. It was sugar overload.

After lunch we headed to the Great Market. I was shopped out by this point, but it was fun to look around at the unique and not so unique items.

Inside. Shopping for gifts on the top level.

Awe! Siblings :)

Bottom floor had vegetables, meats, and other delicious foods.

All paprika. The Hungarians know how to do paprika.

Mmmmm gelato. It had to be freshly made, it had fresh raspberries and lemon peel in it.

The recycling in Hungary was pretty advanced. Too bad so much garbage didn't make it in the trash.

The outside of Justin's flat. He's on the second floor.

The tram that always took us safely to the Metro at Határ út.

For our last dinner in Hungary we went to La Guna.

Justin had fruit soup for an appetizer. It was like a smoothie as a soup.

It was very purple and gold.

Jeremy's amazing meal of veggies and chicken with cheese.

I had chicken with rice and peas, covered in a mushroom cream sauce.

Happy to be together. Not happy to have to pack up luggage for our return trip.

Day 14

2011-07-08T21:03:00.001-07:00

Here is our room at the Penzion. You may notice our bed is made from two beds pushed together. Great solution for sheet snatchers, not so great for cuddling.

Breakfast. Yes, I ate the whole pepper for breakfast.

Inside our apartment at the Penzion.

B&B sign.

After breakfast we took our luggage with us and headed on foot to the sweet shop. It was worth the walk.

Check out these delicious treats.

DenOuden men waiting for treats.

Coffee and cake. It was a great way to start my day.

A cool statue outside the train station.

We tried to go to the ceramic's shop but it was closed. Bummer.

We got a picture of Jennifer napping on the way home. Apparently she is a sad sleeper.

It was like going to Hogwarts inside the train compartment. They were double sided and held all seven of us.

Jennifer, excited to be off the train.

This is the grocery store right by Justin's flat. I thought today was a good day to take a picture because it was closed. That way no one would look at me like I was a crazy tourist.

For dinner we went to America's Next Great Restaurant. I mean...Vapiano, an amazing casual restaurant that can be found across Europe. I just found out they have locations in the east coast. Why do we west coasters have to miss out on all the goodness?

You get a card when you go inside, make all your food choices, and they scan your card each time you add something to your bill. Just before you leave you pay for whatever was scanned on your card. They have delicious pizza and pastas.

Happy 26th Birthday Jennifer! We love you.

BBQ Chicken Pizza

Pasta Carbonara

After dinner we stopped by the Széchenyi Baths to check them out. They looked awesome.

After that we had to wait for darkness to come. Justin planned for us to explore the city at night. We headed over to the California Coffee Company to get some delicious java.

Hazelnut macchiato

Justin found the ceiling to be a little too low for his height.

Finally the sun went down and we were able to go exploring. Here is St. Istvan at night.

This is the way they change names around Budapest. Put up a new sign and cross out the old one.

The Four Seasons Hotel in Roosevelt Square.

Chain bridge and castle in the background.

I love this one.

Sorry this isn't that great of a picture. I wanted to include it anyway because it is a memorial for all of the victims that were shot into the Danube River during World War II.

Tunnel going under the castle district.

Dan and Jennifer

After taking those pictures we hiked half way up to a bridge overlooking the bridge and the city below.

Compare this picture to the previous one of the two of us to see how high we climbed.

Tomorrow is our last day in Budapest. See you then!

Day 13

2011-07-08T20:34:00.001-07:00

Today we took a four hour train to Sarospatak. There are no pictures because I slept through the whole thing. Whoops! We were able to stay overnight at this awesome bed and breakfast (Penzion).

While walking through town looking for food, we came across this weird advertisement. Apparently you should put yogurt and strawberries on your face...hmmm.

Finally we found an open grocery store. Thank goodness for some delicious food.

After lunch we took a tour of the Sarospatak Seminary. For more info read the picture of the plaque below.

We headed to the library and found this on the ceiling.

Seminary Museum Library

After the tour of the Seminary we met up with Orsi, who helped as our interpeter during our wine tasting. We took the city's only taxi in two shifts to get there.

One of the wine caves in the side of the hill.

View of the valley.

Many different wine caves are cut into the side of the hill. Each family in the town used to have their own wine cave.

Our trip planner in Hungary.

Furmint wine at the Götz Winery.

Where the grapes go after they are pressed. Just like in California.

Old bottles deep in the cave.

Barrels are made from Hungarian Oak and painted before filled with wine. They are used many more times than in California. About 12 times before they get new barrels. In California it is only about 3-4 times.

Wine Cave

After the wine tasting we walked up the hill the wine caves were cut into. There were twelve stations of the cross leading up to this monument.

The three crosses on the top of the hill.

After wine tasting, we headed to dinner at the restaurant featured below. The restaurant was located inside the old castle.

Jeremy's delicious meal. Duck perhaps?

My meal. Eggplant, cheese, and chicken on the skewer. Amazing potatoes as well.

View outside the castle wall.

We also came across many of these storks nests high atop the the electrical wire posts. They have platforms attached for an easy place to build a nest.

See you tomorrow for our trip back to Budapest.

Day 12

2011-07-04T21:17:00.000-07:00

Today we left the townhouse in Heerhugowaard and headed to the cheese market in Alkmaar. Before we started packing we decided that Justin could probably fit in our duffle bag if he tried. Here is his first attempt.

Second attempt. Don't worry, he had a plane ticket and we had stuff to pack in the bag, so this isn't how he traveled back to Budapest.

The view from the townhouse.

Getting ready to go.

The outside of where we stayed.

Alkmaar

Awesome Cheese Market.

Music was being made by this Calliope. Pretty cool if you ask me.

Beautiful flowers sold in the street markets.

