August 20th

This year we got to spend August 20th in Budapest, Hungary.

Those who don't know why the date is significant, pick your choice of what Hungarians celebrate:

• It's THE National Holiday
• Founding of the State
• Constitution
• New bread
• St Stephen's feast (the first Hungarian king, not the one in December)

I'm sure I'm forgetting something else, but yeah, it's a big day. This year, again, we got to spend this day with our friends Mikey and Sheridan, who, with their infinite wisdom, decided to get a hotel room at one of the hotels on the river bank on the Pest side, facing Buda, with windows to the Danube. I am sure they paid way more for it than their usual hotel, but this way we could all watch the air parade and then the 9 p.m. fireworks (that last cca half an hour) from their hotel room. From their aur conditioned hotel room. Can I tell you how much fun it all was?

The kids were fascinated by the airplanes, and I think now I have one who wants a career in the air force. Of course last week he wanted to be a marine biologist.

It was really lovely to see Mikey and Sheridan. We hadn't seen them for over... way too long as we were in Israel and they were back in the States. This time they were only briefly in Hungary on their way to Estonia to pick up their new daughter and son whom Sheridan is adopting. After their adoption from Ukraine fell through, they are now really happy to finally expand their family. As I write this they are in Estonia, with an appointment for Monday (I think at court), but they can visit their kids over the weekend. Mazel tov, guys!