 |
| Morning at Rastoke |
The drive was uneventful, thank the good Lord, and we were making fabulous time on the autobahn. A little town called Varaždin began calling our name as a good side trip. It was only a couple of "clicks" off the highway and promised a beautiful view of an ancient castle.
We had NO map, NO GPS, and NO smart phones to help us find said castle. We were going purely on sight, signs, and our gut instincts. Only a couple of wrong turns and a full parking lot detoured us from finding the place. We parked the short bus in a metered parking spot, figured out HOW to put money in the Croatian speaking meter box (thank the Lord for a LITTLE English!) and were off to find "Old Town" otherwise known as the castle of Varazdan. After just a short walk, there was the castle steeple in view. Complete with a draw bridge, moat and large ancient wall. It was truly a beautiful site to behold.
 |
The castle at Varaždin |
Dustin LOVED walking around Old Town. The signs were in English as well as Croatian and one other language I didn't recognize, so we had a mini-history lesson while we were there. The building was began in the 1200's, but not finished until the 1300's. WOW, to put this into perspective, this was during the times of COLUMBUS....yes, the explorer Columbus. Truly an awe-struck moment when we thought about that!! Just inside the gate was a large, deep well, a covered cement coffin and a large trough of some kind. The boys, Kelsie and I enjoyed meandering around the grounds and learning as much about the people that built the castle and other buildings on the property as possible. We did not go inside the castle, the admission fee was a little much for the five of us, and we truly enjoyed taking in the outside sites just as much as seeing the empty inside of the building. It was a wonderful stop for all 5 of us and something we will not soon forget doing together as a family. Oh....if you're wondering about where Randy was....He was photographing the place, of course. I'm sure he will upload some pictures for everyone to see!
The only other thing worth really mentioning that happened on Tuesday was the border check point leaving Croatia and entering Hungary. The line was not that long, but we waited for over 30 minutes while the guards checked ALL passports, and then checked inside every vehicle. I wouldn't really call it SEARCHING the vehicles, but they were definitely peeking around to make sure you weren't smuggling anyone or anything in to the country. It was a little unnerving, but it could have been worse. At least they weren't carrying LARGE guns, right?? Just small ones. :)
We arrived in Budapest about 3:45, met up with a young man (Zoli) from Melba Tours to return the van. He was so kind to us and drove us all the way across town to our hotel, the Marmara. I was so thankful for this, and Randy was doubly thankful that he didn't have to drive in that traffic and strange city with no map or even directions. Since we didn't have any internet access the night before, we weren't even able to print or look-up directions to our hotel or anything else. The Lord had worked out EVERY detail for us and we were blessed beyond measure. If you ever visit Budapest, please give Melba Tours your business. Wonderful christian people and great to work with you!!!
Hotel check-in went great. 2 rooms, of course, since a family of 5 is not the "norm" in Europe. The kids were happy to have a little freedom from the parents, and we were thrilled to let them. Interesting note about checking in to foreign hotels, you have to show your passport for EVERY person in the room. I thought that was odd, but we did both hotels we stayed in, so it must be that way in most countries.
After getting settled we met up with Ivonne and went for a walk on the streets of Budapest and had a nice dinner with her. Ed was visiting with the staff and administration at Word of Life. He also arranged for us to get a van and driver/interpreter for our sightseeing day on Wednesday, another answer to prayer. God is good, all the time!!!
Kim
Notes from Randy:
I got up a little early and had a great time photographing the nearby waterfalls. Actually, the sun gave me problems and I regretted sleeping in too long. I thought we were in a valley that would stay shaded for a few hours - wrong. Nevertheless it was a good time.
I could've spent all day in Varaždin. It was a great place to photograph and experience. The clouds rolled away and game me some super blue skies above the castle just before we left. Getting there was a little tricky but we managed. It was really a fun adventure, along with the one-way streets and lack of parking.
I must echo Kim's thoughts and give Zoli with Melba Tours a huge thanks for meeting us on the south end of Budapest and giving us a lift to the Marmara.
Supper was really good. We stopped at another cafe on a busy street and had some local food. All of the plates were delicious. The boys both got a fried meat of some sort and loved it.
Time to plan for tomorrow - a one day whirlwind tour of Budapest
.
.Randy