We took a canal tour of Alkmaar. It was fantastic. A definite highlight of our trip to the Netherlands if you ask me. Here is our Captain.

Justin loves us. Can't you tell?

Dan and Jennifer

All five of the kids

This is the drawbridge operator. She had to raise all three drawbridges that we went through. She raises and lowers the bridge, goes on her bike to the next bridge, and does this three times. It's a pretty funny sight to see.

Homes along the canal.

Houseboats

We were able to get up close to a few traditional windmills which was pretty cool.

This was the boat we took. We sat in the uncovered part in the back. The lady in green was the bartender in the back of the boat. Too bad she didn't see the no smoking signs posted on the boat.

This is what lunch looks like on most days in the Netherlands. We make sandwiches and often eat in a park, or in this case, the parking garage.

After Alkmaar we headed to Haarlem, where aparently Dad DenOuden's grandpa owned land at one time. We wanted to see the Corrie ten Boom museum, but we missed the tour time. Maybe next time.

We stopped at McDonald's to get coffee and ice cream and saw this appropriate sign. It says "Thanks and goodbye."

On the way to the airport we had another IKEA sighting. No time for Swedish meatballs, we were headed for the airport.

KLM, only the best airline ever...according to me. Justin says British Airways is the best, but I'll have to take his word for it. There were pieces of the plane near the airline store, so we decided to take pictures.

Justin almost got sucked in.

We returned safely to Budapest for a few more days of fun.

After a fun trip on public transit with tons of luggage we awoke early in the morning for a train trip to Sarospatak. More on that coming soon.

Day 11

2011-07-04T08:13:00.000-07:00

Today we dropped Grandpa and Melissa off at the airport. I don't have any pictures of us all together because they are on Mom DenOuden's camera. You will just have to trust me that they made it there safely. After dropping them off we headed to Delft for many adventures. We saw this car which made me laugh.

We also stopped by the Royal Delft Factory to check out the gift shop. There were many items too expensive to touch.

This hand painted tile was one of those do not touch items.

Really cool plate display outside the museum.

Chillaxing outside the gift shop.

Next we headed into downtown Delft to visit the churches and the market. We found a great parking spot next to the canal, similar to Amsterdam except this was a parallel parking job and there was no guardrail. Justin decided Dad DenOuden wasn't close enough, as you can see in this picture.

So he moved even closer to the canal. You can see his method for getting out and to safety if you look closely. We were glad he held on tight to the van.

First we went to Nieuwe Kerk or the New Church. Jeremy, Justin, and Mom went inside while the rest of us scoped out the market. All Dutch Royalty are buried here.

Sorry I couldn't explain the last pictures, but I didn't go inside the church. I found these great pictures spots and items instead. This is a cool blue heart sculpture made of blue glass.

I also found giant fresh stroopwaffels. Justin was excited to say the least.

Heel Lekker!

Delicious!

Gotta love the wooden shoes.

My tall, blond dutchman.

After taking these fabulous pictures we headed back through the markets and the others went to check out the Oude Kerk (Old Church).

Johannes Vermeer is buried here.

We even spotted a photography studio belonging to Leo den Ouden. A distant relative perhaps?

Can you find Justin and me? We are on the bridge drinking Chocomel if you couldn't find us :)

While we were in the city of Delft we found out about a little known fact about this city. There are only about three parking garages in the whole city where visitors are supposed to park. Apparently open parking with no meters does not mean free parking. Let's just say we learned this the hard way.

For dinner we met up with Magiel, the cousin of our cousins. He was kind enough to let us stay at his parent's townhouse for a few days and we enjoyed a delicious dinner with him. When he was a teenager, he came out to California to stay with Jeremy's family. It was great to see the old pictures he brought along from his time with the DenOuden's.

Magiel was nice enough to translate the Dutch menu for us, but we all ended up getting the special for the day which was amazing.

Beef Carpaccio

Delicious Beef Medallions and French Fries

Amazing desserts

See you tomorrow for a trip to the Alkmaar Cheese Market and back to Budapest.

Day Ten: Amsterdam

2011-06-30T12:31:00.001-07:00

Today we headed into Amsterdam. We were all very excited to head into the city. We saw a ton of great sights and ate delicious pannekoek for dinner.

Freezing today...a rare occurrence on this trip.

We arrived at the P+R (park and ride) to find the trams were on strike until 3pm. On to Plan B, driving into Amsterdam.

Dad's parking job today. Pretty impressive. Thank goodness for the rail.

Cars just keep getting smaller in Amsterdam.

We found a wolf for cousin Kyle. There are tons of weirdos here, just like in SF.

Hannah and Grandpa Klaver-we found a Spartan fan in Amsterdam. See, Amsterdam isn't all that bad Grandpa.

The Royal Palace

This is how you buy Macs in Europe. At the MacHouse.

A beautiful houseboat with flowers.

Inside Westerkerk

A statue of Anne Frank near the Anne Frank House.

Westerkerk

The Rijks Museum

Busparking! Just like our blog address.

Can you find Jackie and Melissa?

Where's Waldo?

Can you find us now?

We went to the Van Gogh Museum. A dream come true for an art major.

Brothers!

It's a duck...Amsterdam style.

Rijks Museum and I amsterdam

It's Melissa!

We went to the Blonde Amsterdam shop. They had awesome things inside this shop.

A wooden shoe boat.

The sticker says it all.

Beautiful flowers in the market.

This no bikes sign doesn't seem to matter if you put stickers over it.

Thanks to the wonderful recommendation of Ashley Wyatt, we headed to The Pancake Bakery for dinner. It was delicious.

Dad and Mom DenOuden

Grandpa Vandermeer

Your faithful bloggers

Justin studying a map

Jennifer and Dan

Melissa and Jackie

Grandpa's meal. Shh...don't tell Grandma about all that ice cream, chocolate, and sugar.

