Water, water everywhere....

There is a deep canal that runs through Sopron. It is probably 12 to 15 feet deep. When we saw it for the first time we wondered why it was so deep with such a little stream running through it.

This spring we found out why it is so deep!

It kept getting deeper as the snow melted.

This is a shot that Tibor got when it was at it's peak!

Two of our favorite pictures in Sopron

This is a picture that I took while we were waiting for a train to pass. We often saw this lady just watching the cars wait and the train pass by. It was a very hot day in the summer.

These two old men crossed the street in front of us. It was such a great sight to see them help each other. Steve took the camera with him to get a parking receipt so he was able to snap this picture.

A Day at the Cemetery

There is an old church which we drive by when we go out to visit one of the members of our branch.  Someone said there was a old cemetery by it so Shauna and I decided to check it out.  This picture was taken just as we walked into it.

You can see the grave stones, but if you look behind on the hill you can see some other grave markers.

Again, just look behind the trees at other markers which are much older.

Navigating through the cemetery was interesting as there was no rhyme or reason.

I wish we would of come here on the night of the dead when they put all the candles on the graves.  I can't imagine how they get the casket and these head stones up here through these narrow walkways.

This is obviously one of the older stones from around 1917.

Here is another stone like so many of the others.  The reason I photographed this one is because you can see the date of his/her death.

There were very few of these that we could read the dates on as time has worn them off the stone.

There were a couple of ladies in the "newer part" talking so I thought I would take their picture.

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Remember those grave stone behind the trees in the first pictures?  These are some of the rest of them.  If I understand it correctly, these are markers commemorating those who have died and not had their bodies recovered.  

This could easily be one of the Hungarian soldier slain during their many wars.  In Hungarian they say the last name first and the first name last, so in America his name would be:  Istvan (Steven) Nemeth.

Just moving back toward our car.  It was cold up there. You will know that spring is here when you don't see anymore pictures of THE black coat!

Here is a demonstration of how the cemeteries in German are done also.  People are just buried one top of each other.  This show a family of three who are buried in the same place.  In Plieningen, Germany, where Grandfather and Grandmother Flammer were buried back in the 50's, the family had to pay for that spot, as I remember, about 3000 Deutsch Marks a year.  If they couldn't, or wouldn't pay any longer, someone else was buried on top of them.  Germans and Hungarians have been around for a long time so you can imagine how burying their dead may be a problem if they didn't "stack them one on another."

Enjoying a little culture

We decided that we better take advantage of more of the cultural performances at the Liszt Conference Center. Liszt actually lived in Sopron at one time which is why the conference center is named after him I suppose. We were able to see the Szombathelyi Savaria Symphony Orchestra. They played three symphonies composed by Haydn. Joseph Haydn lived in the Fertod Castle near Sopron for almost thirty years and composed a lot of his music there. It is fun to think that we live so close to where these great musicians lived.

Rakott Krumpli Bake Off

The elders challenged Tibor to a Rakott Krumpli competition at our English Club. 

It is made with sliced potatoes, kolbasz (sausage), tejfol ( like sour cream), sliced hard boiled eggs with cheese, papirika ( red and yellow peppers) and onion being optional.

They were both delicious but the elders had 19 eggs in theirs so I preferred Tibors which had more potatoes.

The elders had me fix their ties after we ate and then left early. It seemed a shame to waste the extra thread so I sewed them together for a little entertainment. Oh the things we learn in English Class!

Maybe a little too much moisture

We have a beautiful new road that goes under two railroad tracks and curves it way up to the hill that we live on. Yes, it is true we live on the bench or the outskirts of the town as they say in Hungary. This is the third time that some of the hill has slid toward the road.

I am really glad that I am not the person that gets to fix it!

This is definitely a job for Bob the Builder!

This is a picture from the top of the slide taken right after I step in some very soft dirt which I discovered was mud.  Steve was doing a poor job of not trying to laugh as he waited in the car.

One of our tenderest mercies.

The Elders from Szombathely:  Elder Hansen, Elder Nelson, Elder Cutler and Elder Judd.  They asked us if we would come to Szombathely on Sunday afternoon to help with a church meeting.

This is the  group of university students, who are studying in Austria and came mostly from Africa.  The one Caucasian girl you can see is actually from Hungary and was going to take them to her church, which is the Catholic Church in Szombathely, but the meeting would be held in Hungarian and these students only speak English.  So she asked the Elders if they would host a meeting where we could talk about our church.  

Some of the places they came from were Cameroon, Liberia, Uganda, etc. 

After the meeting they just mulled around and talked to the missionaries.  What a great experience.  I tole them I would love to know their life stories.  I told them I would give them my email address and would love it if they would write to me.  We'll see what happens.

           

I had to put this picture in.  This is Sandor, a man that we bonded with the first time we came to Szombathely.  He is in the branch presidency and just one of the most sincere and loving people I have ever met.  To understand what a thoughtful person he is, he gave that white coat to one of the students.  You can see it in the hands of one of the students in the group picture taken in front of the chapel.  There are people you are OK with just shaking hands, but Sandor is someone that I have hugged since the first time we met.  I love this man.