Plitvice Lakes National Park

During my road trip through Croatia with my sister and brother-in-law, we made a stop at
the Plitvice Lakes National Park, a UNESCO Heritage site. This national park is simply stunning. Ireland may be known for its myriad shades of green, but this site was a breathtaking second. During a three-hour hike, we saw a new waterfall with each turn of the trail, endless turquoise pools of water and crimson fall trees.

Here is a video of footage we shot during the tour of the park.

Sea Organs and Labyrinths

In October, I welcomed many visitors to Budapest, including my Aunt Elaine from Kansas City, my cousin Jessica from Berlin, and my sister and brother-in-law, Nicole and Nat, from Sun Valley, Idaho. We tromped around all of Budapest's major landmarks and even went underground into the castle district's labyrinths - a tourist trap I had not yet enjoyed. The picture above is of my sister and aunt next to the labyrinth's wine fountain, which represents the myriad wine cellars of the region. Unfortunately, no sampling was allowed.

Besides touring Budapest, I took Nicole and Nat on a road trip through Croatia. We stopped in Zagreb so I could show them my flat and beloved town, and then we went to Zadar, a small coastal town. Despite driving around for hours trying to find our apartment (which is a prerequisite to any trip to Croatia), our stay in the peaceful city was lovely. Our accommodations were right on the water and were gorgeous - this is a picture taken from our driveway.


Like the other charming coastal Croatian towns I've visited, Zadar had ancient Roman churches, city centers composed of narrow, winding streets and cobblestone walkways. The old part of town was on a peninsula, so it was easy to get to the sea, which we did to sit and watch the sunset. Alfred Hitchcock once said Zadar had the world's most beautiful sunsets, and I'm inclined to agree.





However, the highlight of the charming city was its sea organ, which trumped even the sunset. It is an experimental instrument activated by undulating waves and wind. On the surface, it just looks like marble stairs, but underneath the stairs are tubes that emit sound as water rushes into them. As air in the tubing is displaced, it plays a note and the pitch resounds through a hole in the marble stairwell. The resulting noises are soothing although chaotic. I found it completely mesmerizing. Here is a video of it.

Budapest Boo!

Of the many American exports abroad, Halloween has to be the most revelatory, and I am proud to be a seasoned celebrator of the day. Even since 2005 when I first lived in Europe, I am amazed at how this holiday has burgeoned - bringing along the jack-o-lanterns, creative costuming and parties that can do little but spread some ghoulish amity. Plus, it provides a nice juxtaposition to the somber All Souls Day on November 1, a holiday that I blogged about last year and one I think we should import back to the US.



This year I threw on a flapper costume, dragged Mike out in his "Texan" costume and went to an amazing party at an old mansion on Andrassy ut, one of the most famous drags of the city. The Colorado-native host (who went as a pharaoh for the evening) is Mike's business associate, and he opened his whole building for the occasion. There were cobwebs galore wrapped around the four-story building's giant antique stairwell and a spooky darkened entrance with fake smoke billowing out into the street. The floors were covered by chalk outlines of bodies and eerie messages were spelled out in blood on the mirrors - this, complete with karaoke on one floor and a DJ and filled dance floor on the other, made it quite a blowout.




One of the truly eerie elements of this evening is that the offices in which the party was held also used to be headquarters of both the Nazi and Communist parties. It is situated right next to the Terror Museum, also part of the former headquarters, which is now a museum dedicated to the grizzly aspects of the former reigns. Our host told us that there are even still prison cells in the basement. Also, he showed us the secret panels in his office which hide SS safes. This may be my only Halloween party I attend in what I'm sure is a bona fide haunted house.

Honeymoon Video

Here is a video of our honeymoon that I just finished editing.

Zebra Crossings

Fall struck Budapest abruptly last week, bringing gray skies and drizzle-filled days that always remind me of living in Dublin. All of a sudden, we have kicked on our radiators and stopped frequenting our favorite garden bars. Now, we head to the indoor, smoky joints for some cold-weather socialization.

One pleasant thing to come of the seasonal shift is that it brought the fall festival. My best girlfriend here, Zsofi, works for Budapest's Festival Center, so she keeps me in the know about large cultural events. Or better yet, she lets me know about the underground performances like this one I've posted a video on, called Zebra Crossings.

As part of the Fall Festival, multiple acting troupes went to different crosswalks (which they call Zebra Crossings, given their black and white stripes) and performed a different skit each time the light turned red. They were all up and down one of the city's most lovely avenues, called Andrassy, and performed to unsuspecting audiences of drivers and pedestrians. Thanks to an awesome wedding gift (go Beahm team!) I can now capture moments like this on our new video camera. Enjoy some of the skits!

Honeymooners at Grand Cayman

After the wedding in Denver, we headed south to Grand Cayman for a week-long honeymoon. Everything about the trip was perfect. It was the ideal blend of relaxation and adventure, and I could have stayed for months. The excursion gave us the first opportunity to get a tan that we've had in years, as living in Eastern Europe doesn't lend itself to sun-kissed hues.

We spent as much time as we could lounging on the world's most comfortable lounge chairs on Seven-mile beach - an idyllic beachfront with crystal clear water and white sand.


Playing with sea turtles as definitely my highlight of the trip and one of the reasons we chose this island. Sea turtles have been my favorite animal for as long as I can remember, but this was the first time I could hold one. We went to the Boatswain sea turtle farm where some turtles are harvested to provide meat to the island so they aren't poached off the beach, while others are grown for conservation efforts. The farm has released more than 30,000 of these endangered turtles back into the wild since the '80s.


Oh, darling Greenback turtle.


With our love of animals being far from sated, we also went to the Botanic Gardens, where we saw some gorgeous tropical flowers and bushes, as well as this endangered beauty: the Cayman Blue Iguana. This colorful fellow below is critically endangered as there are only a couple hundred left, most of which are at this preserve.


We couldn't resist stopping at the biggest tourist trap of the island: Hell. This "town" consists of a brightly painted building, which of course is a gift shop with catchy shirt slogans like "I've been to hell and back, and all I got was this t-shirt," and all types of kitschy merchandise.


Grand Cayman is an ideal place to scuba dive because of its lucid waters. Mike is a certified diver, so he went under the sea. I did a resort course on scuba diving, but I couldn't get my ears to equalize with the water pressure, so I couldn't dive. Major bummer.


I did get to go to stingray city - much to my dismay. At this sandbar, tamed stingrays allow you to pet and feed them. However, if you don't release your food (i.e. squid) fast enough, the stingrays will give you a hickie - I know this first-hand. The second I got off the boat, I was swarmed by the giant, rubbery beasts, so I found the experience unnerving although I tried to be a good sport.

Love and Marriage

My husband and I (I have to use Mike's new title whenever possible) are back in Budapest after the momentous month of August. Our wedding on August 15 went splendidly. It got off to an elegant start at our rehearsal dinner at the Brown Palace hotel in Denver, where we celebrated with friends and family and were the subject of many sweet toasts, and shockingly no embarrassing ones. The wedding was held the next day at Mile High Station, a historic building that was originally constructed in the late 1800s as a steel factory, later transformed to the current venue. Rather than try to recapture that emotionally charged, romantic day, I'll let these photos tell the story. They were taken by Northern Exposure photography and are posted in reverse order.