Nutella and Banana. My delicious meal.

Look! They have frozen yogurt, just like in California.

Oudekerk. It was near a shady area of town, so we had to be careful.

Here is a clue as to what area of town it is near. Needless to say, we only went to see the church.

On the way out of town we saw a huge cruise ship. It was the biggest ship I've ever seen.

Day Nine

2011-06-28T13:06:00.001-07:00

We headed from the Alkmaar area to Appeldorn today. Guess what we passed on the way?

Too bad everyone was sleeping in the back.
The navigators and driver were wide awake.

We passed a shop in Appeldorn called Brenda. Who knew Brenda had her own store in Appeldorn?
This is Grandpa's house in Appeldorn. It is now a Chinese restaurant. He said it looks disgusting.
This is an awkward statue in Appeldorn. It is of a man and deer dancing. I would love to know what the artist was thinking.
This was a window display at a store in Appeldorn. Apparently the aliens are coming.
When we came back to the van, Melissa and Justin were laying in the next parking spot to keep cool.
A cool bridge on the way back to Alkmaar.
A school in Volendom. We were disappointed not to find people in authentic Dutch clothing like the guidebook said there would be.
We saw eels, birds, and more birds.

Delicious pizza for dinner on a hot day.

Day Eight

2011-06-28T12:44:00.000-07:00

Today we had to pack up and leave our lovely bed and breakfast. If you plan on traveling to the Netherlands anytime soon you need to stay here. Marleen is a fantastic hostess. Her breakfast and hospitality are wonderful. A few pictures of our room.

Jennifer hanging outside by the goats.

The hallway containing all of the rooms, leading to the breakfast room.

Melissa is all packed up and ready to go.

Today we headed back into Leeuwaarden one last time to find Us Mem. This is considered the mother of Friesland.

We also had a great view of another bridge going up and down to let the boats pass through.

We also went to a store containing many great souvenirs to remember our time in Friesland. Posing by the Frisian heart.

We passed a few traditional windmills on our long trip to Heerhugowaart.

We stopped in Hindeloopen. Melissa and I posed by some beautiful artwork.

Posing by the lockkeeper's house with its inviting bench, in Hindeloopen.

Boats in the harbor.

I found this building by our parking spot.

Next we went to Makkum. This place has expensive tiles and other hand-painted items $$$$. We were able to see people painting different items in the back of the store.

Cool molds to make the traditional dutch houses.

This symbol is printed on the back of each of the items made here.

Justin bought this awesome baby sock for his phone. It pretty much rocks.

Justin convinced us to climb a tall tower by the Afsluitdijk. It was pretty awesome until I thought the police were going to come after us.

A big barge heading out to the North Sea.

This is what a dijk looks like on either side.

After a drive to the townhouse we are staying at we headed to the beach. We were able to step into the North Sea.

The ladies.

The men.

Jellyfish

Jenn and Dan in the North Sea.

My future wheels.

Dinner at a Beach Snack Shack. This is my dinner for the night. Notice our community squeeze ketchup...much cheeper this way :)

Day Seven

2011-06-28T11:47:00.001-07:00

We went to the church Grandpa Vandermeer was baptized at in Beetgumermolen. The entire service was in Frisian, which made things quite interesting.

Afterwards we walked over to the house of Grandpa's cousin and her husband, Jacoba and Jacobus Wassenaar. Thank goodness for their oldest son who speaks somewhat fluent English. This is their son's brand new house.

Delicious Sunday coffee and orange cake.

Grandpa and his cousin chatting it up at coffee...a bit confusing for the rest of us, but they seemed to have a great time together.

Their family owns a fertilizer transport company. Let's just say there was a lot of "fresh" air here.

We got to see some Frisian horses up close.

This was the house Grandpa lived in until he was 15. The family helped hide Jews here during the war.

For lunch Grandpa requested McDonald's. The meal was pretty traditional, but I did get a framboos schudden (raspberry shake) for dessert. My dad would have appreciated the taste of that shake.

Check out Ronald's bike.

This tower was in Leeuwarden. According to Wikipedia it leans more than the Tower of Pisa.

Walking along the canals we found these musicians playing for a crowd.

We went to Albert Heijn for groceries. Apparently I'm taller than most of the people in Leeuwarden.

I jumped out of the van for these next few pictures while the drawbridge was up.

They collect the money for the drawbridge from the wooden shoe on the stick.

Day Six

2011-06-26T13:42:00.000-07:00

We got a tour of the big barn at the bed and breakfast. They are doing all the work by themselves and recycling a lot of materials. It will be great when it's finished.

We headed into Leeuwarden for the day. We saw these great houses and buildings as we headed through town.

This was painted along the side of a building as we looked for a parking spot.

We went to the Fries Museum. We saw many things from the resistance movement during WWII.

Ration Tickets

After we went to the Fries Museum we went to Eetcafe Spinoza. I found an awesome crown that could be used in many ways. Here Justin models how it can be a mustache.

I had a portobello mushroom with cheese.

This is the sandwich that Justin, Melissa, Jennifer, and Grandpa had. If you are interested in a delicious meal order the Filet Américain. Trust me you'll thank me. Grandpa likes his with honey.

Following lunch we went to the Princessehof Ceramics Museum. This collection of ceramics is incredible.

An early Dutch Delft colander.

A very cool display of Dutch Delft.

More modern art in the ceramics museum.

Thank goodness for free coffee.

At night we went to the summer house of Sjirk Kok. He was Dad's suitemate at Calvin College approximately 35 years ago. Before we went to dinner Grandpa had to see the cows.

