Zagreb, Croatia

Zagreb, Croatia is an interesting city. It is the capital of Croatia, but is not really a touristy town. It's kind of nice after being in Prague. It has a nice old town but it also has very modern buildings. I would say most of the city is modern. We are staying right down in the old town so we can go sightseeing quite easily, although there is not much to see. We are also here on the weekend of their Independence day so a lot of shops are closed. Everybody takes the weekend off and goes to the coast. We got in Thursday night and then had Friday morning to sight see. We were supposed to have a show Friday night but the theater called us Thursday afternoon and cancelled the show because the air conditioning was broken and they couldn't get anybody in to fix it because of the holiday. So Chrisian, a local member of the church who's been helping us, got permission from the police to do a street performance. Then this morning we did an interactive with the members here. They have a beautiful church here. In Croatia, they have about 500 members but only about 30-50 active in this city. They have a hard time with the church here because to be Croatian means that you are Catholic, and if you give up that religion, they feel like they're giving up their nationality. Then this afternoon we had more free time, but everything was closed because of the holiday. So we took a nap then went to dinner. We then enjoyed some cookies at The Cookie Factory which is a local cookie store that was started by a member from Croatia who was a student from BYU. Tomorrow we head to Porec, which is on the coast. Hopefully we'll get to go swimming.

This is the Church of St. Francis. It is the tallest building in Croatia. It is a very beautiful building and they are in the process of cleaning the outside. We went in and enjoyed an organ performance.

Mark in front of the statue in the main square.

Mark again near the fortification wall that surrounds the upper old city. Most of it is gone but a few of the towers remain.

The kids performing in the street.

Us with a few of the members in front of the church.

Prague

We have been in Prague for 2 1/2 days now and leave tomorrow for Croatia. The first night we got here we were whisked away to the church for an interactive night with the single adults.

Then last night we had a show with Dvorna, a local folk dance group. We worked with them last time we were here. Other than that we've had time to sight see and do laundry. Hooray. I swear Prague is the only town in Easter Europe that has a laundromat. No other place have we been able to find one. Here are some pictures from our sight seeing adventures.

Mark and SEVERAL other people by the Astronomical clock. Prague is way too crowded this time of year.

A look at the castle at night.

This morning we went to Terezin, a concentration camp here in the Czech republic. It was not a death camp, although some were murdered here or died of sickness or exhaustion. It was more of a transitional camp, where they were held before being shipped to Auschwitz or other places. This was also where they brought the red cross to show them that prisoners were not being treated inhumanely. Several rooms were fixed up with nice looking sinks to show that prisoners were clean. They were never hooked up to water though. They would also take the healthy looking prisoners and stage plays or whatnot. The sight is interesting. It is built inside a huge fortress that was built in the 17th century. So there are all of these underground tunnels around the camp. We could go in some of them. But there are barracks as well to remind you what the housing was like. Sometimes several hundred fit into one large barrack. Above is the cemetery they have out front with graves for the bodies they exhumed after the war. Some were Christian as you can see by the cross. Others were Jewish. Below is a picture of the outside fortress wall. We couldn't take pictures inside so none of that.


Mark looking over Prague from the wall around the castle.

Me at the entrance to the Charles Bridge that connects the Old Prague city with the castle.

Really the last of Budapest

We had some great hosts in Budapest. We were part of a festival, but the festival lost some of it's funding so they ended up not bringing as many groups. So we got to perform at a lot of different places to fill the time that we would have been spending festivalizing. Andrea in the red shirt below and her husband Janosh (the George Lucas looking fellow in the back) were the heads of the festival and they spent a lot of time with us. More time then they normally would get to spend. It was funny but on the last night there, Andrea shared with us that there was something about our group, an aura around us, that she couldn't put into words. It's great how people pick up on the spirit and don't even know it. Andy, the short brown haired girl, was our main tour guide and helper. She really took to the group as well, and didn't want us to leave.

Zoltan, on the very left, was also our helper.

We met Atila last time we were in Budapest. We performed with the Hungarian State Folk Ensemble and he helps them out doing odds and ends. He also took to our group and followed us around to most of our shows. He just wanted a belt buckle and his picture with the cowboys. His story is an interesting one. He was around 25 in 1956 when they had the Hungarian Revolution. He was part of a police force that was on the side of the revolutionaries that was sent to arrest the Soviets. After the revolution, his name was on a list to capture because he helped the revolutionaries. So he was told to flee. He escaped to Austria and then immigrated to America where he settled in Los Angeles. He always said he would come back when the Soviets left. So in 1992 after they left and his wife had died, he came back to Hungary. He was the funniest guy who was always trying to give us sour candy and kiss the girls.

The last of Budapest

So the last several days in Budapest we have had a combination of free time and performances. We have had several shows in outlying cities around Budapest. On Friday we also had a fireside for the members of the church here in Budapest.

On Wednesday, Mark and me and the other leaders got to go to a performance of the Hungarian State Folk Ensemble. They are the premiere group here in Hungary. We met them last time we came to Budapest and performed with their group. Their director then later came to BYU to work with the dancers on their Hungarian dancing. Their performance, called legend of the Sun, was amazing. A combination of traditional Hungarian and modernish dancing. Mark bought their CD because the music was exceptional.

We had a performance with them again on Saturday on Margerite Island. The island is in between the two parts of Budapest, on the Danube river. A very beautiful location. It's fun to interact with the other dancers. Many of them speak English so it is easy to communicate.

Today we went to church again and then had two more shows. We have had a great time here in Budapest and have become close friends with our hosts, Andrea and Andrea. I will post a picture later of them since I have not uploaded pictures from today.

