Interesting Hungarian word #1 = Sajt

Daniel and I just got back from a quick walk around Máriapócs. The primary purpose of our stroll was to take some pictures of the famous church which looks particularly gorgeous at night.

This weekend a large number of pilgrims will arrive in Máriapócs after having walked for up to a week to get here from nearby cities and towns. There will be a large mass performed at the Church on Sunday and presumably lots of other religious activities will occur as well.

So far I have not noticed a huge amount of preparation going on around the town - in fact, the only noticeable difference is that a large stage has been erected in front of the church.

Otherwise, all is normal.

For now.....

The second picture above shows the view from behind the church. This is also the view of the church that we see from our front doorstep!

The third photo was also taken today in our front yard. Yes, it's our new car!

We finally picked it up today from Nyíregyháza and Daniel successfully managed to drive it home. I haven't had the chance to try driving on the right/wrong side of the road yet but even as the passenger, today's trip felt pretty weird.

I'm so glad that we have a car again - I can't wait to go exploring!

Speaking of exploring, we did a bit of wandering around in Nyíregyháza today while we were waiting for the car.

The fourth picture shows part of Nyíregyháza's main square. It's entirely paved, completely free of traffic (except for those damn bicycles) and ringed by lots of historic buildings and quirky shops. In the middle of the square there are little cafes, shady trees, lots of statues and sculptures, and a really cool water fountain. There were a lot of kids splashing around in it today because it was so hot.

Daniel and I had lunch in a little pizzeria on the edge of the square and amused ourselves by people-watching and trying to read the menu. We deduced that the word "sajt" was Hungarian for "cheese", but we had no idea how to pronounce it.

So we asked our friendly waitress.

And that was how we discovered that the correct pronunciation is actually "shite".

Excellent. I think we'll remember that one from now on!

Finally, the last photo is for my dad and Danni.

I saw this in the supermarket in Nyírbátor the other day and thought of you both.

Granted, it doesn't look quite like the Letscho that I know and love, but it was a pretty cool (literally) reminder of home anyway.

Okay, that's it from me for now.

Hopefully we'll be able to post news of some car-fuelled adventures soon....