Sjirk's summer house. Notice the Friesian flag flying proudly for Grandpa Vandermeer.

The doorways were appropriately sized for some of us.

But not everyone was able to walk through with as much ease.

Awesome tile work on the inside walls. The house was recently remodeled, but was first built in 1806.

Part of the recent renovations, an awesome kitchen.

Part of our dinner, a delicious soup made by Els, Sjirk's wife.

Two fabulous sisters-in-law.

A lovely portrait of the man who keeps us laughing.

Justin, Jeremy, and Mom.

Els, Melissa, and Dad.

Twins?

All the Calvin graduates wearing their Calvin Gear...do I see a Spark feature in the future?

Sjirk and Dad, roommates reconnect in the Netherlands.

Delicious Dutch pudding, aardbei and framboos.

See you again tomorrow.

Love, Jackie

Day 5: Traveling to the Netherlands

2011-06-26T12:48:00.000-07:00

Today we headed to the Budapest Airport. Let me just say they will let any non American cut. My organizational self was so confused at the way they do things at this airport. For example, when have you ever seen the check in clerk become the gate attendant a few hours later? Here begins our journey through the rest of the trip. The inside of the airport was fantastic. Here is a picture of the food court and duty free area.

My lunch was a fantastic piece of pizza and salad. I wish they had this great of food in all airports.

After lunch we headed to the airplane where they served us even more food. Who knew KLM was such an awesome airline to fly. Complementary beer and wine as well as a sandwich and stroopwafel for dessert.

When we landed in the airport we met up with cousin Melissa and Grandpa Vandermeer. They had been wonderful travel companions for a total of 24 hours, flying from Grand Rapids, MI and hanging out in the Amsterdam airport for about 8 hours.

We knew we were in Holland when we saw these doors.

Welcome to our 9 passenger Mercedes-Benz Vito. It travels on roads and sometimes bike paths. Shh don't tell...

Crossing the Afsluitdijk. It is 20 miles long and takes you directly into the "Kingdom of Friesland."

Beautiful sights in Friesland on the way to the Bed and Breakfast.

Pork with pindasaus, Jeremy's dinner meal.

After dinner, Grandpa chatted up the locals, something we have grown very accustomed to.

The small village was having a party, this "beer bus" traveled down the street pulled by a tractor.

We enjoyed a great night of sleep at the Bed and Breakfast.

Tot ziens!

Day Four

2011-06-26T11:57:00.000-07:00

I'm back! Sorry for the delay, we had a busy night of packing a few nights ago, a trip from Budapest to Amsterdam, and a few full days of sightseeing in The Kingdom of Friesland (according to Grandpa Vandermeer, the land of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob). Let me narrate this fourth day in Hungary before I tell you anymore about our travels in the Netherlands.

This picture below shows you the Parliament building in Budapest.

I hope you aren't sick of pictures of us yet.

This wonderful couple is Jenn and Dan, my wonderful sis and bro in law (Jeremy's sister).

This is a picture of the Buda Reformed Church. It is on the Buda side of Budapest.

Another view of the church.

Jennifer and I waited outside and learned about male social norms in Budapest. Everyone else went inside to learn more about the church.

Can you find these songs in the gray book?

The church is in the round as you can see from this picture.

After visiting the Reformed Church, we took a suburban railway to Szentendre. This is a church we found there.

We found these cool peppers or "paprika" as the Hungarians call all peppers.

Justin, our tour guide wanted to add some excitement to the blog.

Another picture of the market areas.

We were rewarded with delicious gelato at the end of a warm day in Szentendre.

After getting back to Budapest, we stopped by the Nyugati Train Station. This was built by Gustave Eiffel, also the builder of the Eiffel tower. The king used to hang out here before taking the train.

Now, a super fancy McDonald's resides here. Check out that McCafe'.

Finally, we ended our day by visiting Starbucks in the Westend Mall. It was a highlight of our warm day.

Harmadik Napon (Day Three)

2011-06-23T12:10:00.000-07:00

Today I'm coming to you live from Budapest, Hungary. Here I am outside a fountain in the Castle District. Heads up...it's a bit warmer today :).

Today we went to visit Justin's school. This is him at his desk. As you can tell, a teacher never sits at his/her desk so Justin isn't sure how to pose.

This is the outside of his school. It is a short walk from his flat, just past the small market.

After visiting school, we headed on a tiny bus up the hill to the Castle District. This a beautiful view of the Széchenyi Chain Bridge, which was destroyed in WWII.

I think you know these people.

This is a view of the area we visited in the Castle District known as Fisherman's Bastion. This also gives great views of the city below.

This was one of the streets we passed on our way to see the Terracotta Warriors display at a museum. I thought it was pretty sweet.

This is a replica of one of the horses we saw in the museum. Look at this website to find out more about them.

Jeremy found a bookstore to admire while we waited.

One of many steep escalator rides down to the metro. These are the fastest moving escalators I've ever been on.

This is the inside view of St. Matthias Church.

Women must cover their shoulders when in this cathedral, so we got even warmer :)

We went to another church, St. Istvan's. This time we went to the top and took in a 360 degree view of the city. The next few pictures are from the outside and inside of the church.

We couldn't believe our eyes! We are coming back to this place on a cooler day.

The coffee shop is right outside of St. Istvan's. This is a view of the front.

This is a place where people who promise their love attach a padlock to symbolize their promise. Many of the padlocks include names and dates.

Dinnertime at the flat. We had Rakott Krumpli, a Hungarian meal made of sausage, potato, sour cream, and boiled eggs.

Delicious!

That's all for today. We will post about Thursday sometime tomorrow. Friday morning we are headed to the Netherlands for a week. Thanks for reading! Viszlat! (Goodbye)

Day Two

2011-06-21T13:46:00.001-07:00

One note, before we get into what we saw today. I made an error concerning the "Freedom Lady" statue in the previous post. I have since corrected the information.