And now for some pictures.

This is our trainer Ron going down the big slides that we found. Sightseeing one day, we decided to go up to the Liberty statue because we didn't do that last time. On the way up we found these huge slides. I wish I would have gotten a picture of it, but when Mark went down he hit the bottom of the slide his shoes stuck and he went head over heels right into the sand. He had sand all over him.

This is me overlooking the Danube at the top of the hill where the Liberty Statue is.

Mark in front of the Liberty Statue. We saw several of these statues in Europe last time but never came to this one. These were the statues that the Soviets put up to celebrate the countries liberty from the Germans in WWII.

I just love this picture so had to post it. This is Tyler, one of the dancers, interacting with a group of Hungarian folk dancers. We were with them for two shows and they just followed us around. Here they were teaching Tyler to count in Hungarian.

Our group on stage at Margerite Island.

The group with the Hungarian State Folk Ensemble, and Danu, another professional folk dance group from Budapest.

Still in Budapest

Tuesday we went as a group to the Hero's Square. It is the square that was constructed for the 1000 year celebration of Hungary in 1896. There is a big monument as well as museums and castles and such.

The whole group in front of the monument.

Afterwards we had free time to explore so we went to the castle area in the park right behind Hero's square. The museum was closed so we just took a picture and then went in search of the Jewish quarter with a few students.

On the way we found this cool park nestled in between two tall buildings. We just thought the painted backdrop on the side of the building was cool.

We found the Jewish quarter but the Mosque closed at 5 p.m. and we got there at 5:02. We couldn't get any information on where else to go in the Jewish quarter so we just took a picture. Doug, Brian and Lindsay Watson, me.

Since we couldn't find the Jewish quarter we wandered over to St. Stephens church. It closed at 7 p.m. and we got there at 7:02. So another picture looking out from the church.

More Budapest

I'm really glad that we have free internet in the hotel. However, it is really, really slow. It takes me like 30 minutes to upload pictures.

We are 10 days in Budapest so we have had a lot of time to see everything. We are part of a festival but part of the festival got cancelled due to funds so we have to fill a lot of time. We have seen a ton.

One day, the students went to the House of Terror, which is a somewhat of a Holocaust museum and Mark and I went last time we were in Budapest. So we decided to go to the Szechenyi Bath. Hungary is famous for their natural spring baths. The Szechenyi is in this huge, gorgeous building and there are just rooms and rooms of hot pools with different minerals and such in them. Really they were all the same to me but I guess each one had different things in them. Sulfur, salt, medicine. They also had saunas and steam rooms and an outdoor pool. It was so relaxing after walking and walking. Lots of men in Speedos though.

As a group we went up to Fisherman's Bastian and the Palace. All things we had seen last time we were here. So Mark and I went exploring a little after. We wanted to go into the Labyrinth underneath the castle but didn't have time. Apparently there is a maze of underground tunnels underneath that is haunted. Maybe next time we're here.

The whole group in front of the statue at Fisherman's Bastian.



Overlooking the Danube and the Pest side of Budapest from the top of Fisherman's Bastian.



Mark in front of the remnant of the church of Mary Magdalene. We found this as we exploring.


A view from the Palace wall.


The whole group in front of the wall overlooking Parliament.

Folk Dance Tour 2011

Mark and I are again touring with the folk dancers to Europe. Prior to leaving we took our kids to Disneyland, which I'll post about later. Our first few days have been eventful. I already have blisters on my feet from walking so much. Our plane rideover was horrible. We flew DC to Vienna and Mark and I had the noisiest family behind us. Most of the time, their two young daughters kicked our seats. We didn't go to bed the night before the trip because we had to leave at 4 a.m. so we were so tired and I couldn't sleep. Needless to say, I got about 4 hours sleep in 48 hours.

Our first full day here the group went and saw a few things in Budapest including the parliament and St. Stevens church. Mark and I were here three years ago so a lot of it we have seen before. But it's such a beautiful city, we don't mind touring it again.

Me in front of the Parliament building. This picture doesn't do it justice. It is so enormous and detailed.

The whole group in front of St. Steven's church.

We then were met by the missionaries and headed over to the church to do an interactive activity with the young single adults and other church members. We met a lot of nice senior missionary couples and the mission president as well as many nice members. The church is quite strong in Hungary. It has the first stake in eastern Europe with a large stake center. The largest church building I've seen here.

Some of the kids, and Ed our director, teaching the members to dance.

A local news station is making a documentary on religious groups and is showcasing our church and how their youth are a positive influence in their country. So they filmed us and the members interacting.

The next day we went to church in that same building. It's always a testimony builder to here the members share their experiences and testimonies. Especially in countries like these where everybody is a convert. After church we went to a town near Budapest called Szentendre. It's a very touristy town, with many shops and beautiful walking streets right on the Danube. Andrea, our tour guide says it's where all the rich people are moving because it's the popular place to live.

All the tour leaders. Ron, the team trainer and his wife Leslie, Jonathan our tour manager, Ed and Vicki Austin, directors, and me and Mark.

For lunch in Szentendre, they took us to a restaurant that had this cool tunnel system that was the wine cellar. In part of it, they made an eating area and we ate down there.

After that, we went to Budakalsz, another nearby city, and did a short show at their folk dance festival there. I think at first people don't know what to think about American Folk Dance. It's so much different then their traditional Hungarian dances. But they enjoy it. Some people even show up in their wranglers and cowboy hats.

Today we went to the Fisherman's bastian and palace and had another show. More on that later.