i stretna nova godina

We hosted FHE at our apartment on Christmas Eve.  The missionaries usually do FHE with branch members and investigators at the chapel or playing ping pong at a place nearby.  We suggested they do something a bit more spiritual on Christmas Eve.  We made chicken noodle soup and read a Christmas story about service.

Zlatko and Elder Wimmer

Elder Roper and Zayko

The Elders from Tuzla drove down to spend their holiday with us.  We got a late start with FHE and the missionaries needed to return home in time for curfew, so we didn't get the Christmas candied popcorn ready in time for a FHE treat; John and I enjoyed some of it after they left and they ate the rest on Christmas day.  We love making this particular popcorn at Christmastime and it was a miracle that we found marshmallows and Karo syrup at the American Food Store in Zagreb.  We missed eating our other family favorites like shrimp cocktail drink and Scotch eggs, but we enjoyed at least this one Christmas comfort food.

The stockings were hung by the TV with care...

We made stockings for all the missionaries.  Nothing fancy but they all received a pair of socks, a notebook and pens, a can of Pringles chips and some candy.

Our awesome group of missionaries

Elder Thompson, Sister Landon, Sister Fritch, Elder Wimmer, Elder Christiansen, Elder Lee, Elder Roper, Elder Thygerson (floor).  This group always has a good spirit and they work well together.

New socks on the feet of our awesome missionaries

The sock designs are burgers, fries and shakes (in case you can't tell).  We found the socks when we were in Paris and thought it would make a fun stocking stuffer.  They loved them so guess it was a good idea.   We ate dinner about 2 pm - menu was Springfield ham (thank you embassy friends), funeral potatoes, baked beans, deviled eggs, fresh veggies and dip and BBQ meatballs.  Everyone pitched in to clear the table and do dishes.  Facetime and Skyping home started shortly after and continued until 8:30 pm.  We played games and ate stocking candy and Pringles while waiting turns to call.  After the missionaries left, we had our turn to talk to family.

Wednesday afternoon we flew to Budapest.  John's cousin and his wife are serving a humanitarian mission there.  We received permission to travel outside our mission to "consult with the welfare services couple serving in Hungary."  Never in my younger imagination did I think I would be living in Europe and wandering around countries like Hungary and Bosnia.  What a blessing to be so privileged!

Budapest is an amazing city.  Population is about 2 million.  I was expecting it to look more like Sarajevo but we didn't see any physical evidence of past wars and war damage.  It is a thriving city with beautiful buildings and architecture.  There are decent freeways, much less graffiti and litter around the city and not as much smoking on the streets.

In one of the Christmas markets

We went from no Christmas decorations and atmosphere to overload.  Everywhere we went was a Christmas market.  Lots of good food everywhere.

Budapest has the prettiest manhole covers we've seen

St Stephen's Basilica with market stalls in front

St Stephen's is named after the first king of Hungary.  His "incorruptible" right hand is said to be housed in the reliquary.  We didn't see it but we weren't sure where the reliquary was or why we would want to look at it, anyway.  The church is one of the two tallest buildings in the city - 96 meters (351 feet).  The other tall building is the Parliament building.  There is currently a city regulation prohibiting construction higher than 96 meters.

Inside St Stephen's - at the front of the main room/hall

We went to a Christmas Gala Concert one evening with the senior couples serving in and near Budapest.  They were all very nice to us and included us but we still felt like the outsiders.  It is interesting how we bond with those we serve with - and it was evident that all these couples were close.  We feel the same about the couples we associate with in our mission.  The concert was excellent.  They performed a lot of classical pieces and traditional Hungarian music.  It was a combination of symphony, ballet and opera.  The theater was very old and we wondered how appropriate a venue it was but the sound was good.

Theater walls in the balcony where we were seated

Concert stage

A treat we really enjoy is chimney cakes.  We have seen them here and several other countries nearby so we're guessing it is a Balkan or Slavic thing.  It is a yeast dough rolled and wrapped around a cone, then cooked over hot coals and coated with cinnamon sugar or other tasty things.  You pull it apart and devour it while it's still warm.

The long sticks rotate so the dough cooks evenly

The perfect treat on a cold windy day in Budapest

Outdoor ovens are popular - this one is cooking pizza

Yummy food everywhere; how do you choose just one thing?

