Balkan Road Trip: Day 16

After saying our goodbyes to Amber, Sophie and Paws, we left the Oasis in Vrbovce, Slovakia around 8:30. Amber sent us off with freshly baked cookies, bacon(!) and lunch meat to make some sandwiches on our trip. We felt so refreshed after our time at the Oasis and very thankful for the few days we had there - we were definitely spoiled!

We reached Hungary around 11 and stopped at a rest stop shortly after to eat our sandwiches.

Crossing the Danube river, we got our our first glimpses of Budapest!

We parked on the Pest side of the river, near the Hungarian Parliament Building.

View of the Danube from the famous Chain Bridge.

Family picture on the Chain Bridge.

Colson being Colson :)

Walking up to the Buda Castle Hill.

 Matthias Church is over 700 years old and many of Hungary's kings were coronated here. I think what makes the church especially unique is the ceramic tiles on the roof - just beautiful!

Taking a break at Fisherman's Bastion with some ice cream and Starbucks!

Walking back across the Chain Bridge after exploring the Castle District on the Buda side.

Then we drove another half hour to the outskirts of the city to our campsite for the night: Niche Camping. 

We loved the campground, it was very unique. The building that the restaurant was in used to be an old train station. We also loved this campsite because they offered a FREE breakfast buffet that was absolutely delicious!

Balkan Road Trip: Day 15

We woke up and left the Oasis around 9:30 to drive an hour to explore the town of Trenčín, per Amber's recommendation. Trenčín is easily one of Slovakia's most picturesque towns, with its charming square and side streets, a medieval castle towering high above the town on a cliff and a beautiful clock tower.

The town square was under renovation, so it was a little difficult to walk through, but I'm sure it will be beautiful when it's finished. Despite the construction, we thoroughly enjoyed our time in Trenčín!

The clock tower

Walking up to the castle walls.

The Trenčín synagogue, built it 1913 it is now an art gallery.

We had some pizza in the town square, but then left shortly after lunch because it started raining. After arriving back at the Oasis, we had a lazy afternoon which included napping, playing games, watching a movie and baths! Brooks and Isaiah loved the bath tub!

Joel grilling some burgers in the rain :)

I loved this balcony off of the room the boys slept in.

Balkan Road Trip: Day 14

We woke up ready for a bike ride. After breakfast we headed out to the shed to get out the bikes and make sure all the tires had enough air. Amber had enough bikes for our WHOLE family and then some! We had never gone biking as a family before and we were pretty excited!

Brooks was happy about his seat. What was funny is that the whole time we were riding bike he kept telling me he was tired. I was like, "Buddy, you aren't even doing any work!!" Then I told him I was tired too and he started scratching my back. Love this kid!

We rode the whole way into the town of Vrbovce. It took us about an hour and a half to get there and back. The kids did great, but Isaiah was pretty tired till the end - but the promise of leftover brownies and then a movie when we got back kept him going. I was proud of him!

Some views from our ride, it was gorgeous . . . 

Brooks wouldn't smile because he was "tired"

That's better!

We made it to town!

After our ride we had some brownies and then had problems choosing a movie from Amber's extensive collection - there were just too many to choose from. Ahh, what problems! :) We finally settled on Mighty Ducks. The rest of the afternoon was spent catching up on laundry, playing Wii, playing outside and just relaxing. It was such a restful day, truly perfection! After dinner Amber taught the kids how to play Ticket to Ride - which quickly became their new favorite!

Bedtime snuggles with Paws.