Now, to our day!

Perhaps you recognize this gentleman?

It's everyone's favorite reformer, John Calvin!

A picture of lunch.

Or at least the remains of it.

This is a collection of statues which represents the history of Hungary.

There's also a Hungarian "Tomb for the Unknown Soldier" here.

While we were there, a dignitary from Swaziland came and participated in a ceremony, laying wreath with Swaziland's flag onto the tomb.

This is the Archangel Gabriel, who told St. Stephen (Istvan) to bring Christianity to Hungary.

This is a giant hour-glass, which is supposed to have enough sand for the entire year.

At the start of a new year, the wheel does a half-turn and starts over.

This sculpture is said to represent Hungary. As individuals, they are weak and rusty, but together, they become a powerful wedge.

I'm pretty sure it's communist.

None of us were entirely sure why he was present at the park, but it was pretty cool.

At this point in our journey, we stumbled upon a sculpture lake.

Jackie and I thought it was pretty neat.

We're pretty sure those are the heads of Marx.

That person is made up of letters.

This one is for our Disney friends.

We're pretty sure this is Mickey Mouse.

What do you think?

While at the lake Jackie and I got an idea for the house that we will someday own.

They're 2x2's cut into something like 1" pieces and laid out like tiles.

When we visited the opera house, we saw what they looked like after several years.

This was a pseudo theme park, originally built around 1900 with temporary materials, and then rebuild with more permanent ones a decade or two later.

There's supposed to be representative architecture from throughout the history of Hungary

Since I don't know architecture, I'll put up the pictures, and let you figure out what each is.

This statue is of Anonymous.

He wrote the first history of Hungary.

His pen is supposed to bring luck if you touch it.

My hope is that it brings luck for writing papers--particularly theses!

Next we went to a museum called the House of Terror.

This was a building that once housed both members of the NAZI Arrow Cross and the Soviet Red Army.

It was interesting to see some of Hungary's political history.

I especially appreciated the performative aspects of the museum, but unfortunately, we couldn't take any pictures inside.

This is a plaque outside the museum.

I don't know what it says, but am including it since we don't have any other pictures.

If you look closely at this picture, you'll see a little piece of Detroit here in Budapest.

This is/was an orthodox synagogue, but (according to our tour guide) since synagogues aren't supposed to be burial sites, orthodox Jews won't worship there after thousands of Jews were buried there during the war.

This is a Holocaust memorial. The names of the victims are written on the leaves of the tree.

We couldn't get any closer because it was part of a tour, and the synagogue was closed for the day.

This was my brother's dinner.

He had a stuffed chicken dish.

This was my mom's and my brother-in-law's

It's steak and scalloped potatoes.

My sister got chicken and potato balls.

Jackie got lamb and sweet potatoes.

This was mine.

I got Eggplant stuffed with jasmine rice and pear, with star annis spice.

Jackie liked the knives here.

And the lighting fixtures.

This is a cheese grater.

These are wine glasses.

Here's some street art.

Here's one of my favorites.

This was a store called Sugar.

This is the sink from the bathroom.

That's real candy in there.

Here's an overhead view of the store.

It was very non-characteristic of the rest of the city we've seen so far.

Jackie likes the phone booths!

The opera house.

A sphinx.

Note: all sphinxes are female.

Liszt Ferencz

(Franz Liszt)

To end the day we visited what my brother called a "Ruin Pub."

It was very eclectic.

I took this picture for my friend, Emily.

Here's us at the pub.

The upstairs of the pub.

That's a bathtub turned into a couch on the left.

See you tomorrow!

The First Day(s)

2011-06-21T01:06:00.000-07:00

Greetings from Hungary.

This first post is going to be more of a picture dump than we hope future posts will be.

Enoy!

Unfortunately, we didn't get any pictures with our friends Jake and Shawna, but it was great to see them again, and get to catch up.

Jackie waiting to check-in at O'Hare.

Checking-in

"Watch out for hop-ons, you're gonna get some hop-ons."

Baby Diet Coke

Some old buildings

The Large Market

Some pastry thingies

Architecture

Gellert H0tel and Baths

Statue of Saint credited for bringing Christianity to Hungary

See that statue between the building and the bowl?

We climbed up to it!

This is that statue.

It, along with the two following statues, originally represented the overthrow of the NAZIs by Russia in 1947.

The inscription on the statue originally read:

"Erected by the grateful Hungarian Nation in memory of the liberating Russian heroes."

After Hungary transitioned away from Communism in 1989, the inscription was changed to read:

"To the memory of all of those who sacrificed their lives for the independence, freedom, and success of Hungary."

Pest

Only remaining monument from Communist era.

Saint Gellert

Szent Istvan's

(St. Stephen's)

Dinner!

Mmm . . . beer!

See you tomorrow!

01.02.2010 (it's a palindrome)

2010-01-02T18:14:00.001-08:00

Ok so it's been awhile since my last blog posting. My fault, my bad, my apologies. I plan on blogging more regularly...starting tomorrow. Yesterday after our flight back to SJ we watched an amazing Buckeye victory in the Rose Bowl with our awesome friends and some good food. Today is Jeremy's 27th birthday and we are enjoying our time back in warmer weather (wearing flip flops again) after our fantastic Christmas vacation in the snowy midwest. Sleeping in, breakfast at noon at Bill's Cafe, a movie in the afternoon, and now dinner at Pasta Pomodoro. Happy Birthday Jeremy! Here's to another amazing year together :).

long hair no more!

