Week one in Debrecen

This week has been fun, fabulous, and has absolutely flown by! I can't believe one week has already passed...it feels like I just arrived yesterday. The days have been filled with meeting church members, attending meals at their homes (with such delectable Hungarian foods!), shopping, and exploring Debrecen with my dad.

A little background on Debrecen, my new home for the next months:


Debrecen is the 2nd largest city in Hungary after Budapest. It's located about two hours east of Budapest, near to the Romanian border. Debrecen's population is about 207,000 and is home to the largest university in Hungary. During WWII, Debrecen was almost destroyed, with 50% of the buildings being completely destroyed by bombing and 70% of buildings overall suffering damage. Hungary has a rich and interesting history, with movements of many different groups of people coming and going. Put simply, today Hungary is 1/3 the size of what it once was, and the fact they have retained their own completely unique culture and language is incredible. And yes, Hungary is the only place in the world where Hungarian (Magyar) is spoken.




Hope I didn't bore you too badly in that last paragraph...so I won't say much more but to let you enjoy the photos! I'll be back with more updates of my upcoming weekend in Budapest!

A lovely outdoor dinner at the Steiner home

The center of Debrecen--this is the gorgeous Reformed Great Church.

My dad and I spent a leisurely morning walking around Debrecen.

The views everywhere are like this...

Cooling off in the shade...

The cafes are everywhere you look.

I love this ornate, PINK building.

Another lovely view...

We found these beautifully carved wooden doors at a restaurant entrance.

This is where I work and live: the Bridge Cultural Center and home of Trinity Church.

If you look at the top of the windows on the front of this building, and see where a window
is opened--that's my room!

The Hungarian name of this building.

These are the stairs going up to my room. So pretty.

My dad and I ate lunch with the Steiners at Hotel Divinus. It's a five star
hotel and the owner is an old friend of the family's.

My lunch at Hotel Divinus....yum!

Rachel and me rocking shades in the hotel, for the photo only! Rachel and
I have known each other since she was 3 and I was 14. (and she was
junior bridesmaid in my wedding!)

Lunch at my dad's favorite restaurant in Debrecen: Flaska. It's in a "cave."

My delicious onion and cheese soup.

I love my dad. <3 <3 <3