Day Eight Central Europe: Final Day in Hungary

A wonderful adventure in Hungary is drawing to a close for team Central Europe and we all feel the ache associated with the departure.  Our final day in Budapest included one group attending the Sofi school while the others attended classes at Karinthy.

The Sofi group worked with both the young children and an older group.  With the younger kids, the members of team Cipofuzok took part in different games and were able to play with the kids, although the rain limited our time outdoors.

The love we felt from the children at Sofi was absolutely incredible.  They were very kind and accepting of us, foreign guests who couldn’t speak their language.  Their achievements as students, athletes, and people are truly inspirational to those who visit them.

 

 

 

Klaus Payne wanted to dedicate this artwork to his mother:

Day Seven Central Europe: Mission Work Continues and Surprise Dinner Guest

Day Seven was an opportunity for us to continue working at Karinthy, as well as send another group to the Sofi school.  The group at Karinthy continued working on the bicycles and on the fence.  However, we began the day by playing a game of volleyball with the net we had helped repair.  Then, after working for a few hours, we played a game of soccer outside the school.

The group at Sofi worked with a different group of students, ages 14-25, and were involved in various activities throughout the day.

When the groups got back together, we worked on making outdoor furniture for the school using old plastic bottles covered with concrete.

We concluded our seventh day in Europe enjoying dinner with and a receiving a presentation from Mr. Joseph Truesdale IV, the Political Section Chief of the U.S. Embassy located in Budapest.  In addition to being a U.S. representative in Hungary, he is also a former Humanities instructor from the Culver Academies, discovering the presence of our mission trip group through a chance e-mail to Mr. Buxton, Head of Schools.  He mesmerized our group with his stories from his time studying abroad as a young man, at Stanford University, while teaching at Culver, his two years in Russia, his two years in Ukraine, and his time so far in Hungary.  He shared details of the struggles he has overcome and still faces, as well as answer the many questions our group had about his career and diplomacy.  The entire team felt incredibly grateful for the information and time he shared with us.

Day Five Central Europe: First Mission Work

Our fifth day in Europe brought with it the excitement of meeting our Hungarian hosts.  We met with the students and project leaders of the host school and learned exactly what our next few days would entail.  We began our experience with some games to help all the students, both from Culver and the Hungarians, learn more about one another.

We then split Team Central Europe into three teams of combined Culver and Hungarian students to further meet our group.  The three teams formed took on the names “cipofuzok” (Hungarian for shoelaces), the Toasting Divas, and “Guess what our name is”.  Needless to say, we did get work done on the school grounds.

However, the companionship of our new friends made our activities seem little like true labor.  We finished the day playing sports in the school Gymnasium.

Day Three Central Europe: Riding Show, the Belvedere, and Ferris Wheel

We began our morning with show from the wonderfully trained Spanish Riding School Stallions.  These famous white stallions are trained their whole lives to be the best show horses in the world.

We then were brought to the Belvedere by Thomas to see the gorgeous building and view the structure is known for.  We learned that the Belvedere was never used as a residence, but instead as a venue for royal parties.  Regardless, the view of the city is unbelievable.

We next visited the Hundertwasserhaus, an abstract apartment complex.  The structure, including the sidewalks outside, includes uneven surface and many windows of different size.

We finished our activities of the day with a ride on the world-famous Vienna Ferris Wheel.  Some of the members of the group were rather unnerved by the height of the wheel, including one of the chaperones, Mr. Waller, but we all enjoyed the view.

Day Two Central Europe: Tours and Concerts

After a night’s rest in the hotel, Team Central Europe was ready for another day in the beautiful city of Vienna.  The sun was out and the warm weather brought energy to the group.  We began our day with a visit to the opera building, including a private tour of the inside of the facility from our guide, Thomas.

We then continued our day by finishing our viewing of the Prunksaal State Hall, or national library, that we had seen our first day.  However, day two’s viewing including a tour of the highly decorated inside.  There, we viewed the statues, many volumes, and beautiful ceiling fresco that made the building famous.  Our tour guide explained that Prunksaal became a monument to literacy of sorts because it was built in the 1270’s when few other large collections of books existed in Austria.

After visiting the Prunksaal, we went to the Winter Palace, or the Staatsoper.  Inside, we learned of Empress Elizabeth, the Bavarian duchess who married Franz Joseph.  She was 5′ 10″, but with a 20″ waist and weighing only 99 pounds.  Her reign ended abruptly when she became the assassination victim of an Italian anarchist in Geneva.  After touring the rest of the Palace, we ate lunch outside in the square.

We concluded our evening with dinner and a classical concert, followed by a reflection period at the hotel.

In our discussion, we talked of the contrast of the Viennese culture with that of Culver and other nations, making specific reference to the national pride and monuments, as well as mentioning the little amount of time Americans invest into building and into daily functions.

 

 

Polo seemed to have had a “lightbulb moment”.

Day One Central Europe: Arrival and Walking Tour

As we conclude our first day in Europe, the team is exhausted from the flight length, activities of the day, and from the time change from Culver to here in Austria.  After catching our connecting flight in Frankfurt, Germany, we arrived in Vienna at 11:00 am local time and immediately began our experience in Central Europe.  We dropped our bags at the hotel and began our day with a meal at a local authentic restaurant.  We then began a walking tour to some of the city’s famous sites.  The first that we visited was the St. Stephen’s Cathedral.  The stunning Gothic architecture and breath taking scultures and other works of art made the Cathedral a spectacular way for us to begin our time in Austria.

We then continued our tour over to Prunksaal State Hall, the national library to learn the history of the statue in front as well as the significance of other aspects of the buildings design.  We will tour the inside of the facility tomorrow.

To finish our first day, we went shopping the the Central District of the city and were able to witness a group of Belgian men pep rallying in the streets before their national soccer team played the Austrians.  By the end of this time, we were exhausted from our long day, yet excited for more events tomorrow.