Alanna - arrival in Sofia and Christmas in Budapest

The Christmas celebration in Hungary, a Catholic country, was evident everywhere.  While for tourists, this meant most shops and restaurants were closed for 3 days, it was a nice chance to walk around the city and observe.

Watch this space for more posts...coming soon: things to see and do and food from Budapest!

National Opera House

From the steps of St. Stephen's Basilica

The Christmas market on Vaci Utca

Parliament

A nod to Marissa - Budapest celebrates Hanukkah too!

Alanna at the Christmas market - she was contemplating how those giant ornaments would fit on her Christmas tree.

Santa greets pedestrians on Vaci Utca, the cobblestoned shopping street.

The displays in our hotel:

We were about half the population at the airport on Christmas Ever.  Before we took off for Budapest, we entertained ourselves!  

Alanna brought me TONS of goodies from home.  The best Christmas present ever - food!  This is mac and cheese from the Jonesville Store.

Gingerbread muffins, scones, cheese danish, cinnamon buns, rugalah, chocolate chip cookie and an almond horn from John the Baker!  And maple syrup (which does not exist in Bulgaria!)

Staples of a healthy diet - instant oatmeal and myoplex bars.

Staples of a less healthy diet - grape jelly for pb&j and BUTTERCREAM from the bakery!  

Christmas in Sofia

As promised, here are some images of Sofia and ACS at Christmas time. 

This is the display in the Radisson Hotel.  We frequently use the hotel as a point of reference to pick up and get dropped off by taxis.

Walking downtown, on every corner and in between we found these stands of random Christmas decorations and supplies.

Alexander Nevski Cathedral - a Bulgarian Orthodox church

The Culture Jam Club, the international students at school, hosted a Christmas dinner for the international teachers.

Bulgarian Trivia

No photos today folks!  Instead, you get some tidbits about Bulgarian culture that I've been accumulating over the past few months.

Did you know....

To indicate "no" with a head gesture, Bulgarians nod their head up to down once.  (Like the way Americans say "yes.")  You can imagine how thoroughly confusing this is...especially when they realize I'm an American and try to do it my way but don't tell me!  Or when they don't know I'm an American and I fervently nod yes, and they think I mean no!  Rumor has it this tradition began when the Turks enslaved the Bulgarians and the nod no was a way to take one's own life as a sword was at one's throat.

To indicate "yes" with a head gesture, Bulgarians do what we call the head bobble.  They nod, but from ear to shoulder rather than chin to chest as we do.  

Superstition says NEVER put your purse on the floor - apparently if you don't treat your money with respect you are destined to lose it.  Women will pick up someone else's bag and place it on a chair, table, or hook rather than leave it on the floor.

When eating out with others you eat when your food arrives at the table, even if you are eating alone. 

"Marsh" is an imperative command word that loosely translates to "Do it now!"

Many Bulgarians fast from meat for 40 days before Christmas, culminating in a meat-free Christmas Eve dinner that must consist of an odd number of courses, usually 7, 9, or 11.  They do not clear the table after dinner, leaving the left-overs and dirty dishes for the next day so that the ghosts of ancestors can come eat in the night.

Bulgarians celebrate both their birthdays and their name days.  As opposed to Americans, who expect everyone to bring us presents and cake, in Bulgaria, the responsibility to celebrate falls on the birthday boy or girl.  On either day, the celebrant brings in chocolates to share with all their peers.  They also frequently celebrate events like the birth of a grandchild or acceptance into college by bringing in chocolates to share.

Like many cultures, Bulgarians have adopted words into their lexicon from other languages.  Though they have their own words (blogodarya and dovishdanae) for thank you and goodbye, commonly you will hear merci and ciao-ciao.  

That's all for now...there are some fun holidays and customs coming up in the spring, so a follow-up to this post will appear in a few weeks.  Watch soon for photos of Sofia, ACS, and Budapest at Christmas!  Happy Holidays!

Christmas in Brussels

OK, so it was actually 12 days before Christmas, but it was close enough to make it festive.  In my brief 30 hours or so in Brussels, I was able to see most of the city from the street and from above in a great ferris wheel.  I stayed at the Hotel Welcome, an adorable boutique hotel right in St. Catherine's, which turned out to be an incredible location thanks to the ice skating rink and Christmas market.  (Thank you Samantha Brown for that suggestion!)  I drank amazing hot chocolate, ate fantastic pastries, and rode what I am convinced is the world's most confusing metro system.  This was a trip all about seredipity...that began because my friends Brett and Betsy found tickets to fly there from Sofia on a direct flight for only 44leva (about $30).  The return trip wasn't on Sunday though, so I used some BA miles and took Malev, the Hungarian airline back home.  I had such a good experience on Malev, that today I booked tickets for me and Alanna to fly with them again, this time to Budapest.  We will be spending Christmas in Hungary!  Keep your eyes on the blog for upcoming images of Christmas in Buda, Pest, and of course, Sofia...