Vienna!!

These pictures are in no particular order since I am a lazy blogger tonight and I need sleep to get up and watch the nuggets game with B at 3:30am. Woohoo!


I asked Steve to take this picture for me. It's just cool. Thanks Steve. Since our wonderful camera was stolen in Venice and they had the same camera that I used to have, I commandeered it on more than one occasion.

Sure Bobbi, we can take you around Vienna. We've been here before and totally know where we are going. Dang Wendy... (our GPS) ... she kept getting us lost. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it. (That's the GPS right above my head next to the yellow tree.)

On the hill overlooking the city of Vienna. Right now while the boys were taking this picture, I was probably kicking a duck.

B in front of some really cool column thing in Vienna. Hey, come yourself and YOU can figure out it's real name.

My favorite picture of their whole trip. Dylan found his binky and there was NO getting it from him and we just wanted him to look at the camera, but guess who forgot to look while trying to get Dylan to look while he was already looking? Silly parents.

My cute cousins in front of the gargantuan pond where we found my abused duck.

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The other side of the 'Summer Home' castle. It could be it's real name. I'll look it up later.

We are glad that Steve's favorite city on his mission was Sopron. We were able to go to the city together and get the personalized tour from the man who opened the city to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Budapest, Mission and started the first Branch there.

The Andersons took us out to an Argentinian Steak house named Pampas where I had one of the best steaks I have ever eaten. Thanks! Oh man was it delish! This was a great night bc we were able to go back to the Palachinta Haz again. mmmm. The meal, though we were at an Argentinian place, was still slightly Hungarian since we had five different types of potatoes as our side dishes.

The Chapman Fam (minus the girls) in front of the Sopron lake.

Bobbi and the girls when we visited Fisherman's Bastian. This is the big church right in the center of the Bastian.

The classic shot of us in front of the castle at night. Did I mention that I love having three babysitters living on our compound?

For some reason taking pictures on a park bench seems aesthetically pleasing to me. Work with me here. I don't see too many of these in the States anymore. They are usually more high-tech and/or sterile in the US. We are more rustic here in Hungary.

The 'Eternal Flame' of Budapest just outside the Parliment building. Every communist/former communist city can't live without one. How romantic!

Look how HUGE this statue on Gellert Hill is. And do you want to know the history behind this hill and why it was named after the missionary Gellert? Let's just say that there was a barrel with nails stuck in it, it rolled down this HUGE hill, and I don't think he was dizzy for very long. What an awful way to die! He definitely deserves a statue...

The cute couple in Veinna. We are glad that we finally got to know my cousin, Bobbi's, spouse.

The first couple of days we were trying to keep Bobbi and Steve awake long enough to beat the jet lag, so we went to Gellert Hill that overlooks the whole city. It's always a great intro to Budapest.

We were planning on taking the whole family, but my dear friend Monica basically twisted my arm (I love great friends) to let Haley and Maleia stay at their home while we ventured to Vienna and Sopron with my cousins. Dylan got some much needed one-on-one time with his parents!

THE ABUSED DUCK
Now this is a story to tell:
We got to the big castle and went to the gargantuan fountain and found a mallard duck attacking this poor female duck. (No, they were NOT mating. Unless you think taking big chunks of meat off your head is foreplay.) And everyone was just watching away and thinking this is all normal. Um. no. I will not have natural selection happening (if it even was that) when I can prevent it. So when the mallard duck got close enough, I kicked it and took the female duck out of the water. The female duck staggered a bit and then mallard came back and started attacking it again. I kicked the mallard again and then some people thought it would be nice to take a picture WITH the injured scared to death female duck, then they placed the duck back in the water where the same mallard started attacking it again. I was not okay with this, so I kicked the mallard, took the female duck out again, and went on a little walk with it to find a peaceful resting place. Some people even clapped for me. Too bad I didn't know how to say, "Your welcome, lady that just took a picture of the duck and started laughing as it was being abused," in German. (Thank you Bobbi for tending Dylan while this was all happening. B and Steve were walking up the hill taking pics and weren't around to stop me.) Now, this duck is probably going to die, but I put crackers around it and put water in a little cup for it just in case. Poor thing. I REALLY wanted a gun to shoot that mallard.
Where's my .22 when I need it?