Taken at Sümeg Castle on December 20, 2016
Close up of foot armor. One imagines this kicking up under the front plate to stab the enemy without ever breaching his armor; file under “W” for “wicked.”
Another armor close up
One of the trebuchet on display at the base of Sümeg castle
Sarlós Boldogasszony Ferences Kegytemplom; Taken on December 20, 2016 in Sümeg, Hungary
Református és Evangélikus Közös Templom in Sümeg
Urunk Mennybemenetele Plébániatemplom
Taken on December 22, 2016 in Budapest
by night
Chamber of Deputies (I think)
Main staircase
The Castle; Taken on December 20, 2016 at Sümeg
Sümeg is a castle town north of Lake Balaton in Hungary. It was built in the late 13th century by King Bela IV. It was gifted to the Catholic church by King Stephen V. It’s been nicely remodeled, and is now the site of renaissance faire style events. Here are some pics from within:
In the dungeon (i.e. the várbörtön)
Medieval warfare, check out those pointy boots
The kitchen
The Bishop’s Quarters
Taken in December of 2014 in Budapest, in front of St. Stephen’s Basilica (i.e.Szent István-bazilika)
New Year’s Day sunrise over Bai Tu Long Bay, Vietnam
JANUARY:
-Travel: returned from our December 2015 visit to Vietnam
-Began RYT300 (Int / Adv) yoga teacher training at Amrutha Bindu Yoga
Taken at Kesava Temple in Somanathapura with the RYT300 class
FEBRUARY:
– RYT300 course continued
Teaching yoga at Socare
Learning to cook Indian food at Manju’s Cooking School
MARCH:
-Completed the RYT300 course to obtain my RYT500 certification
The RYT300 Class at Fireflies Ashram to learn Shatkarma
APRIL:
-Traveled to Varkala and Amritsar
-Taught a two-week Kids Camp at a1000 Yoga, Kormangala
Lilla in Varkala, Kerala in early April
Lilla at the Golden Temple (Harmandir Sahib), Amritsar
MAY:
-Travel: Thailand, Zambia, and Dubai
-Completed the Muay Thai 2 (Int.) at The Muay Thai Institute in Rangsit, Thailand
With MTI teachers and students after a successful fight by a German student (shirtless)
Zebra at the Chaminuka Game Reserve near Lusaka
Lilla and I amid the dunes in the UAE near Dubai
JUNE:
-Between travels and trainings, a quiet month in Bangalore
Back again with the kids at Socare
JULY:
-Travel: Kolkata and into Jammu & Kashmir for our August travels
I’m afraid you can’t jam more Kolkata (Calcutta) into a photo than this
AUGUST:
-Travel: Jammu & Kashmir (Srinagar, Sonamarg, Great Lakes Trek, Leh, Nubra Valley, and Pangong Tso) and into Chennai for the beginning of my Vipassana Meditation course
Lilla (green hoodie) on our first night camp site on the Kashmiri Great Lakes trek
Lilla and Eeyore in Leh
Lilla and I at the (reputed) highest motorable pass in the world
SEPTEMBER:
-Travel: 2 trips to Chennai; the first for my 10-day Vipassana Mediation Course, and the second for a wedding
Chennai (Madras)
Lilla henna’d and bangled for the wedding
OCTOBER:
-Travel: rainy season in Goa
-Anniversary month (22 yrs.)
-Took the 5th level test at Kalari Academy but promptly threw my back out–an injury from which I’m still recovering (although it’s down to a mild leg tingle) [I wouldn’t mention it but I think I’m obligated to by the rules of year-end / Christmas letters to mention any health issues.]
Lilla in front of the Se Cathedral in Old Goa (Velha Goa)
NOVEMBER:
-Travel: Singapore
Lilla in front of the Marina Bay Sands
DECEMBER:
-Travel: We’ll be in Hungary (fingers crossed) in the latter half of the month
-Finished a draft of the novel. I don’t know what version this counts as, but it’s the only one so far even close to having an ending that I can tolerate.
-I’ll probably have read about 100 books by the end of the year.
Here’s a pic from another winter trip to Budapest:
Budapest a few years back
A more recent Budapest winter pic; this was our most recent winter visit-i.e. 2014
Taken in July of 2012 in Budapest
Taken in December of 2014 at St. Stephen’s Basilica in Budapest
Tiger Riding for Beginners 