Budapest Day 2

Our European adventures are quick, really two quick, but fulfilling.  We have to take advantage of many long weekends rather than full weeks of vacation.  We normally arrive late on the the travel day and then get two full days in the city/country and by morning or early afternoon on day 4 we head back home.  Budapest was no different.  So on Day 2 we decided to see a few historical things and walk around town.

But before I get into our Day 2 activities we had another Airbnb fail the second night.  We didn't think anything could top the dancing washing machine but on night two, while we were all peacefully sleeping (Benjamin back in my bed because he didn't want to sleep on the "barfy couch" - yes, of course, we know HE is the one that threw up on it but really isn't parenting all about picking your battles.  Marty, very nicely says he will sleep on the couch in the living room.)  So around midnight this time we hear the loudest CRASH!! There were some banging right before the crash.  I jump up and out to the living room.  Marty is sitting

up in bed extremely perplexed.  I come out and we both say in unison "what the HELL was that?"  I look around and I see what looks to be one of the BEAMS from the ceiling lying on the floor.  I look up and see that the banging must have been the noise the beam made as it hit the lights on the way down.  Thankfully as I inspect further I see that it is actually a faux beam.  Not real, solid wood, but somewhat heavy and definitely could have done some damage if it had hit someone falling from the height it did.  Once again we go back to sleep but now Marty is worried that more of these faux

beams - that line the entire living room, will fall on his head as he sleeps.  We, of course, told the owner of the Airbnb about the washing machine within

hours of it happening and we tell her about the beam.  She did and still (I'm writing this weeks after) has done nothing.  Nor as the Airbnb company.  Sadly, we are again tainted on Airbnbs...

So, day 2 we are a bit tired from our crazy night but ready to see the town. The temps dropped a shocking 20+ degrees overnight.  It was cold per se but almost like we had visited in two different seasons.  It was maybe 60 degrees but windy a bit chilly. One of our (or at least my) favorite things to do is take a "free walking tour"  In nearly every big city we have been to they have these great walking tours that are led by passionate historians or locals who are very knowledgeable and passionate about their city and history.

We walked all over the city and saw so many things.  We went on the Budapest Eye, the big ferris wheel.  And then at the end of the day set out to find dinner.  Unfortunately our dinner was not nearly as satisfying as the night before.  We all left full from a mediocre Italian place but it was rather disappointing.  Like all of our travel there are hits and misses with food and

otherwise

Beautiful Budapest

It definitely worked out to our advantage that the only travel plans.. or any plans for that matter, for Spring Break was at the very end of break.  Because Josie was so sick it was SO nice not to have ANY thing else to worry about for those first 10ish or so days of break.  But on the Thursday of the second week we had a trip booked to Budapest and it came at just the time Josie was feeling nearly herself again.
We had a late night flight so that Marty could still do his radio

show before we took off.  He finished up the show at around 6:30 PM and we were off on a bus by 7PM for our 10PM flight to Budapest.

It was a short, one and a half hour flight to Hungary and everyone did well.  The kids are so used to flying and we are all so used to traveling that we just throw a few things in a backpack a couple of hours before our flight.  Because we book with the low cost airlines we are only allowed one backpack each which really makes you cut down on any non-essentials.

We arrived in Budapest without incident and then make our way to our Airbnb.  Many years ago, when Airbnb first became a thing we were big fans.  We had pretty good luck and would also try to go the Airbnb route if possible.  But once moving to Europe we have had one bad Airbnb after another so we have been booking more hotel rooms.  But... we wanted to give Airbnb another try.  We paid a bit more and got a nicer place.  Budapest is really pretty cheap so it felt like the place to splurge a bit.  Our place was in a perfect area of Budapest - within walking distance to nearly everything with loads of good restaurants nearby.  The place had been recently remodeled and everything looked really nice.  Josie had her own room and bathroom which she LOVED.  Marty and I

had a nice bedroom with compfy bed and Benjamin was thrilled to have the whole pull out couch to himself.  We all went straight to bed when we arrived as it was well past midnight.

After a couple of hours Marty hears Benjamin throwing up.  Benjamin from the youngest of age has had a weak stomach.  On nearly every trip he throws up within the first day or two or if he gets really tired.  After he throws up he is perfectly fine.  Like the minute after he throws up - boom. Back to normal.  Unfortunately he was so tired that he didn't even get up, he just threw up right on the couch.  We quickly bathe Benjamin and put him in our bed while we clean up. Without many cleaning supplies, Marty and I do our best to clean up the mess.  We do a pretty good job and are thankful that there is a washing machine in the unit.  We throw the dirty sheets in along

with the dirty towels that we used to clean up.  Marty decides to leave Benjamin in bed with me and he sleeps on the pull out couch.  About an hour later I hear an EXTREMELY loud thumping sound.  I bolt out of bed and see Marty leaning over the washing machine that once was tucked up under the kitchen counter and is now sitting in the middle of the kitchen.  Marty is out of breath and looks frazzled.  I honestly

thought he had lost his mind and pulled the machine out from the wall in order to get it to stop thumping.  We are both so tired and disoriented that we both just go back to bed.  After lying there for a few minutes I went back out to the living room to check on Marty.  I think he must be deranged. Who would pull the machine out from the wall like that?  I go out where he is lying on the couch trying to go back to sleep.  I quietly ask him if he is OK? And why did he pull the machine out like that? 

