Day 5 - Amazing

I woke up this morning thinking that I’d have a pretty interesting day. We were, after all, going to Parliament, but I had no idea the adventure I was about to embark on. After enjoying a wonderful breakfast (buffet style) we headed toward the St. Stephen’s Basilica. That place was amazing! It was wonderful seeing the architecture and artistry in not only the walls and glass windows but the ceilings as well. It was breathtaking. We also saw the sacred hand of St Stephen, first king of Hungary. According to legend, when they reopened his tomb the hand was in perfect condition. Everyone viewed it as a miracle. We later learned from our Parliament tour guide that it was due to a self mummification process based on how he was buried.

Our next stop was the American Chamber of Commerce, aka AmCham. The organization has grown from its start of only 35 individuals to nearly 450 members. One of the organizations main goals is to establish business opportunities and marketing to its many members. One of the many things I loved about this organization was the openness that the presenters had with us. They weren’t afraid to acknowledge the fact that the country has its fair share of corruption issues, but they also shared their goals and reasons for why and how they planned to combat it and help Hungary’s overall economy. One of our amazing presenters, Willy Benko, gave us insight about our future workforce and goals that we could set for our self to stay morally and ethically well grounded.





We then set out for Parliament. Not before the rain of course, and when it rains here it truly pours. Glad I made that last minute stop to Target to buy an umbrella. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable of the building, its history, and the architecture. The building is massive, and it, like the church, is a testament to what time and dedication bring about. It was an honor to see a building with so much history behind it.

That was the end of our “business” day, but we also got to ride on the subway, bus, and meet Peter’s, (our Hungarian teacher’s) grandfather. We ended the night with a group dinner to a Mongolian Barbeque restaurant. The food was amazing and it really gave the group a chance to connect with one another. I doubt we will ever forget this day especially given that at the restaurant Phil, Michael, Diego, and Amy ate goat eyeballs to get their picture on the wall of fame.