2009-05-30T12:53:00.001-07:00

before

during

kinda grosses me out...

after

a little more than 10 inches going to locks of love :)

memorial day camping

2009-05-30T12:37:00.000-07:00

last weekend we went to lake del valle with a group from church. we camped with our friends jacob and suzie and we had a wonderful time sharing meals, relaxing, and wine tasting. it was a bit cold in the morning and at night, but during the day it was wonderful weather. can't wait until next year!

camping breakfast!

laughing about something...

our camp

sunday worship

my future home at the vineyard.

malari's wedding

2009-05-30T12:18:00.000-07:00

yes, this was already two weekends ago...i'm getting a little behind in my blog updating.

it was a beautiful day for malari and dan and a very fun reception following the ceremony at the crystal cathedral. the drive down wasn't so bad, but forgetting my camera at home was a bit of a bummer. here are some pictures i took on the classy throw-away camera.

when malari walked down the aisle, the fountains in the middle turned on...it was sweet.

my handsome man.

my beautiful married roommate.

julia was there too with her fiance.

we were able to stay with denouden relatives and we headed to hollywood the next day. as you can see i have my own star on the walk of fame.

and if you look to the left of the palm tree you can see the hollywood sign...i'm missing the zoom feature on our nice camera :(

More Fun With Poetics

2009-04-06T22:57:00.000-07:00

I just noticed tonight after my Poetry class that someone had commented on my previous post suggesting an alternate line reading for my months poem.

I decided to respond, and my response became more and more in-depth (I just had me poetics class, remember). Because of this (and out low post out put) I decided to post my reply on the main page.

Before I do though, let me just say two things.

1) I LOVE the suggestion. I wish I could use it.

2) I could go into much more detail (it's amazing the things you learn, but don't realize you're learning), but have chosen to keep it as brief and simple as possible (partly because I want to go to bed!)

So...here it is -

"That's a great thought Anonymous, but unfortunately that word order would change up the rhythm (which I am defining as the sequence of accented and unaccented syllables) a little bit.

Currently the poem reads:

THIR-ty/DAYS-are/IN-sep/TEM-ber
JUNE-and/A-pril/AND-no/VEM-ber
TWEN-ty/EIGHT-in/FEB-ru/AR-y
BUT-be/CARE-ful/IT-can/VAR-y (are these one syllable or two??)
ALL-the/REST-have/THIR-ty/ONE
WHO-KNEW/that-MONTHS/could-BE/so-FUN

As you can see, it gets kinda awkward after the second line.

Your suggested line would read like this:

the-REST/all-NUM/ber-THIR/ty-ONE

Which is a much nicer iambic (unaccented syllable followed by an accented one) line but, unfortunately would become the ONLY regular iambic line in the entire poem making the poem feel that much more awkward. The last line is ALMOST a regular iambic, and would probably become one were we to substitute your line for mine, but the spondaic (double accented) foot leading the line works to transition the poem into the regular iambic meter.

If you notice, the majority of the lines are trochaic (the opposite of an iamb - accented then unaccented) which means the lines all start with an accented syllable and end with an unaccented syllable. Part of the problem created by the new line is that you would have an enjambed (spread out over two lines) anapest (double unaccented syllables). To better explain what I mean, I'll write it out as a single line:

BUT-be/CARE-ful/IT-can/VAR-y//the-REST/all-NUM/ber-THIR/ty-ONE

Notice how there is a subtle "hitch in your gitty-up" as you read that line?

That being said, I LOVE the line and would totally use it if I could figure out a way to write the entire poem as regular iambs, but regrettably the second month of the year has too many syllables and is almost as difficult to rhyme as 'orange' to be able to accomplish that task with any ease."

I didn't realize that I had learnt all this stuff so far this semester.

Thank you, Anonymous, for helping me to see that.

Months, Metre and Rhyme

2009-02-23T22:25:00.000-08:00

Two nights ago, my lovely wife was lamenting about the awkwardness of the standard poem used to teach kids (and many adults) how many days are in each month.
You know -

Thirty days hath September,
April, June, and November.
All the rest have Thirty-one,
Except for February.

I mean talk about elegance and brilliance.
So me, taking a (graduate level) class on poetics and poetry, and being the aspiring literary artist that I am, endeavored to make the poem better. (You can tell we have pretty hoppin' social lives around here).
This is what I came up with -

Thirty days are in September,
June, and April, and November.
Twenty-Eight in February,
But be careful, it can vary.
All the rest have thirty-one.
Who knew that months could be so fun?

This is not what I originally came up with.
At first I left the first two lines (or couplet) alone. It was the same as the original.
I also, had "But beware" instead of "but be careful."
In both instances I made changes in order to create a regular rhythm and metre.
I wouldn't have had words for it before this class, but you can feel it when you read it, especially out loud.
Just now, I tried to make the second-to-last (or penultimate) line eight syllables like the rest, but it just didn't work.
I think because almost all of the lines start out with a first stressed syllable, and the line wanted to start unstressed which didn't want to flow from the unstressed syllable ending the line right before it.

Well, I think I've bored you all enough with all of the deconstruction, and it's past my bed time.
Good night!

winter getaway

2009-02-19T20:48:00.000-08:00

last weekend mom and dad snow came to visit us and we had a great time taking them to sonoma, santa rosa, monterey, and carmel. things didn't go exactly as hoped for with the weather (quite rainy for california standards) and 17 mile drive was closed (due to the pro-am golf tournament), but we had a great time enjoying the long weekend together. we even got dad to go to ikea! here are some pictures from their visit.

what exactly is a "door to nowhere" doing in a vineyard?

our tour guide. we were the only 4 on the tour which was pretty great. i guess the rain scares most people away.

they gave us blankets to keep us warm, which made us pretty happy.

in the wine cave

after wine tasting we headed to santa rosa to stop by the charles schulz museum and to eat dinner at chevy's. these pictures are for you aunt diane :)

on saturday we headed to monterey/carmel to enjoy another day of the rain/sun mixture.
see hannah, you were with mom and dad on this trip :)

enjoying valentine's day where we went for our honeymoon :)

love this view.

dutchmen make wine?

