Umbrellas in Győr

Megan and me on the train

So, yesterday I went with the 3 girls to Győr (pronounced somewhere along the lines of djur), once again with Megan as our unofficial local tour guide. It is so awesome to have her here, not only because she has lived here for a while, knows her way around, speaks enough Hungarian to function normally, AND is willing to help, but she is also hilarious. She saves us a lot of frantic charades and guessing when we go out, and makes us laugh at ourselves/each other along the way.

Pápa Train Station

Anyways, we took the late morning train up to Győr and walked around the walking street, popped into some shops, got some postcards, ate lunch on a boat-restaurant on the Mosoni-Duna River (an offshoot of the Danube).

Győr City Hall

lunch on the river

From there it started raining, and that did not cease the rest of the day (30% chance, huh?). Nevertheless, we continued our explorations of the town, took some pictures, tried going inside a church (it was locked) and ended up getting pastries. I had a giant slice of chocolate cake, Maggie had a fruit-filled roll, Angie found a fruit tart she could eat most of, and Megan had a carrot cake (that I ordered one of as well, to-go, and am currently enjoying.)

Győr Cathedral

Since it was Saturday afternoon, all the shops closed up, and so we wandered over to the mall. It was, well, a mall, and the heat was blasting. I wanted to peel off another layer but was already carrying a bag and my coat. I picked up some magnets and a Sprite (Pepsi never really made it big here. I can get it in 2-liters and occasionally in vending machines, but Sierra Mist is nowhere to be found.) We essentially guilted Maggie into buying an umbrella, and then we headed back to the train. The train rides were fairly uneventful, other than being a few minutes late, the empty bottles of booze rolling around and strange noises from time to time. Theories of the train going to Siberia and/or Morocco, and/or the train splitting and us being left behind... these are just some of the topics we discussed. Definitely a good time.

Me in Széchenyi Ter

So, Győr was nice. I think next time I head that direction I will find the Bishop's Palace and go inside the cathedral. I think we simply arrived during the church's 2-hour lunch break, according to my guidebook's hours listing. (Don't worry, I didn't know churches closed for lunch either.) It was great to get acquainted with what Győr has to offer (a mall, the big train station, etc) and now I know I can venture up there on my own for a little day trip.

more Széchenyi Ter... Eastern Europe is so pretty

Sorry if this one sounds a bit blah today--I slept in for the first time in 3 weeks, and now have a raging headache. Some things never change. :)
I went to church this morning, and in fact managed to receive communion! Yay! Now I'm off to make a family tree to teach family relationship vocabulary. At least it's not raining... yet. :)

As always, check out my facebook for more photos from this adventure! Have a great day!