Melnik and Rila with Mom and Dad

I have to go back and cover a lot in the last few weeks, so I will start with my Mom and Dad arriving in Sofia. When we left them in Prague, they went on to Budapest and we had to go back to work. After a few days in Buda (and a wonderful trip to the wine country of Eger) they met us here in Bulgaria. Friday, they just spent the day with us at the school. They went to Pete's class and my class and got to see how great the students are here. On Saturday, we rented a car and drove to a little town just north of the Greek border called Melnik. Melnik is known for it's wine and we had a good time tasting the local selection. Neither Pete nor I had been to Melnik yet, so it was a new adventure for all of us. (See the picture of my Mom holding the dog? That was her new friend one night ... cute).
On the way back from Melnik we stopped at the Rila Monastary, which was very cool. It is located way up in the mountains and is still a functioning monastery. That ended up being church on our Easter Sunday - I missed our traditional celebration, but there probably aren't too many times in life that you can say you spent Easter in Rila, Bulgaria. :)
Monday we had to go back to work, but luckily I was able to take a half day and in the afternoon I showed my parents around Sofia. I think it was good for them to get out of the communist block apartments in my neighborhood and see the city. We had a wonderful afternoon and then met up with Pete for dinner at an Indian restaurant - our favorite one.
Tuesday, my mom cooked chicken divan - yum! And my parents got to experience campus life. We told them it's a lot like high school or college - they agreed :) I think they had a good time though.
On Wednesday, we went to the orphanage in Sofia. One of the teachers I work with does a lot of volunteer work there and my mom decided she would like to see it, so she, my dad, and I all went. Let me tell you all - we are truly blessed. These kids crave attention and love.
Thursday morning we had to get up early to say goodbyes. It was so hard to see them go, but it feels good to think that we will probably be coming home for Christmas this year, and in the mean time we'll get to see Marge and Norm and perhaps a few other friendly faces. This is quite an experience we are having here - I wouldn't change it, but hugs from home are hard to beat!
This weekend we had a four-dayer and Jenn, Derek, Pete, and I all decided to take a random flight to Istanbul. I'll fill you in on that one tomorrow :)
Goodnight and we love you!

Krakow & Prague

We're back from a fantastic break! Of course, the best part was seeing my parents and getting to give them a great big hug!! We started our adventure in Krakow, which is on the top of our list of great cities. Everyone there was so friendly and the city was charming. The first night we were there we ate at this great Polish restaurant that has even received an award from the President (of Poland) as being "the best restaurant in Poland." We had an unbelievable meal there called the Peasant Bowl. Just take a look at the picture on my mom with the platter of food in front of her - four of us shared that. Needless to say, we were stuffed!

While in Krakow, we explored the Cloth Hall, which is in the center of town and, most importantly, is where you can buy lots of Polish crafts and jewelry! By the end of the trip I was a proud owner of a pair of earrings, a necklace, and a Polish carved wooden box. Very nice. We also did lots of sight seeing. We went to Wawel Castle, the Jewish Quarter, and Auschwitz. Of course Auschwitz was a very sobering experince, but we all agreed it was an important trip. It's hard to believe that Poland had the largest Jewish population in Europe at one time and now there are only 100 that live in Krakow. What a truly devastating part of history.

As I mentioned in the previous post, we got to go to the town where my dad's family is from -Jaslo. The town was much bigger that we expected - we all thought it would be just a little village, but instead it was a bussling little city. My mom, in her "Judy, Judy, Judy" way, talked her way into the town hall were she was able to get my dad a bunch of souvieners with the Jaslo emblem on them for free. My mom is amazing - seriously!

After Krakow, we flew to Prague for the rest of our journey. We stayed in an apartment on Castle Hill, right by the Prague Castle. Prague is an unfathomable! Over the years so many people have told me that Prague is their favorite city and now I understand why. It's like Disneyland! It's almost too much to take in at first. Hands down, walking over the Charles Bridge is one of the best walks in the world. It is absolutely beautiful - especially at night.

We were sight-seers in Prague for sure! The day we got there we just walked around the city and had a drink in the center. The next day, we woke up and went to the Jewish Quarter where we saw a couple of synagogues and more Holocaust memorials. We also walked through a Jewish cemetary that dates back to the 1400's. Pretty amazing. One of my favorite parts of Prague was the Mucha Museum. I love his work and ended up buying two posters, which I already took to get framed today. You might not know who he is by name, but if you look up his work you would recognize it. He's mostly known for his his graphic art, but he also did the stained glass work in the church in the Prague castle, which I took a picture of. Our last day in Prague we toured the castle, went to the monestary (which just happens to brew the best beer in town), and did some more exploring around the city. (One of the pictures is of my mom dancing to some live music outside of the castle - fun!)

Pete and I are now back in Sofia where we will go back to work tomorrow (yuck), but at least we have something to look forward to. My parents are in Budapest right now, but they will join us in Sofia on Thursday for a week. I'm sure this part of their trip will be a little more of an adventure. I'm not sure how Sofia will stack up to Krakow, Prague, and Budapest, but hopefully we'll show them a good time.

I know I'm way behind on email right now - I haven't got around to replying to much since St. Paddy's Day, so I apologize in advance. My goal this week is to clear out my inbox - so expect a message (hopefully).

Hope everyone is well. Kate, Syd, Grandma, and Grandpa - we're sending you an extra big hug. We love and miss you tons. AND - HAPPY 30th BIRTHDAY, ALI (SIL)! We really wish we could have helped you ring in this new decade! We love you!

Krakow

I have to make this short b/c I have less than four minutes left on my internet cafe account. We're having a great time in Krakow - I love this city! Today we went to Jaslo a city about two and half hours outside of Krakow, where my Dad's family is from. (They left in 1875 - he's the first member of the family to go back in over 120 years. Pretty cool). Tomorrow we leave for Prague, then Mom and Dad head to Budapest. Pictures on Monday.
Marge and Norm - we'll call you from Prague! Love you both!