I was fascinated with the potato pancakes cooked like scones or fry bread

The street behind our hotel was decorated with lots of lights and huge ornaments suspended in the air.

The lights on the building changed colors every few seconds

Huge ornaments hanging over the street

We saw several of these orange or lemon slice adorned ladies about town

We don't see hot cider or wassail anywhere but mulled or hot wine is very popular, especially at the outdoor markets.

Hot wine for a cold day

Basket ride for the littles - mini version of the teacups at Disneyland?

We walked to the Shoes on the Danube memorial.  It is a memorial to the Budapest Jews who were shot by militiamen between 1944 and 1945.  The victims were lined up and shot into the Danube.  They were forced to remove their shoes first, as shoes were a valuable commodity at the time.  It contains 60 pairs of iron shoes, each modeled after an original 1940's pair.  Very touching.

Shoes on the Danube Memorial

Another cool place we visited is Fisherman's Bastion.  It was built between 1895 and 1902.  I haven't had time to do more research on the history to understand it totally, except that a bastion is part of a fortification built at an angle to allow defensive fire in several directions.  The castle and bastion are built on one side of the Danube on the hill.  The views of Pest are spectacular.  I did learn that Buda is one side of the Danube and Pest is the other side.  I did not know that Budapest is actually two separate cities.

St Stephen in the center of the bastion

The walls and turrets have been rebuilt more decorative than defensive

View of the Parliament buildings from the bastion

Small section of steps climbing up to the bastion

Or you can ride the funicular up the hillside

We love bridge walking so opted to walk across the chain bridge spanning the Danube

The beautiful Blue Danube River in Budapest

When we visited Belgrade and saw the Danube River, I didn't think I'd have another opportunity to see it again.

Heroes Square was our last tourist stop

Heroes Square is the largest square in Budapest.  It was laid out in 1896 to celebrate the thousandth anniversary of Hungary.  Archangel Gabriel stands on top of the pillar, holding the holy crown and the double cross of Christianity.  The seven chieftains who led the Magyars tribes to Hungary are on the stand below.  Statues of kings and other important historical figures stand on top of the colonnades on either side of the center pillar.

We returned to Sarajevo on Saturday.  There was a baptism scheduled Saturday at 5:00 pm that we very much wanted to attend.  We boarded the plane and were informed the flight was delayed 40 minutes due to some situation in Vienna, where we change planes.  We only had an hour layover and knew we would never make it through passport control and security in time for our connecting flight to Sarajevo.  We called the Elders to tell them we would not be there and didn't know when the next plane to Sarajevo would be.  When we were finally in the air, the usual 45 minute flight took only 30 minutes.  The flight attendant announced that Sarajevo passengers should wait at the bottom of the stairs when we deplaned (is that the correct term?).  We happened to be the only two on the plane needing the Sarajevo flight.  A gate attendant met us at the steps and whisked us away to the terminal in a van.  She took us to passport control and spoke to them - he took our passports and stamped them without hardly looking.  Then she escorted us to a private security booth, called a security officer to come and walked us through the drill.  She then drove us directly to our plane and we boarded.  The flight departed a few minutes late but we arrived at our original time - this normally 55 minute flight was done in only 45 minutes. 

John and I are looking at each other in amazement through this whole experience.  How can this be happening?  We know it is another tender mercy from Heavenly Father.  We needed to be at the baptism.

Begić and Elder Christiansen

Begić is a sweet man who recognized the truth from the moment the missionaries met with him.  We wish we could speak to him to know him better.  He speaks no English and our language skills are very limited.  His wife is very ill with cancer right now and was hospitalized this week.  She had some surgery and they didn't know if she would pull through or not.  So with all that happening in his life and being so concerned for his wife, he decided to go forward with the baptism.  We are very happy for him and hope he will become a good leader in the branch.  He told the Elders he wanted to become an Elder so he could get his own name tag.

Begić and the missionaries after his baptism

Begić was confirmed in Sacrament meeting today.  He is a wonderful addition to the branch.

This was very long but so much happened this week.  We had a great Christmas and a fun break in Hungary.  We are truly blessed; we have good health and are happily serving in the Adriatic North Mission.  We are blessed with amazing family and friends, whom we love with all our heart.