Not in a city

We weren't in a city today! We took a day trip outside Budapest to the Skanzen in Sztendre. It has houses, barns, farms, workshops, etc from all over Hungary that have been moved and reassembled in village scenes. Like Ballenberg in Switzerland, it is organized by geographic region.

E had worked out how to get there, but there were a couple of unsure moments:

This is the tourist information available in Sztendre.

The bus from Szetendre dropped us off here. 

Do you see a huge open air museum? Or anything?

But it was fine. We found the Skanzen and managed to pay with the help of an English speaking on-looker. And we figured out the train that took us around the museum with the help of a friendly family which spoke English and had a little boy T's age. T was shy at first but soon made friends and offered the boy a Mentos. 

The museum is pretty big, and it was very hot, so we paid for the train to get from one end to the other. The museum also rents bikes and scooters. The train was an old car from the 1930's with a wood interior which looked like an old trolley or cable car. The conductor was awesome. He gave everyone (even us, with the help of a map) advice on where to get off and what to see. He let T and L blow the horn. He lifted all the kids, even S and R, off the train because it was a bit high. He should get a raise. The surprising thing about the train - it was in operation until the 80's!

Here is something I have noticed in Hungary (maybe in the other countries, too, but mostly here), and it happens most on the trains: people don't mind touching the kids. They pet L's hair, or gently move her aside, or pull T into a tram seat, or lift them  off the tram before we can get to them. Whatever needs to be done, people do it. It's in a good way, though, and we're right there so I don't mind. I actually think it's good for the kids because it makes them more aware of the people around them. But it's surprising to see people comfortable touching a strange child. 

E and L on their way to the mill

Our first stop was a water mill. Thanks to the conductor we arrived just in time for a demonstration. First there was a long explanation in Hungarian. None of us understood a single word. Usually between the languages we know one of us can at least make out a word or two, but no. But everything was made clear when the man got the water wheel running and milled some flour. Behind the mill was the first village, which consisted of farm houses of different ages and a little church. The farms were interesting, One had a pot of stew cooking in the yard and a laundry demonstration. Another had a building filled with straw bee hives. All of the buildings had info in Hungarian, German, and English but only a few had people in them.

Another side note. It is weird how the mind scrambles when the language is so different. Yesterday I was reading a menu to E which had English and German translations and I noticed that it didn't quite make sense because it was repeating itself. I had read the German aloud, too, translating to English as I went, and I didn't notice. I think because I expect trouble one way or the other. I'm pretty fluent in German food vocabulary, though the other day E beat me by knowing the word for poppy seed.

This building was from the 1920's. 

To me, it looked just like the one from the 1720's.

We had a picnic lunch under some climbing trees.

If there's a goat nearby, L will find it.

Sour cherries are super popular in Hungary.

E just went to the train station to get our reservations for couchettes to Brasov. He got ticket number 688, and they were on number 130! When it was his turn they gave him trouble because L doesn't have a ticket (she doesn't need one, and we haven't had any trouble before.) E didn't argue too much - he didn't want to risk a stranger in the cabin with us, or risk that line again. The process included a broken microphone, a computer from the 80's, and a lot of carbon paper.