The Best Ever

Family, that is. Lots of people say such things, but in my case it's actually true: I have the greatest family ever seen in the history of the world.

My wife pointed out a few cute photos that I hadn't seen before. The first one was taken by a friend of hers in Baku, and she didn't have a digital copy, so I had to scan it. That's why it's not perfect, but check out the hilarious faces!

On the left is a neighbor girl. The middle is my eldest son Anton and Alex is on the right. I keep trying to convince them to try out drama, as I think they would be great, but they are too shy.

Here are a couple of pictures from our trip to London in the summer of 2010. They were taken by a friend who met up with my wife at a botanical garden.

I've never seen such affectionate and empathetic kids as my boys. I hope this world doesn't change them too drastically. Don't grow up too fast, sons!

My sons and my wife in the botanical garden. Often I wish time could slow way down to allow us to linger through the great periods. Getting old should be illegal!

A Walk Through the Castle District of Budapest

Yeah, yeah, I've been gone a long time. Sorry. Although Budapest is a lovely city, it's still an adjustment to get settled down in the new apartment, new job, new bosses and colleagues. I haven't been posting and I haven't yet started writing again. I owe a good buddy a crit of his large book, and I'm only three chapters in so far. I'd like to get that done by December, if possible.

On August 20 there was a big holiday here in Hungary. The embassy community celebrated it at the compound of the US Marines, which is a gorgeous place in the castle district, which you can see in the pictures below. I wish I had my camera with me that night, because the fireworks over the Parliament were spectacular.

Before I get to the photos I took today, I thought I'd throw out a couple that I liked from over the summer. Here is my younger son Alex with our cockatiel Gosha just before leaving Baku.

Another shot I liked is this picture of Multnomah Falls in Oregon.

So, today was a wine festival in the castle district of Budapest, and my wife enjoys wine and decided to go. I'm not a drinker, so I brought my camera and walked around the district with my two sons. I liked a lot of the photos, but I don't want to overwhelm you, so I'll just give you a taste.

Above is my older son Anton near one of the oddly-shaped buildings within the castle.

This is a view from the castle wall down to the Danube and the Hungarian Parliament building. When I go to work in the morning I cross the river in the metro and get out just at that building, then walk a block south (to the right) to get to the embassy.

Here is the big cathedral. It looks smaller in the photo than it does in real life (you can click any photo to enlarge). It's covered in amazing designs. Below is an example of some inset statues.

And finally a shot of Hungary's favorite St. Istvan.

I probably won't blog a lot for the moment, partly because I feel a bit overwhelmed with all the new things going on, and partly because I need to get the creative juices flowing again at some point before I feel ready to jump back into this game. I do keep track of your blogs, even if I only comment when something grabs my fancy.