We're walking, walking

We have two weeks until the movers come and I'm already planning our next vacation. One of the things I love most about living overseas is having all these different countries and cultures accessible via only a short(ish) plane flight away. Ironically, I hate our travel days and the 48 hours leading up to a trip is just one big mental battle where my brain tries to convince me how much nicer it would be to stay home as I go about packing and making final preparations. But once we're on the ground, it's always worth it as we get to see things in person that we've only read about before in books, experience history in person, and get to show our kids the world.

As I was going back through my blog posts I realized I had drafted a bunch of posts about our Christmas trip to Budapest/Germany that I never got around to writing. It's now or never since in 3 weeks I plan to be focused on Move to the Middle East 4.0 and if I don't nail down the details now, they will fade under a layer of Abu Dhabi sand.

If you asked me to rank all of our vacations I would probably put Budapest near the bottom of the list (not that there is a bottom -- all of our trips have been excellent, but it didn't rank above Poland or Germany). Looking back at my photos and seeing what a beautiful city it is and all the amazing things we did, I'm not sure why. I think partly because I had decreased my medication so my mood was a bit off and partly because it was a winter trip whereas Poland/Germany were both in the summer and I actually preferred our biking/hiking in Germany to skiing -- though the kids would say that was heresy. Let's just chalk it up to an SSRI deficit because 6 months later, Budapest is looking pretty good.


We woke up in our lovely Air BnB apartment, Josh made the kids breakfast, and then the 2 of us popped down the street for cappuccinos at the neighborhood coffee house so we could have 30 minutes to ourselves without chattering kids in our ears. It was a Paris meets California kind of place with drink names like Karma Cappuccino and Zen pastries, a naked wood counter and standing room for 3 people. Blissfully quiet.

After our grown up Time Out, we stopped back at the apartment, picked up the kids and prepared to walk. If you talked to the kids, you would think our vacations were death marches all over Europe  . . in their defense, we did walk a lot on this trip.

But why drive when you can walk and see everything?

Crossing over the Danube river

going from Pest to Buda to visit the cave church

then hike up up up to the citadel and the statue

Because of the hot springs and the rock formations, the hill side of the city (Buda) contains a network of caves. This cave church used to be a monastery, but today is a museum. With the audioguide it was a bit like going to church with a sermon and everything. It was a lot bigger than we expected, with one cave room leading into another and several different chapels, but it was too dark inside to capture much more than the main room.

After leaving the Cave Church we headed up the hillside to reach the monument at the top

up and up!

The reward for our exertion was a beautiful clear view of the river and Pest side of the city -- and then it was time for more walking. Today was full of up, down, up down. 

Making our way over to Buda Castle

How do we want to stand for a family photo?

Peeking through the castle walls

Pretending to be an archer, guarding the palace

The domed parliament building in the distance

Racing along the wall to reach the top! There really was a race and then an argument about who won and who cheated and I don't know what else because I wasn't crazy enough to run up the hill after having walked for miles already. 

Gorgeous old building turned into a museum, but we were not in a museum mood. The sun was out and we wanted to do more exploring of the grounds. 

The funicular is the easy way up -- for those who don't want to hike the hill. 

After checking out the castle grounds we were cold and hungry and wanted lunch. We walked down the hill to a great cafe with an Eric Clapton soundtrack and old school concert posters all over the walls (Pink Floyd, the Rolling Stones, etc). Great music and great food. 

Then walk back UP to the Fisherman's Bastion which is an elevated terrace on the side of the hill next to the castle and a great spot for viewing the city.

The Castle District is a mesa, with the castle, churches, museum and shops. It's a hike (or a funicular ride) to the top, but once up there, it's an easy walk from site to site. 

The lower level of the bastion

The seven towers with the connecting walkways look like part of Disneyland's Cinderella castle. 

Mathias church 

Gorgeous gold leaf everywhere inside

and Christmas trees!!

It's a beautiful, ornate church -- view of the altar from the balcony

trying to get a photo of 5 people while walking is really an exercise in futility -- but I keep trying

So this place is a funky, cold war era Hospital in the Rock museum. It was an emergency hospital during WW2 and later was equipped to serve as a nuclear bunker to protect medical personnel in case of nuclear attack. I wanted to visit it because it's all set up with lifelike medical emergency scenes from that era using mannequins. But when we arrived we had just missed the English speaking tour for that hour and Camille started crying about all the "zombies" so we decided to skip it. 

Much easier down the mountain -- especially when you can get a ride!

The kids wanted to do the EYE so we took bets on how long it would take to get from one side of the river to the other. When there's a competition, we end up with no complaints about distance. 

The famous lions with no tongues (from Hanna's Cold Winter)

We made it to the Eye, but someone had to stay on the ground to take the photos . . . they all said it was fun and didn't feel like a ferris wheel, but I'm not convinced. 

