Holiday Weekend Fun

The last few days have been spent exploring the Pest side further as well as relaxing (which is needed after so much walking each day!). On Sunday, my roommates and I went to the Concert in St. Stephen's Basilica. The Duna String Orchestra performed famous pieces such as J.S. Bach's "Air", F. Schubert's "Ave Maria", G.F. Haendel's "Oratorio Messiah", and many more. Not only was the music breathtaking, but the sight of the ornately decorated basilica was as well. The acoustics were marvelous!

The next day, we walked to Central Market Hall, which had tons of fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as spices, and meats on the first floor. There were souvenir and food stalls on the second floor. It was fun to walk around. I especially like the colorful Hungarian flower designs on clothes and table runners being sold. In the evening, we met up with other BSM students at a bar called Szimpla, the coolest bar I have ever been to! There were lots of rooms to go in with random things on the walls and lots of twinkle lights. Every room had writing on the walls and furniture...we even found a table that had a math pun! It added to the atmosphere. Some parts were open air. I had a lot of fun getting to know the other students better!

Tuesday was St. Stephen's Day, the first Hungarian king to be crowned by the Pope. My roommates and I walked around by the Danube after dinner, and watched the fireworks. There were people everywhere! The fireworks were impressive.

Today my Hungarian class began. Some of the sounds in the language are hard to make, but hopefully I'll get it eventually! "Szia" is used for both hello and goodbye, and is pronounced like "see ya," which makes it easier for me to remember. That is my Hungarian lesson to you for the day. Maybe more later...  :)

 Concert in the Basilica

 Painting of St. Stephen and the Virgin Mary by Gyula Benczúr.

 St. Stephen's Basilica at night

 Grand Market's exterior

 Grand Market's interior - lots of produce, fresh foods, and souvenirs

Me with my roommates Irene and Olivia at Szimpla

Happy St. Stephen's Day!!!

Exploring Budapest

My second day in Budapest was a blast! My roommates and I slept in and then ventured out to get lunch with others in the BSM program. Everyone I have met so far is fun and nice! We walked around Budapest after lunch at Tacos Locos. We made it to the Danube River and stopped for drinks at a restaurant along the walking street. It was a really hot and sunny day. Some of us decided to check out the Basilica of St. Stephen. We didn't go inside since there was a suggested donation and no one had small enough change, but we will be going in tomorrow. From my Wiki search about the Basilica, I found out that it was named after the first king of Hungary and opened in 1905. Also, apparently his right hand is within the Basilica?! Interesting. More exploring tomorrow! 

 Courtyard of the apartment building

 Danube River and a glimpse of the Buda side 

 St. Stephen's Basilica

Gorgeous day for a walk around the city!

First day in Budapest

I made it to Budapest after about 13 hours of travel. My flights went smoothly, and luckily I didn't have to pay extra for overweight luggage (I made it at exactly 50 lbs). When I got to Budapest around noon, I was picked up by a Hungarian student Máté. He took me to my apartment, where I met my roommates who had arrived earlier that morning. Máté then took us to explore the area around our apartment a bit, and we got to see where we will be taking classes. My apartment is nicely sized and furnished! It came fully equipped with a tiny washing machine and many other necessities. My second roommate arrived a few hours after I did. After relaxing around our apartment and taking short naps, my two roommates and I went to dinner at a restaurant down the street called Paprika. The decorating there reminded me of Snow White a little, only there were lots of animal pelts hanging on the walls. We tried some Hungarian food and beer...delicious! Tomorrow we're going to meet up with some more students in our program and explore downtown Budapest (we're in a quieter area, which is okay with me!). I'm nervous and excited for classes to start. I miss my friends and family already! I'm sure I will settle in just fine here, though. I will post more exciting pictures tomorrow!

 Main hallway in my apartment

 Tiny washing machine!

Pigeon friends sit outside our windows constantly.

T minus 8 Days...

Hello! My name is Emma Winegar. I created this blog to share my adventures over the next semester while I study abroad in Budapest, Hungary. I will be studying math in the heart of the city. I leave in 8 days, and I can't believe it! Where did the summer go? I finally started packing today...

I am extremely excited to experience a whole new world and become immersed in intensive math courses and Hungarian culture!!!