2009-02-19T20:35:00.001-08:00

ok so this post should have been done 3 weeks ago...but i was a bit busy, so here it is. better late than never :). we went wine tasting in amador valley in the beginning of february, and our favorite new winery was "the dutch winery." the man inside who owns the winery was wearing wooden shoes and along the driveway there were wooden shoes with tulips in them. It was a great place to visit and the wooden shoe with the wine bottle in it just cracks me up.

you gotta love the wooden shoes traveling up the wall

a few of my new favorite things

2009-01-14T16:12:00.001-08:00

1. pandora radio...try it you will like it i promise. you tell them an artist or a name of a song you like and they'll make a playlist of a ton of other songs they think you will like. plus it's free!

2. 73 degree weather in january! sunshine is great but nice weather to go along with it, major bonus. anyone want to move to california soon? we actually took our workbooks outside on monday because it was just too nice to work inside.

3. fair oaks farm. yes i know i posted about them earlier but now i'm able to give rave reviews about the cheese we purchased there and brought back with us. don't worry, you too can order cheese online from this amazing place.

4. my new mittens...yes, i know the weather is 73 degrees out here, but it's a cool 42 in the morning and my little hands just can't handle it.

they were handmade by my friend's mom. she makes awesome stuff, and you should totally check out esj designs to see a few of her amazing creations (image from their website). they have many items that are made from recycled goods which makes their stuff even cooler.

city church and exploring the sf exploratorium

2009-01-11T21:15:00.000-08:00

we were blessed to visit city church of san francisco this morning to do some research for our own church. it was a wonderful experience and we look forward to going back to visit.
afterwards we went to the baker street bistro and enjoyed an amazing breakfast of french toast for myself and eggs benedict for jeremy. such amazing food we were able to eat while there. after our meal we headed over to the exploratorium to check out some hands on science stuff. it was a great time and we could have spent even more time exploring everything there is to see and do. three hours just doesn't cut it :) it was great to relax and take our time wandering through the museum together. i highly recommend this place and wish i could take my students here this year.
the sweet tessellation that we made. and i wonder why my students don't pay attention when i pass these things out.
skills my friends...skills.
the big chair
yes, that's jeremy drinking from the toilet...
a funny sign that we saw
we ended our day trip with a stop at everyone's favorite big box store IKEA! we stopped by to see what items were on sale for the winter sale and were able to grab a few small items i've had my eyes on. dinner was also enjoyed at ikea before we headed back to sj to rest up for the work week ahead. blessings to you on this sabbath day!

christmas vacation 2008

2009-01-10T16:33:00.000-08:00

we have come and gone from the winter wonderland known as western mi, and have begrudgingly made it through another work week!

before we began our journey to western michigan we celebrated christmas CA style with tri-tip on the grill and sunshine. we enjoyed some games and gifts!
the food!
the fam!
the games!let's just say justin is a bit too creative when it comes to his gift wrapping skills.
the boys with their matching haircuts and books (i figured it was a better idea than the matching christmas sweaters)
and now...here are some pictures to document our journey.

day one...much to our dismay, we arrived at the southwest baggage check area only to find that the line did a few curves in the airport and out into the parking lot. say hello to our new friend that we met in line :)

what did i learn through this experience? once again i was reminded that God answers prayers in a variety of ways-and even if our luggage didn't make it with us right away, we did end up making it to chicago to stay with jenn and dan.

day two...adventures in demotte and beyond!
we headed to dan's school and then to jennifer's school with a stop in between at yesteryears. it is this sweet butcher shop/really good lunch spot in demotte. sorry but the pictures from day two are a bit "teacher-ish"...i'll admit i was wandering the hallways for some good ideas :)

after stopping by the two schools we headed into merriville to do a bit of shopping with the $50 a piece that southwest had given us instead of our luggage :)

day three...the journey to the great white north!
on christmas eve we headed up to mi with jenn and dan to see family. we arrived at my parent's house safe and sound, and about 1 1/2 hours later so did our luggage!
day four-christmas!
we enjoyed church at beckwith and then headed to the extended snow family party at uncle jim's house. food+family+twister, what more can you ask for? so cousin allison was a big fan of attacking hannah...it was pretty funny.
noel likes to follow the rules...what a good student
ok so about this picture...i made the little cousins new hooded bath towels because their towels were in shreads...they aren't part of a msu cult or anything :)
day five...klaver kristmas (i can't stand when people do that kind of cheesy stuff...do you know what i'm talking about?)
we had a good time eating pizza and other delicious foods, opening gifts, meeting brad's girlfriend michelle and hearing jen and philip's good news that will make aunt kim and uncle dan grandparents in august!

day six...beckwith babes/moms reunion as well as the denouden christmas party
everybody minus kelly :(
some of the moms along with the vanderveen's dog
uncle ben's white elephant gift of many random items
jennifer got the orange pumpkin decoration we brought-that will look nice in indiana don't you think?
beth with the huge jawbreaker she opened
aunt von dressed me up while everyone was opening gifts
jeremy with the symbols from the belly dancing kit he opened.
travis and uncle doug, natural trouble makers.day seven-vandermeer christmas party
we had a good time playing games and seeing family members during the afternoon.
tara you better hold on to your gifts...i have an easy bake oven too
hot wheels...enough said
grandma lois and grandpa are pretty excited about their gift

day eight-visiting baker book house and visiting g&g klaver's new place
we had a good time going to baker book house and seeing everybody that jeremy worked with. we also got to experience shopping during a power outage which added to the excitement. jeremy was able to get lots of new books with christmas/birthday money which brought much happiness to my bookworm husband.
we also got to see the new place where my grandparents live. it's very nice and there is so much to do there!
day nine-visiting grandma denouden and hanging out with the vandermeulen's at night
we got to visit grandma denouden at her new place as well. here are a few pictures from our visit.

