Switzerland/Budapest!

Back from vacation! We had a great time eating cheese in Switzerland and wandering around Budapest. I managed not to lose weight while being on a long vacation which I think is the first for me. We did eat a lot of cheese and chocolate but I honestly do that on most vacations. The key difference is being mostly healthy. It's amazing how much less tiring everything is when my body isn't fighting to breathe all the time or I'm not having coughing fits many times a day.

Amy took some amazing pictures with her fancy camera but since she hasn't had time to go through them yet - it has only been three days - here are pictures from my phone.

Took a boat ride from one town along Lake Brienz to another and then hiked back along the lake.

Paddleboarding at the swimming spot by David and Cindy's house. There are two SUP left at the park for anyone to use. They were pretty beaten up and the paddle was a old broom handle but it worked.

View from David and Cindy's house.

Classic Swiss cow in mountains. 

Classic road over the Alps that I drove. We met cyclists, motorcycle and sports car clubs, and the regional public bus that zoomed around the corners. 

Spent an afternoon strolling around Lucerne.

David and I did a "Via Ferrata"(meaning iron path) from Murren to Gimmelwald. We strapped on harnesses and helmets and climbed on the side of a cliff with only rebar for footing in some sections. So much fun! Amy strolled down the easy path, aka the road, with her oxygen and Isaiah did a longer hike that didn't involve walking over a waterfall on a single piece of wire.

After leaving David and Cindys, we spent a day in Vienna looking at jewels and churches that all had advertising on their renovation projects.

Budapest was a place I had been wanting to visit for awhile and the city did not disappoint. With their amazing transit system, we zipped from neighbourhood to neighbourhood between so much walking. It was very much a old Eastern European city. Isaiah said it reminded him of Paris meets Cuba with WWII memorials.

The baths! We went in the evening before the temperature dropped to appropriate fall-like weather and it was a lot of fun. Isaiah went in all the cold plunge pools while I stuck to the mid range ones. Amy and I were paranoid about getting dehydrated so we didn't stay in any for very long.
My eye had a weird reaction to (we think) one of the mineral pools so I spent the next two days putting antibiotic eye drops in my swollen eyelids. Thankfully the pharmacist spoke English when Isaiah went to the pharmacy and asked for drops.

Budapest has an iced coffee culture (unlike Switzerland) which made Amy and I very happy. 

We did a boat cruise - aka took the public ferry - along the Danube to Margaret Island for a morning/afternoon in a green space. 

The last night was spent watching the sun set over the Buda hills and then watching the buildings change colour over the Pest side.