Gaijin Girl: Wanderings in Europe

"Not all who wander are lost." J.R.R. Tolkien

This post is long overdue. The story begins last summer when I headed to Europe. With the money I had saved while teaching in Japan and South Korea, I joined my dad for his 50th birthday in Hungary and then remained in Europe for three months. There I made new friends, saw new sights, and sought out new opportunities.

My flight to Europe touched down in Berlin, so I hung around there for a few days to catch up with my good friend from high school, Laura. Then, I was off to Hungary where I met up with my dad and his girlfriend, Lisa.  Our first stop was to spend three days with family friends. Ániko and her husband Ferenc (pictured below) warmly welcomed us to their house and served a delicious dinner of chicken paprikás. They live in a small suburban village, Urhida, where they have recently finished building their house and raise two adorable children.

Ferenc, Aniko, me and Dad: July, 2013

Ferenc and Aniko were very hospitable as was the rest of their family. Our first night in town, Aniko had prepared our favorite Hungarian dish, chicken paprikas. The children stayed with their grandmother, Aniko's mom, so we saw little of them. Though, when we did see them they were delightful.

Ániko's uncle, Zsolt and his family invited us over for goulash and introduced us to Badacsony, one of Hungary's wine regions that overlooks lake Balaton. Zsolt is the nephew of my grandfather's best friend in Kansas City, Joe Hanis. Joe, like my grandfather, was also from Hungary. A couple of years ago, Ániko and Ferenc came to the States for a visit and since then, the two families have become friends and kept in touch.

The next 85 days in Europe were a whirlwind, parts of which I will recount in later posts as I am reminded of them.

Balaton, July 2013

September 6, 2014 I returned to Budapest. This time to study Hungarian language and culture. I was awarded a scholarship to study at the Balassi Institute. The institute provides language courses for students studying Eastern European history, Hungarian translation, and students of Hungarian heritage. I fall into the latter category.

It has been an interesting month readjusting to student life and Hungarian bureaucracy. More about that later though...

Last weekend, when my friend, Emily from Kansas City came to Hungary, I returned to Zsolt and Éva's place in Ajka and again toured Balaton and its surrounding wine regions. Hungary has experienced an Indian Summer this October and we lucked out with the weather. It was sunny and in the 70s and 80s for the entire three days we stayed in the region.

Balaton, October 2014

The weekend was superb. On Saturday, we toured Balatonfüred, Tihany, and Battacsony, each town with a different view of lake Balaton. In the evening, we stopped at three different vineyards in Battacsony for wine tasting paired with gorgeous views. Sunday came and we set out for more wine tasting on Somló hill, where we paired wine and palinka tasting with a hike up to a ruined castle.

After 10 days in Europe, Emily has returned to Kansas City and I to the reality of my studies. Next week, I have my first test in Hungarian. So, for now, I will return to studying, but will write again soon to share updates. Take care.