Trip Re-Kap

I think that most of you know that M.Kramlik and I recently went on a trip back to the homeland (Hungary).  Friends of ours were getting married and we wanted to be there.  We left the day before the 4th of July out of Chicago as we usually do.  However, this time since my parents were already overseas waiting for us to get there, we had to take the coach bus service to O'Hare.  We got on at the first stop that the bus picks up at.  Only problem was that it was late by about 20 minutes.  I think that we had about 6 other stops along the way before finally getting to O'Hare about 45 minutes behind schedule.  We checked in, ran through security and quickly grabbed a bite to eat.  While we waited for them to call us to board I thought we better have some photos taken.

M.Kramlik waving Bon Voyage!


 

 

When we were finally called to board and got on the plane we were told that we were going to be sitting in the row where the oxygen was stored.  This meant no overhead bin room, but ample leg room as the overhead compartments are bigger and so the seats are larger too.  AWESOME!!!  What happened next, not so awesome...we were just about to take off and the Captain came over the loudspeaker and said that there was a problem with one of our hydraulic cylinders and we had to go back to the gate.  Then a steward came over the loudspeaker to tell us that we have seven hydraulic cylinders on the plane and really only need one to fly it is required by the FAA that we have it checked out.  They weren't sure how long the fix was going to take but that the ground crew was already at the gate waiting for us.  It wasn't long after arriving at the gate that we were back under way and ready to take off for round 2.  Little did we know that we were going to get called back again by that pesky hydraulic cylinder.  This time we stayed at the gate what seemed like forever!  We had just about neared the two hour mark of sitting on the plane at the gate when we were finally good to go.  Ok, we take off.  Then I realized that we weren't going to make our connecting flight in London to Helsinki.  (NOTE: We purchased tickets from Chicago to London, London to Helsinki, Helsinki to Budapest and then the reverse coming home.  Only because summer is the peak time and this was what we could afford.)  So there we are flying along somewhere over the Atlantic when I start panicking over what we are going to do.  Know I very well knew that we weren't the only ones who were going to have this issue.  But, those of you that know me, I tend to panic when things are going just right.  :)  It is just one of my downfalls.  

 

Fast forward, eight hours later and we are going to land in London.  The steward comes back over the loudspeaker and tells us that we have to check in with the ground staff in London about our connecting flights and they can help us with what to do next.  This surprisingly worked out really well.  There were three people waiting for us with lists of the connecting flights that were missed and explained exactly what we needed to do.   This ended up working to our advantage.  They had a direct flight that was going to Budapest in about 4 hours so we were going to go directly there instead of to Helsinki first.  This sounded fantastic to me as I hate flying!  We got our new boarding passes and set off in search of a bathroom and some food.  This is where I got some sweet Olympic gear and a Starbucks Iced Grande Mocha.  They of course called it something else, now I don't remember what...I wished I would have written it down.  Then we paid the most ridiculous amount of money to call M.Kramlik's Mom and Dad so they and my parents knew what was going on.  I am told that they were all trying to track our flights and figure out where we were but it was a nightmare.

 

We made our connection no problem and were to Hungary a whole 20 minutes early!  We were both so happy to finally be there.

The street sign for the road that my In-Laws live on.

 



I know that M.Kramlik was just so happy to be home, but I was so happy because this was the first time that my parents have been back in Hungary since our wedding there 4 years ago! We ate, drank, ate some more and of course drank some more too!  I guess that is what happens when 1- you go on vacation and 2- when your in-laws own a bar!

 

 

 

This picture is one of my absolute favorites of the whole trip.  My three favorite guys (minus my brother...mmm maybe I will have to figure out how to Photoshop him in there!)

Oh I almost forgot we did a lot this too....

I swear this swing is a miracle worker!  You can be have a rough day or stressing about something and this swing takes away all of your worries and cares.  We actually fight over who is going to sit in it.  It also is an excellent place to take naps!  I have taken many in it.  Especially when it is raining because there is a roof over the porch.

Ipolyvece has the cutest train station.  I am not sure if anyone mans it but after going to the village for over 11 years now, this trip was the first time that I saw it.  Isn't it just so cute?

It reminds me of something you would see in a movie, doesn't it??

I think that I am going to have to break the trip re-cap into two posts.  I honestly didn't think that I was going to be this long winded.  The next post I will do will be about the wedding and our travels home.  If you thought me getting there was something else, just wait for the return to the USA story!  Let's just say that Sarah was a very unhappy traveler!


I will leave you with two more quick pictures.  The first one was taken at M.Kramlik's other Grandparents house in a village about 30 minutes away.  We went there one day for lunch. 

The second picture is my favorite one of M.Kramlik by himself at the bar.  This is his "traditional" bar pose and I think that on it he looks so happy, relaxed and just his natural self.