 He then tells me that the machine came dancing out from the wall because the sheets must have been unbalanced in the machine when it went through the spin cycle. We both laughed SOO hard at the thought of me thinking he had lost his mind and pulled it out from the wall trying to stop it.  It is now probably 3am and we all fall back to sleep and actually sleep in quite late.  Josie, turns out, didn't hear a thing.

After a very eventful night we decide to spend the bulk of the day at the Turkish baths that Hungary and Budapest are so famous for. It was a very, unseasonably warm (85+) degree day.  We walked over a mile to the public pool/bath and spend the day soaking up the thermal waters.

On the way back the kids were starving and so we made a very fun and new for us call.  We stopped by a pizza/pasta place for the kids.  They fill up on yummy food and Marty and I decided that once they were back safely in the Airbnb that we would head out for an alone dinner.  Brilliant.  So fun to be able to do that again while traveling.

We ended up at a fun little place with great outdoor seating and even better food.  It was just a 5 minute walk from our place and on the way home we even stopped for ice cream.... don't tell the kids ;-)

Happy 9th Birthday, Benjamin

On April 23rd, right in the middle of our two weeks of Spring break, Benjamin celebrated his 9th birthday.  He woke up an immediately wanted to open his gifts.  Since it was break and we had no where to be, he happily dug in and was very excited. 

We wanted to wait to have his actual party until everyone was back from break so we invited a few of his good buddies over for a day of play, lunch and loads of giggles.  I don't know why lately I'm obsessed with Benjamin's little boy voice.  I know someday very soon his voice is going to change and sound nothing like it does now. 

His friends, Zeke and Evan, came over and the three of them had a great time with his new remote control car, digging in the sand pit in the back yard for hours and putting

together a cool marble run that Grandma and Papa had sent that showed up from Amazon right in the middle of their play time.
Benjamin has always marched to his own tune.  He rarely cares what others think of him (this works to his advantage and disadvantage) and is kind, intelligent and always so curious.  He has become an extremely skilled and quick reader.  He has read more books this year than most kids (or adults) read in 5 years!  His laugh is still one of the best I've ever heard and he is often in such a good mood he can lift anyone's spirits.  He runs out of school each day with a huge smile and a story about his day.  I

often wonder if moving here was a good idea for the kids.  I know that I have my own ups and downs with living here but I know it is a good place for me and for our family right now but sometimes I wonder if it was/is the best for the kids.  The fact that he is so happy each and every day to go to school and walks out with such a huge smile and such happiness helps rest my mind and heart that this is a good place for him for now.

Josie was still doing a LOT of this

He got a pair of noise canceling headphones and a
remote control car.  He was in heaven!

Frohe Ostern

We were pretty low key this year for Easter.  The kids died the eggs and I prepared the "baskets" filled with treats for hiding.  Marty is the master hider taking over Opa's job.  I made a nice brunch of tons of fruit, french toast, juice and, of course, dyed Easter eggs.

Our friend Juli had given us free tickets to the Berlin Soccer match that was held in the afternoon on Easter Sunday.  Our original plan was for the 4 of us to go but since Josie still wasn't feeling 100% we decided that it would be best for Marty and Benjamin to go with friends.  Thankfully one of his best friends, Clayton, and his dad Vilash, were able to join and the boys had a great time together.  The tickets were amazing and right near the field.  

Josie had asked if she and I could go to our

favorite Asian restaurant.  I was so happy she was feeling up to an outing and eating.

Since she is supposed to still drink a lot she convinced me into getting her a fancy drink.  We normally only bring our own water because drinks, especially water, are disproportionately priced.  We enjoyed our dinner just the two of us and then she felt good enough for an ice cream cone.  Why not?  We celebrated her feeling a bit better and the peaceful night just the two of us. 

