Today was our last full day in Hungary and we had our longest bike trip (24 KM) to a new city for us, Szentendre. It’s a small town north of Budapest on the bank of the Danube. It is known for its artists, museums and small shops. We had lunch, explored the town and then headed back to Budapest. As a new twist, we rode WITH our bikes on a train. Once back to Budapest, we returned our bikes to the bike shop. We ended our experience with dinner and a hiked up Gellert Hill to Liberty Statue. We all didn’t go down the hill the same way; but we all did make it down. Tomorrow, we will be back in Michigan. It's bittersweet to leave such an amazing city; yet, it will be good to be back home.
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Project Term Blogger - Khadejah Photo/Video Help - Ms. Hehs I had the wonderful opportunity to witness one of the fine Turkish Baths in Budapest. Ms. Hehs, Audrey, Erin, McKenna and I went to the Gellért Spa where many people go to relax for the day and to also get some exercise. We experienced many different bath temperatures ranging from a hot 40 degrees Celsius, to a freezing 10 degrees Celsius. The Spa also had steam rooms, saunas, a lap pool, and a whirlpool. This very special Gellért Bath experience was much needed to relax our sore muscles after two long days of biking and another long day ahead
Today we biked over to the “Buda” side of Budapest which is on the other side of the Danube River from which we are staying. I should also mention it’s the hilly side of the city. Here is a quick time-lapse video showing us crossing the bridge on our bikes to get to our first destination. It should give you a feel for the type of urban biking we are doing. It's 15 minutes compressed to 30 seconds. Once in Pest, we were able to visit the Church in the Cave, Buda Castle, Matthias Church and Fisherman’s Bastion. Across the river was the perfect place for a photo op with Parliament in the background; Parliament is perhaps the most iconic symbol of the city and part of our Project Term t-shirt design. We then traveled to Margit Island followed by a return to the Pest side of the city. There we enjoyed Gerbeaud Coffee House and, after dinner, a ruin pub and the Budapest Eye. It was busy day.
Project Term Blogger: Meghan C Today I was exposed to the best part of the Hungarian culture. Cooking!!! I have always been an adventurous foodie, but after today I seriously want to pursue cooking school one day. Our day began at Central Market. That’s when we met our wonderful tour guide and chef, Gerda. She introduced us to famous Hungarian food such as paprika, làngos, and goulash. Gerda also mentioned that Hungarian’s find a way to eat every. part. of. animals. But most importantly, Gerda was able to buy us fresh produce for the cooking school. The cooking school was gorgeous. Once we arrived, our crew divided into small groups and went straight to work. There were six courses to prepare on the agenda, so the pressure was on! Belle and I partnered up and made a great team. She chopped the meat, while I chopped the vegetables. As the soup was cooking on the stove, we busied ourselves with dessert. Personally, I made sure to be in the chocolate cake group instead of apple pie. After all of our love and hard work, our six course meal was ready to eat. I was really impressed we managed to pull off such delicious flavors. I think it’s safe to say we all had the time of our lives. I really enjoyed watching the process of buying the fresh food, preparing it in the kitchen, and seeing it on my plate. Project Term Blogger: Elizabeth P Today was an exciting day for the group, since we started our first day of biking! After a very informative tour of the Parliament and a viewing of the Royal Crown, we hopped on our bikes and rode along the streets of Budapest. This was very new for all, especially since none of us had ever experienced city biking. Listening to the sounds of the city while riding by the multiple shops and cafes made our time even more enjoyable. Our guide, András, helped us navigate through the gorgeous city and informed us about many different landmarks and the rich history. We visited Heroes’ Square, dedicated to the fallen heroes and famous Hungarians over the years. As we stood among the massive iron statues of former kings and saints, András told us about the significance of each person, further helping our knowledge of Hungarian history. After some more biking through the city, we reached the Budapest Opera House, where we received a private tour of the world famous establishment. The tour helped give us some very interesting background information before we watch a performance of Othello tomorrow night. For the evening, we embarked to the Hospital in the Rock Museum for another private tour. The museum did an excellent job of recreating what it was like in World War II, with multiple wax figures depicting scenes from the bloody days in Budapest. Finally, after a long day, we relaxed with some Mexican food and late night street dancing in Buda. Today was truly a day of firsts that none of us will ever forget. Project Term Blogger - Meghan C Photo/Video Help - Audrey Q Caving today was absolutely incredible. When we got to Pȧlvölgyi Caves, the tour guides gave us head-to-toe caving attire. After we suited up in our new professional gear, we made our way down into the cave. There were many emotions going on. Some of us were eager and excited, while others were nervous and hesitant. Personally, I could not have been more excited. I was determined to be the leader of the group, along with our awesome tour guide, Angi. Somehow, Angi was able to find the perfect balance between education and excitement throughout the experience. Additionally, the beauty of the caves went above and beyond my expectations. Angi told me that the deepest point today was 135 feet! Crazy. At one point, we all turned off our headlamps and sang songs in the complete darkness. Some other dare devils and I kept our headlamps off and trusted each other to guide us along the path. Honestly, it was pretty intimidating at points but definitely an unbelievable experience. Bonus Video...
Planes, a bus, a train, and lots of steps – that is how we got around Budapest today. We arrived uneventfully early Saturday morning. Bags retrieved, bus/metro pass purchased and fueled with snacks, the group arrived at the Hostel, and were given a warm welcome The rest of the day was a whirlwind. We were buoyed by lunch at the Bonnie, but heads started to bob. A quick nap provided enough “get up and go” for the group to be able to take in a few pertinent sights as we walked to mass at Sacred Heart Jesuit Church. Early in the mass, Mia turned to me and said, “I think that’s the math student Mr. Immekus had come visit our class twice.” It WAS Katelyn, a former student of Mr. Immekus', who was the Cantor for the whole mass. Small, small world. From mass, we walked to Kajahu for dinner, which was an experience. The meal was viewed and ordered on the computer at the table. This made for a fun meal. Ms. Hehs’ friend from home came to dinner and talked about how great her Study Abroad experience was. She is a student as MSU, here for a semester. We even got some good tips from her for restaurants. The evening didn’t end with reflection and journaling. The power went out in our wing of the Hostel, making life just that much more interesting. Showers were relocated to the community showers upstairs and journals were written by flashlight power. This didn’t dampen the spirits of the group, as everyone commented that after the first day, the city of Budapest met or exceeded expectations. Can’t wait for tomorrow’s adventures in caving! ~Ms. Hehs We had a last minute change to our schedule when the potential of an Air France strike necessitated that we change to another airline the day before our departure. It all worked out well. We actually gained five extra hours in Budapest by moving up our schedule by five hours. Thank you, Lufthansa.
One of the ways we have prepared for our Project Term experience is to research some of places we will be experiencing.
There any many YouTube videos out there on how to best pack your suitcase for travel. I like this one which is a hybrid of a rolling method that I use when traveling from one location to the next and a folding method that works well to use all the space that is available.
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"Project Term" is experiential learning program sponsored by the Academy of the Sacred Heart's Upper School. The Academy of the Sacred Heart, established in 1851, is Michigan’s oldest independent school, offering a Catholic, college-preparatory education to girls (infant-Grade 12) and boys (infant-Grade 8) of many cultures and faiths. It is a member of the global Network of Sacred Heart Schools.
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