Munich and Budapest

Hi All,
Yes this posting is way overdue.  I'll add pictures later.  This morning Bill and I are chilling in our fab apartment in Budapest.

Okay from the top.  We finished our volunteering and then we trained to Munich.  We had several hours in Munich and decided to visit the Xmas markets which are supposed to be some of the best.  Well it was the wrong time to go to the markets.  Saturday night it was packed;  and it appears that the alcohol had been flowing freely. 

We witnessed a fight and so thought we'd better avoid the central part.  Walked back to the train station and had great dark wheat German beer and dinner.  Yum.

The train left at 23:20 - so we were snuggled in and asleep by 23:25.  Don't know what happened in the world outside but I woke a couple of times and NO snow.  I had hoped we might cross some alp-type product.  But it doesn't appear that we did.  The conductor gave us a great wee breakfast (coffee and hot tea/coffee).  Then we were in Budapest.

It was bitterly cold here when we landed.  But we had rugged up.  We met with our Air BNB host and she let us drop our luggage off early. Thank goodness. 

So we went exploring--she seemed bemused that we walked all the way (?) from the train station.  Anyway, the apartment is super central and just right for us.  Old building renovated to a very high standard.  Most important for me: the washing machine. 

We pack so frugally that we need to wash once a week and that's not always possible.  Strange thing about travelling, learning different detergents.  Anyway Oxy-Action products are very expensive. 

We have traversed the city and throughly enjoy walking and looking at the architecture...that keeps us busy every day.  We've done a Danube cruise and visited quite a few churches and ummm beer places.  If you follow Bill on FB you will see what I mean. 

The Christmas Markets are loads of fun but do get crowded at night.  The night lights are fantastic. The Jewish quarter is where all the best bars are (ruin-bars especially).  What is a ruin bar, you ask? It's exactly what it appears to be - a ramshackle collection of small bars in an "alley".  Eclectic furniture.  Perhaps more fun before we tourists ruined (yuk yuk) it for the locals.  It's supposed to be one of the best bars in the world...hmmm.

Anyway, it's time for bed.  More tomorrow perhaps?  Depends, there's so much to do, who has time for writing????

Diverbo Fun

Hi Everyone--
I'm on a break - just after my radio interview (ABC Overnights with Trevor Chappell), this month we read The Moon's a Balloon.  Remember the David Niven biography that was a best seller in the 1970s?  No -- well, read it.  It's a good laugh, a bit pompous and lots of fun.  You'll finish it in a couple of days, I promise.

Anyway -- we had 1.5 days in Frankfurt.  The airport at Berlin (TXL) -- well that was strange.  I'll do a Berlin/Frankfurt catch up post in a couple of days.

Here we are volunteering.  The students are German and they're here to improve their conversational English.  They are not allowed to speak German and so the days are long and difficult for them.  But they say their English is really benefitting for them.  A lot of the "students" are trying to improve their job prospects and some are improving themselves so they can be more valuable to their companies.  We work with them one on one (some people seem to find this a vaguely sexual phrase--hmmmm).  And I think the pressure to constantly thing in another language would give me a migraine.

In return for our hours of "work", we are given free accommodation and free food.  It's a pretty good deal I think.  The food is great.  And the place where we are staying is very nice INDEED.  I think we will definitely do this again.  They have schools in Spain and Germany.  Some of the volunteers here have done it many, many times.

It snowed the other day! But only for a brief while.  I loved it and was then immediately disappointed when the snow disappeared.  But at least it rained.

Each day is filled with activities -- from 8am until 10pm.  We do have a break from about 2-4.  In my 1-1 with students, I walk (as many do) around the countryside.  There's a forest behind us and a farm across the road.  So plenty of space to stretch our legs while our poor students converse with us.

We are here until Friday.  The internet is much better than we'd been told and so I'm writing this during a break.  Dinner is in one hour.

Speaking of which - food is pretty fantastic (repeating myself).  German offerings -- schnitzels are amazing.  I am eating way too much and after lunch (salad, salmon pasta, ice cream) I felt a bit queasy,  so I usually grab a granny nap.

Anyway love to everyone and please take care we are thinking of you during the horrible fires...