NNJ's 2016 Trip to Europe: July 17-Budapest-->Maribor, by Makenna Wheeler and Rilee Negron

Rilee:

On our last day in Budapest we went to a Castle. It was cold and raining but that didn't stop us from having a good time. We bought umbrellas and rain ponchos, walked around a cathedral, and had a beautiful sight of the city. We had lunch at our hotel and got our luggage ready to leave for Maribor. We left around 1 in Budapest to arrive at 5:30 in Maribor. We had dinner at the hotel and then we went to bed.

Makenna: The time is flying by! This morning we had breakfast at our hotel in Budapest and then hopped on a bus for a four hour drive to Maribor, Slovenia*. To keep ourselves busy, many of us read, listened to music, or caught up on sleep during the travel. The passing view along the road was beautiful, and quickly changing. From large cities to small towns, green forests to fields of wheat and sunflowers.

We made it to our hotel in Maribor, the Dras Center, and saw other teams staying here as well! We settled into our new rooms and some of us went to the court to watch a volleyball game, a team from Croatia playing against a team from Maribor. We ate dinner at the hotel and got to enjoy the sunset from the balcony. After dinner we went back to our rooms and settled down, preparing for the adventures and games to come.

*Editor's note: Between 9-noon this morning, we branched off to get a final look at Budapest before departing for Maribor. While it was still pouring rain, we got a better idea of the sites of the city as Brooke, our guide, took the kids to a castle on the Buda side, and some of the adults took a river cruise and saw the Parliament building in the Pest side. The Danube and its bridges divide the city, and we got some good views from both sides.

It really is a beautiful city, and many of us are looking to return during a more sunny trip.

Everyone is in good spirits and we've pulled into the Slovenia hillside-town of Maribor for a restful three days. We will get up to some exciting things here, though. More on that later, stay tuned!