St. Istvan's Day

Today was the biggest holiday in Budapest. It is the celebration of King Stephen, who was the first king and established Chrstianity in Hungary. The holiday was like the Fourth on steriods.

We traveled in to Budapest right down to the river front. There, we got to watch the Red Bull air races. These crazy planes fly UNDER the bridges, then weave around buoys, then fly back out under the bridge. The pilots race to see who can do it the fastest. It is impressive, especially up close. Also, there are some groups of planes that fly together and do different tricks. All amazing!!!

Some of us took a funicular up to Buda Castle. There were many little booths selling tourist-y items. We just walked around and enjoyed the view and atmosphere. We walked back down for some dinner and prepared ourselves for the firework show.

The fireworks are like nothing I have seen. They shoot fireworks off of two main bridges over the Danube. Between the two bridges (about a miles worth of river) were twenty little stations placed evenly on the water. These shot up streams of sparks over and over. This makes for a great show in itself, but that is not all. There was also a point in the show where a waterfall of sparks fell from the bridge. It just lit up the sky!! The show is played to some music, but it isn't your run of the mill 4th of July, bring your battery-powered radio with you. It is Hungarian opera blasted on loud speakers combined with the constant booming of fireworks. At times, there are pauses during the show, but then it starts back up with more amazingness and keeps going for 30 minutes.

I bet you are thinking that all I am doing in Budapest is having fun...TRUE!! I have been working on setting up my room with decorations as well as planning different classroom procedures. I will have 7th graders, 8th graders, and 2 high school classes. My room is now arranged, and I have begun working on the first lessons for my classes. We will be studying the elements and principles of art...google them if you wish!! Classes start in 6 days!

The day was a great time to learn about Hungarian history as well and connect more with the new teachers/friends I have met. Happy St. Istvan's Day!!