Hotel Penta Lux Tata

... to be built around 1000 AD but have been destroyed multiple times (by warfare or fire usually). They are then built up, presumably of similar architecture as the original. Entire "old town" areas have been rebuilt like this. The result can be a beautiful area that feels so much like it must have been at its peak. The core of the question is not the aesthetic quality but whether this is truly the old town and its historic buildings.

Sharon leaves ...

After a peaceful drive through Slovakia we arrived at the Hungarian border where we changed our money for Hungarian Forints. It's a little funny reaching all the more eastern countries borders because before they were part of the EU there seemed to have been really strict border crossing areas. Now they are all abandoned and open to the world. A little creepy actually.

There was a bridge to cross from Slovakia to Hungary and across the bridge there was a ...

... to accommodate someone who is new to the language. They even tried some English (bull...sheet.... bullsheet! haha!)

After our visit, we went back to Szomod to pick up Bela and from there we went to the new water park at Tatabanya. It was nice (great if you have kids) but the one at Egerszalok was nicer. I was starting to come down with a cold so the chlorine was a little agrivating. Anyway ...

... had a good soak and enjoyed the people-watching (why is it that the majority of people who wear bikinis and Speedos are the ones who shouldn't? Combine that entertainment with the European tendency to avoid shaving/waxing and well, it was quite amusing.

On the way home we stopped at the strip of food kiosks along the shore of the lake at Tata for some langos and palacsinta. Even yummier than the night before.

On our way into Hungary, we stopped at a gas station to buy the necessary toll sticker for the Hungarian freeways. There was a huge gathering of young people at the booth, smoking and swearing and overall being obnoxious. I figured that perhaps there was a rave in Hungary this weekend, but we later found out that there was a Neo-Nazi gathering in Budapest.

We arrived in Szomod to the usual family drama: Attila's mother had locked ...

... didn't like our choise of merchandise for her so we spent the next day revisiting the same stores we found on Day 1. On our third day in Hungary, all four of us piled into our Renault Megane and headed south to the Hungarian Historical Park. It is a historic village that recreates 5 centuries of Hungarian history. Interesting but a little broad in scope. I particularly enjoyed the early 20th-Century-style schoolhouse ...

... pick up something! (Weird #2) Again, two puszis (those are the kisses, remember?) and Attila got caught up on the latest ambulance technology. We headed back to Tata and walked around Tatai To (the lake) until the storm clouds chased us home. Friday morning, Attila, his mom, and I again went into Tata. Attila and I toured the Tatai Var (a castle, ruined by the Ottomans) while his mom went to a medical appointment. Then we went ...

... The language. We managed a little with Slovakian, but Hungarian is hard. Not as hard as Chinese, but hard. Some useful words that we picked up, written as I would pronounce them (with the English meaning in brackets): a) Seeya (Hello) b) Allo (Goodbye) c) Sure (Beer) d) ***** (Cheese) e) Pussy (Kiss) f) Fukinell (Wooden Spoon). Many places serve beer cheese as a snack, aka sureshite. Maybe you could use a fukinell to eat it?

... the Hungarian culture.

Esztergom Summary
Say "Ess-tair-gome"
29 miles (46km) NW of Budapest
Headquarters of the Roman Catholic Church in Hungary
We enjoyed visiting the Cathedral which is largest church in Hungary.

Esztergom Overview
Formerly a Roman settlement, Esztergom was the seat of the Hungarian kingdom for 300 years. Prince Géza and his son Vajk ...

... hebben we maar één minpuntje: vliegjes en mugjes. Zoveel dat we 's avonds niet de lamp buiten aan kunnen doen. En we kunnen ons hor in de boventent niet gebruiken, want daar zitten erg veel gaten in. Dat wordt dus een beetje benauwde nacht, want om een uur of tien is het nog steeds zo'n 24 graden, en er staat nauwelijks wind. Zondag 20 juli De ochtend gebruiken we om te luieren en om aan het hor te naaien. We hebben besloten toch maar een ...