Of course we had to stop for chimney cakes on the way home. 

At this point the sun was going down fast and we were getting COLD

We went back to the apartment, warmed up and the kids played cards until it was time for dinner. Then we made them WALK, WALK, WALK some more to a restaurant that Josh had read about in the Jewish district. 

Mugs of thick hot chocolate and matzo ball soup made it worth it.

I guess we wore them out! 

(according to Josh's calculations, it was over 12 miles of walking.)

Fe/Iron and irony

I went to work out today (just like groundhog day, over and over again) and there was a chickie there with this t-shirt:

And I thought, "Ooh, I like that design." You know, the elemental abbreviation for iron is Fe and working out makes me a strong woman . . . cute, right? And then I added that to the list of Things I Swore I'd Never Say, But Lived To Eat My Words. Oh well. At least my new interest in workout wear makes Josh happy and keeps me comfortable. It really is the lazy woman's way to dress. Last night someone told me (and they were sincere and meant it in the sweetest way) that I really pull off the Plain Jane look and I knew exactly what they meant. They followed it up by saying I dress like a yoga instructor which is really the greatest compliment ever, as long as we're imagining the woman in comfortable yoga pants and soft shirts with thumbholes in the sleeves and not the ones with long armpit hair, woo music, and smelling of incense.

This month is Ramadan and for the first time I'm working out with people who are fasting. I started Crossfit last year during Ramadan, but the class I attended back then was made up of non-Muslim expats. Those women have moved on and for the last few months I've been in a class with all Bahrainis. When Ramadan started our gym shifted all the classes to the late afternoon/evening to accommodate those who are fasting. Classes are at 4 and 5 (so people fast from food and water all day and then work out!) and then there's a break for people to break the fast (at approximately 6:30pm every day), then classes at 8:30, 9:30, 10:30 and even an 11pm class!

I've been going at 4pm because that's when the ladies I work out with decided to go -- so they can get home in time to get ready to break the fast with their families. I'm amazed by how tough they are and how dedicated they are to working out in spite of the heat and not being able to eat or drink for 12 hours before they arrive. I suck down extra water for the hour before I go to the gym and my mouth still feels like a parched desert halfway through the workout.

Because I'm not Muslim, the coach and everyone said "feel free to drink water as usual," but I figure if they're all fasting, the least I can do is go without water for the hour that I'm at the gym. The first day of Ramadan, between every exercise, my friends were begging me, "Please drink water." "Have some water." "Really, you can have water." I told them that I was fine, but as soon as class was over they went and got water from the cooler and said, "Please drink. Drink for us. It will make us feel better." I can't explain it well, but their care for me and not wanting me to be burdened by the sacrifices that they take on as part of their faith . . . it's not what you'll see on TV, but it's what we have experienced in real life.

All that to say, I've been a rock star at the gym these past 3 weeks. But I joke with Josh that it's a bit like bragging that I won a race against a bunch of people on crutches. If I were dehydrated (we're at well over 100 degree temps these days) and faint, I know the last place you'd find me would be at the gym. I'm impressed by all those who come and attempt any kind of workout under those conditions day after day.

Since Calvin finished school last week he's been coming to the gym with me. And he's got some work to do to catch up. Ha! Let me brag that I can lift more than my 17 year old boy (for the 5 minutes that it lasts) before he masters proper technique and blasts straight past me. He's already stronger than he was when he started, but today, I came out on top. 32.5 kg push press (shoulders to overhead) vs his 30kg. That's me, winning against newbies and a crew of people ready to pass out. #beast

party all the time

Good times to be had during our last Ramadan in Bahrain. The days may be quiet, but the evenings are full of fun.

It's the best time to go to the waterpark -- we had the place to ourselves. 

It was an unusually cool day and not nearly hot enough for me to enjoy it fully. I was wishing I had a sweatshirt as soon as the sun set. 

The kids from church and the base chapel all came as a group. It was fun for the boys as they each went off with their friends. 

This is the best amusement park food I've ever had. Their mixed grill is cooked fresh over hot coals right while we waited -- chicken tikka, shish tawook, and chicken and beef kabob. Add some hummus, bread and salad and it's WAY better than a weirdly processed burger. 

Not specifically a Ramadan activity, but anytime is a good time for carpet shopping. We made one more carpet purchase. Our qum -- we finally brought one home. (A bucket list carpet: 100% silk Persian) 

And an evening dinner in Amwaj on the water at a friend's house.

dock jumping

who can clear the rocks below? (hopefully everyone!)

A last hurrah before 4 families split in 4 different directions: Singapore, UAE, Bahrain, and the US. 

Most of our kids (missing a few)

Always hoping the fish are biting. 

One last Iftar buffet -- under the tent at Passions restaurant. Spoiled for choice, especially when there are crepes and ice cream on the menu. 

Why would I ever complain about Ramadan?