Sister Bailey’s Favorite Sewing Shop

This is the store in Pecs where Sister Bailey purchased most of her thread, buttons, and other stuff she needed to ensure that her clothes were always in good repair, and up-to-date.

Interesting Sights while Walking

Sister Bailey and I walk from 30 minutes to a couple of hours every day but Sunday.  We love the walks through the city square, in the parks and past the stores in Pécs. Occasionally, we see something that really catches our attention. For example, many people in Pécs ride bicycles, so we like to check-out the new bikes that are being sold. Sister Bailey likes the pink one.

We only have seen one that looks like this.

Another interesting bike (or is this a trike); but this one is motorized.

We saw the fire department practicing a clever way to get people and pets from a building that is on fire.

Also, we saw this dog watching people from his second story window.

Last December, we were fortunate enough to see Santa Clause climbing on a rope ladder into a window.

Another interesting site was this car that was just a little bit too long for the garage. Maybe the garage was too short …

Driving on Major Highways in Hungary

When we drive from Pécs to Budapest, we take a fairly new major highway (M6). The road is so new that it is not on our new GPS map. All roads in Hungary are privately owned, and tend to be well maintained.

When driving on a major highway, you need to have purchased a special license that costs about $250 for a year. On the highway, all trucks MUST stay in the right lane, and usually drive a maximum of 90 kilometers per hour (56 mph). Small cars, like ours, usually stay in the right lane driving 120 to 130 kilometers per hour (75 to 81 mph) until passing a truck or a slower car using the left lane.

The large cars, like the Mercedes, BMW, Audi, usually drive at a high rate of speed (150 kilometers per hour (93 mph) or faster) in the left lane. You must be very careful not to try to pass a slower car when one of these faster cars are approaching in the left lane at speeds up to 200 kilometers per hour (124 mph).

Traffic Control

One of the most interesting differences between Hungary and the United States is the way they go about stopping your car on the open road. One night we were driving home on a narrow, dark road. All of the sudden we saw a person standing in the road holding a small 3-inch reflector. After slamming on the breaks, and stopping within 3-feet of the person, he waved us on. Note the small reflector in the hand of the person in the picture — much different than a foot-wide stop sign.

Missionaries with Whips

One of the Hungarian souvenirs that all missionaries consider, and many buy, are the large Hungarian whips. The whips cost about $100 or more.

Some missionaries get very good at using the whips.  This is Elder Schweiger, who learned to crack two whips. [click on the arrow]

Some missionaries find that it can be dangerous. [click on the arrow]

Decorating the Christmas Tree

In Hungary, families decorate the Christmas tree on Christmas Eve, and then leave the tree up for a few days into January. We saw many people purchasing their trees during the day on Christmas eve, and then taking the tree home on their bicycles, on the bus, or by carrying the tree. The young woman in the picture was obviously carrying her tree to her apartment.

It was interesting to us that so many people continued the tradition of purchasing and decorating their Christmas trees.

Christmas Markets

In many Hungarian towns beginning on December 1 they have ‘Christmas Markets’. The Christmas markets sell small items, crafts and much food (to eat while shopping). This is one of the smaller Christmas markets in Pecs after it had snowed a couple of days ago.

Sister Bailey found some small presents at this stand for Shauna, Amelia, Laura, Julianne and Sarah. These are items that she uses a lot in Hungary for cooking, but has not been able to find in the United States.

There were many stands that offered various types of candy — but no candy canes.

Also, a very different nativity scene made all of straw.

 

An Authentic Hungarian Nativity Set

One of the senior missionaries in Budapest (Wendy Bagozzi) found a truly Hungarian nativity set at a Christmas market.  When she asked about where the set was made, she was told that it was in Kaposvár.  She then called us to see if we knew where the place was that made the pieces in Kaposvár.

We asked the people at Church and no one knew of where the pieces were made. We then got an address of the location, and realized that it was only one or two kilometers from the Branch House in Kaposvár. Elder Leavitt and his companion went to the address and purchased a nativity set for his mother, and called to tell us how to find the street.

We drove to the house on a cold, rainy afternoon. We rang the bell, and the lady who lived there answered the door (she only spoke Hungarian). She and her sons made the pieces, and kept what they made in a cupboard in their garage.

We purchased this nativity set for a very reasonable price. Does the one on the right really look like (and dress like) ‘Joseph’?

Dreadlocked Dog

Dreadlocks are seen occasionally on people, but less often on dogs.  This dog was seen standing on the side of a Pecs street.  At first, we could not tell which was his head and which was the back of the dog.  As he started walking away, it was more obvious (unless he was really backing-up).

On closer inspection, the dog clearly was decked out with dreadlocks. I’ll bet that Shauna or Julianne knows what kind of dog it is …

Using a Taxi in Hungary

The taxis in Hungary are used for at least three things.  First, like cabs throughout the world, they are used to transport paying customers from one place to another.

Second, the taxi is used to teach people how to drive. If you want to get your drivers license, you arrange with a taxi driver to let you drive the taxi until you have enough driving hours to take the final test. I don’t think that you can pick up fares while practicing.

Third, and probably the most unique use of a cab, is to transport people to the hospital.  This is primarily for pregnant women who do not own a car.  But the ‘ambulance-taxi’ can be used by anyone that needs to get to the hospital and does not want to call an ambulance.