Sick with Limited Language Skills

When I took Josie to the Dr on Wednesday she was really REALLY sick. She could barely breath because her throat was so swollen and sore.  She also got a cold on top of Strep Throat and Mono.  She was on sick little girl.  We had to allow 15 minutes to walk the normal 5 to the bus stop.  Thankfully our Dr.'s office is very close by and right in front of a bus stop. 
We knew that our normal Dr. would not be there as she was still on vacation but I just assumed, even though I should know better by now not to ever assume that the replacing Dr. would also speak English the way our Dr. does.  Sadly, even though the replacing Dr. was very kind and competent he did not speak English.  He understood English and allowed me to speak English and clarify things in English but he spoke nearly exclusively to us in German.  I have said many times before but I will say it again, not having a firm and/or comfortable handle on the language in the land you are living is frustrating on most days but sometimes it is vital that you understand and being a mom who has a very sick girl and I could only understand about 75% of what the Dr was very anxiously telling me about my daughter's condition was EXTREMELY unnerving. How do immigrants do life without the language?  I will never know. 
What I did understand was that she was very sick.  She needed to get a blood test to make sure it was in fact Mono and she needed a throat culture to see if she also had Strep throat in addition.  But because of the Easter holiday that office, even though just upstairs, was closed until the next day.  He looked at Josie, who speaks and understand German nearly perfectly, and said very clearly - if you can't breath you must go to the hospital.  Which of course set her off... how will she know when/if she can't breath in time to know to go the hospital.  I muddled through with my combination of German and English and he told me that we needed to go to the hospital right then to get her an IV because she was so dehydrated.  I asked if we could go to the one that is just across from our house?  No, he said, for some reason I didn't understand we needed to go to a different hospital.  Apparently Dr.s have huge preferences over hospitals?!?!  He said we should go right then.  Then he asked if I had a car.  When my answer was no he said, OK, then don't go to the hospital. The bus/train ride would be too much for her.  He said we must go directly home and she needed to DRINK, drink and then drink some more.  As we waited for the bus back home we were both in tears.  Both of us scared but for different reasons.  When we got home she knew the importance of her flushing her body with liquids and even though it hurt her throat (why she had not been drinking much previously) she drank and drank and drank.Her breathing improved and she slept and the next morning Marty was able to take her to the Dr. for the throat culture and blood test and both came back positive which confirmed the other Dr.'s assumptions that she had Strep and Mono.  Poor thing but since she tested positive for Strep she was given antibiotics and within 12 hours she was half as sick as she had been.  She was on the mend but it would be a loooong road to recovery.  Again, so thankful it was break and there was no school or no where to be for another full week.  A bummer of a way to spend your break but really the best timing for such a nasty illness.

The Zoo on Good Friday

Benjamin and I were really itching to get out of the house.  The weather was perfect the first week of break - mid 70's and sunny.  But with Josie home sick we couldn't do much. 
Benjamin and I decided to leave Marty home to nurse Josie and he and I along with his buddy Zeke took off for a sunny day at the zoo.
In Germany, and maybe all over Europe, Easter is celebrated for the entire weekend.  Good Friday is a national holiday and all stores are closed.  Likewise Easter Sunday AND Easter Monday are all

national holidays. 
For this Good Friday it was a gloriously sunny Berlin day.  The entire of the city must have had the same idea to go to the zoo because I

have never in all my times going seen SO many people.  It was crazy.  But the boys had a ball.  They spent a bit of time at the petting zoo but then spent nearly 3 hours at the epic playground.  I sat on a sunny bench and read my book. 

Josie was back home napping in a very quiet house.  It was what the Dr. ordered for ALL of us.

Foster Fail - Almost

A few weeks back a parent at the kids school had posted about a rescue dog coming from Crete.  We have been discussing getting a dog and knew we would get a rescue but we had planned to wait until after our 6 weeks in Seattle and after our move to our new house before getting a dog.  But there was something about this dog that was posted that pulled at my heart.  And I'm not even a dog person.
His name was Siggi and I reached out to the woman who was trying to find him a home.  I explained our situation and even though we really wanted him thought that maybe we should wait.  We had a few exchanges and agreed together that we should wait.

Several weeks past and I had forgotten all about Siggi.  The day after Josie was diagnosed with Mono the rescue woman writes and says she has a bit of an emergency and was there any way we could take Siggi for a night.  36 hours to be exact.  Since we were homebound with a sicky and wouldn't be able to do much it was a perfect time to take a dog for a day.

Josie showed us how sick she really is as she wasn't even really able to enjoy Siggi.  Dogs are her FAVORITE!!  Benjamin was a doting pet owner.  He fed Siggi, he walked Siggi, he snuggled Siggi, he curled up and read his books next to Siggi.  It was super sweet. 
It was super sweet up until his forever family came to pick him up. Benjamin and I both got a little teary saying good bye.  What a COOL, cool dog.  I don't want to think we made a mistake by not taking him when we had the chance but I have to say I did feel that way. 

Our forever dog will be just as cool or cooler when it is our time.  I have to believe that.  We definitely would have been a foster fail (what they call people who set out to foster a dog and then end up adopting them) if he didn't have a family lined up to take him and love him. 

See you around town, Sweet Siggi.