after stopping by sunset manor we headed out to holland for dinner and a game of bohnanza. we had a good time playing and ross is a very ruthless bean trader.

day ten-visiting the "lake house," lunch at g&g snow's, and celebrating new year's eve with friends.
we headed up to the lake to check out my family's latest project. for those of you who don't know my dad and brother, they like to keep busy and enjoy restoring old tractors and fixing things up. these are some pictures from the inside of their latest project, re-drywalling our new cottage up at the lake.
this is the jacuzzi tub...a little dusty right now.
main room-kitchen, dining room, and living roommy siblings in two of the three bedrooms...this place is bigger than our place in CA...maybe we should move in here :)

new year's eve festivities downtown gr with paul, lou & hannah, and dave & laura.
we braved the cold weather to see the ball drop. there were many laughs and good times as we tried to hold our spots in the midst of the swarms of people trying to join in the festivities.

lou, hannah, and laura
lou and jeremy
can you see the crane that is holding it up there?
happy new year!
day eleven-new year's day. we relaxed today enjoying a steak dinner at home and then packed up and headed back down to indiana in preparation for jeremy's birthday and our trip to the farm.

day twelve-happy 26th birthday jeremy! and our trip to fair oaks farm
we celebrated jeremy's day of birth by going to the farm. while there we took a bus tour, watched a cow being birthed in the birthing room (i'll spare you the details), and enjoyed delicious cheese, milk, and ice cream.

down on the farm!
this little guy shares a birthday with jeremy!

the dairy go round

after a good time at the farm we headed home and then went to red robin to celebrate with a birthday dinner for the birthday boy.

day thirteen-we headed home for warmer weather and our own bed to sleep in. when we got there we headed out for another birthday dinner at armadillo willy's with justin and mom and dad denouden.

that brings me to the end of this ridiculously long blog post. i hope you enjoyed it :) happy new year everybody!

my favorite time of year

2008-12-06T09:04:00.000-08:00

Hello friends...

I know we've been a little negligent about posting around these parts, but the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas are typically very hectic, especially with me taking classes again.

All that to say, I've finished my first of two papers and am taking a bit of a breather today, which brings me to the subject of my post today.

This is most certainly one of my favorite times of the year.

I love getting together with family and friends and eating and socializing.

I love the conclusion of a semesters worth of learning (especially when the papers actually get done on time!)

But perhaps most of all, I love the Scholastic Warehouse Book Sale!

This is the time of year when Scholastic opens up their warehouses across the country and teachers and book fair volunteers get to come and purchase from their overstock for over half off the cover price in many cases.

One of the primary reasons I really appreciate this sale is because I have been able to find a number of very good books that I would not have read otherwise.

At the Scholastic Warehouse Book Sale, you may find a book that looks interesting and since it's half off you don't feel bad about throwing it into the cart and trying it out.

Well, the pie is done and it's time for us to get going.

Have a happy holiday season and a

Merry Christmas!!

The Star of the Show...

2008-11-08T11:58:00.001-08:00

...at least in my eyes.

e-i-e-i oops!

2008-11-08T11:03:00.000-08:00

the weeks of practice with the students paid off in a wonderful way last night. my first time directing the 1-2 musical at school was busy, exciting, and well worth it. here are a few pictures from the performance from last night.

the wonderful sets

reading to the kids before the musical started

mrs. farmer in the dell, the farmer in the dell,
madam cow, mrs. old mac donald, and old mac donald

crazy pigs

madam cow, mrs. mule, and mr. rooster

cute chicks

lost sheep

devotion about living in community

teachers and students involved

thank you for all the prayers and support throughout the musical!

Psalm One

2008-11-05T10:34:00.001-08:00

Blessed are those
who do not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take
or sit in the company of mockers,

but who delight in the law of the LORD
and meditate on his law day and night.

They are like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither—
whatever they do prospers.

Not so the wicked!
They are like chaff
that the wind blows away.

Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.

For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will be destroyed.

happy halloween!

2008-11-01T23:45:00.000-07:00

for halloween we attended the baham's annual halloween bash, which was a very good time. i was a pirate...attacking the island of the character "charlie" from lost...notice the writing on his hand...very authentic.
here is a picture of princess leia and yoda...luke was hanging out somewhere else in the crowd.for more pictures from this rousing party click here .

ps...report cards are now finished and the musical is on friday...prayers for continued sanity would be appreciated :)

sharks vs. red wings

2008-10-30T22:48:00.001-07:00

for dad denouden's birthday he received tickets to the sharks/red wings game at the pavilion. jeremy needed to study, so i had the priviliage of attending with dad do. we had a good time with the sharks winning 4-2. we were shocked by the number of teal jerseys in the crowd peppered with a few red wings fans. i would have to say that i would like to attend more sharks games in the future...so if anyone is interested in buying me season tickets, they wouldn't go to waste :).

apple hill adventures

2008-10-27T15:32:00.000-07:00

This weekend we headed up to Rocklin to enjoy a visit to Apple Hill on Saturday. It was a great time had by all. We headed to a few different apple orchards and wineries. Enjoy the pictures!

Did I mention I saw an Emu (I have a fear of birds...Jeremy made me take this picture)
We also saw dinosaurs...It was a little bit of a Jurassic Park flashback...frightening.