Back to Snowy Budapest

On Friday I was in Dubai (Curt and I went on Monday, Jan 25th) laying out by the swimming pool. Keep in mind that Friday is weekend in the United Arab Emirates. Their weekend is Friday and Saturday then back to work on Sunday. Curt and I enjoyed my last day in Dubai with a little relaxation and sunshine. And a fab Thai dinner. It's very rare that Curt and I get a dinner alone. Probably only about 5 times per year as we are either with the kids or friends. So, it was great to share our dishes and chat.

On Saturday morning I flew out of Dubai. My taxi arrived at the hotel at 7:30am. Curt was a sweetheart as he got up to walk me down to the taxi. The taxi drive from our hotel in the marina area of Dubai was only about 25 minutes. Since it was weekend, traffic was minimal. To see the distance we had to go, I've found a good map of Dubai below.

The Dubai Marina is just above the green blob and right below the palm on the left hand side. The Dubai airport is the big grey area on the right side. Traffic is often horrendous in Dubai as there are so many people and there are still not a lot of roads.

With online check in, it made my airport experience quick and painless. I enjoyed a hot latte macchiato and a fresh squeezed OJ before boarding my flight to Vienna. Sleep came almost immediately after we took off. I'm one of those lucky ones that have always been able to sleep on planes. After about an hour, I got to enjoy a few videos on my Emirates flight. I recommend one of the movies I watched to everyone. It's called The Invention of Lying. It helps that I think Ricky Gervais is hilarious ...

When we landed in Austria, I was relieved to see little snow on the ground. But, I quickly learned that Budapest had been dumped on. When I turned on my Blackberry, I had lots of text messages and emails from friends telling me to be careful driving. Fortunately I didn't hit any snow until just outside of Budapest. Curt called me a few times worried but when you learn how to drive at 15 years of age in Cleveland, Ohio, snow is second nature. Actually, my brothers probably let me practice driving in icy parking lots from about the age of 13!

It wasn't ice on the Budapest streets that were the problem but the amount of snow everywhere. Fortunately we have a pretty large SUV so I was able to drive over it but quite a few cars were stuck. I kept laughing to myself at the contrast of weather that I went from in just about 9 hours.

The kids were so excited I was home. And, I was also thrilled to be back home with them and the dogs (the cats never came to greet me ;-) Erika took great care of them while I was gone and fortunately we had lots of help from friends, too. Fortunately they were just as tired as I was so we were all fast asleep by about 9pm.

Today, we woke up to it snowing AGAIN! MORE snow. It's beautiful... and, not too cold which is even better. We had to venture out with the dogs and experience it.

I took these with my new camera that Curt generously gave to me for Christmas!

sitting on one of the snow drifts outside our home.

Below is what our home looks like under a blanket of fresh snow.

Look at ALL that snow. And they are not drifts!!

Below are a few views of our neighborhood. Check out the car that had been parked on the side of the street.

My three sweethearts

Kiraly loves the snow. I didn't get one of Greta as she is always sitting on my feet or right next to me... The other four are Blue who I think is just adorable. Especially with his black fur in the pure white snow.

More Sledding

Below are a few of the snaps taken on our walk from our home to the sledding hill. I thought it was funny how they both pooped out and laid down on the soft bed of snow. Keep in mind that once we got to the sledding hill they ran up and down it like they had all the energy in the world!

Notice the bottom left photo of Liam in the snow drift (up to his knees). Skiing is going to be great this weekend! We cannot wait. We'll leave at 4pm right from school pick up (I have the challenge of packing up the car this afternoon) and get there in time for a quick bite and some night skiing!

This video is of the kids sledding down our drive. Many of the garages here are in the basement (saving on the maximum sqm housing space / plot as there is a strict 30% limit) so the driveways are at a perfect incline for sledding.

Superman Curt

My husband seriously amazes me!! For 3 years now he has managed to ride his bike to work every morning and every evening back home. It's a serious feat in the best of weather but he manages to do it in a snow or even ice blizzard. His reason is simple and something we can all relate to, if he misses one day, it'll be that much harder to get back into it again. So, this morning, he put on his spiked tires and hit the road in the massive amounts of snow! I had to capture it on film to share with you as it's seriously unbelievable!!! It's not a flat ride and he has to go over a massive hill (worse on way home in the dark) but he manages to do it within a reasonable time frame.

Just so you can better understand his biking challenge twice each day, here is a link on Google Maps. It's just over 20 km and it takes him about 1 hour each way. I like that he exercises in this fashion better than going to the gym after work or on the weekends taking more time away from our family time.





Our little 3 year old Ali in her spring clothes (gifts from Dubai) that she had to put on first thing this am. I've kept her home from school while I unpack, catch up with laundry and work, exercise, organize, etc. It was good to spend time with her after 6 days away in Dubai without the kids. Love the picture above left in her Crocs (can you tell she put them on herself?) and her cold looking face standing in the snow watching Daddy ride off.

Our home. Makes me feel like putting our x-mas lights back on!

PS T and Mia had school today but none tomorrow. Then, they are back on Thursday and Friday then off for a 2 week break!!

PPS Our best friends, the McGanns, are now in town and coming tonight for a sleep over so we are very excited!

More Snow in Budapest

It is a winter wonderland in Budapest at the moment. I arrived home from work at about 6:30pm and this is what I arrived to: our home and street covered with snow (I had a camera with me). It was so beautiful but also a bit spooky. The roads were a nightmare. Accidents and cars slip sliding all over the place. I think the snow surprised some vehicle owners as they must have still had on their summer tires. Fortunately, not only does my beast of a car handle itself perfectly in this weather but I learned how to drive up in Cleveland in these conditions with a significantly lesser reliable vehicle. I wasn't worried about my car losing control but I was worried that all the other cars on the road that were losing control were going to run into me. I felt like I was in a video game trying to dodge them all.

I arrived home and called Curt to ask him how he was going to ride his bike home in these conditions. My husband has not missed a day to / from work on his bike in about 3 years. Other than an ice storm last year, I believe this was one of the hardest bicycling evenings he's experienced. He walked in the door just past 9pm just shaking his head. It took him 2 hours of riding uphill in the icy snow. What a hunk of a man!!

Let It Snow

On Saturday, we finally got our first snow fall. It was perfect timing as we'd finished all our daily activities and had returned home around 1:30pm to build a roaring fire, sit and play a family game of Monopoly when suddenly huge flakes started filling up the sky. It felt like a Hallmark moment sitting inside the warm house, all together and watching the snow outside. By about 4pm the kids couldn't resist the temptation. We dug out their winter gear, got them all bundled up and sent them out to play. I honestly think the preparation is more work than the actual outdoor playtime but c'est la vie.

They were so excited and even pulled out the sleds to go down the very small hill in the back of our yard. I captured a few shots of them in the outdoors. Shortly after these snaps, Curt went out and started a snowball fight with them. They all loved it.

The best part is that it snowed through Sunday so everything is beautiful and white up at our house. The slight increased elevation keeps the snow longer up at our home in district 2 then it does down in the Pest downtown. Yesterday we drove into Pest for breakfast and we were one of the few cars covered in snow.

T is such a great big brother and always looks after Ali and keeps her entertained.
Mia led the way by making tracks for him to follow in.

Our fashion diva.


My Hydrangeas. They return every year bigger and better. I'm amazed that their flowers are still in full bloom (now frozen) and with strong colors.