European Figure Skating Championships

Last weekend, we enjoyed a really fun day out watching the European Figure Skating Championships.  The event was all week long here in Budapest, but we had tickets for the Pairs Free Skate. Our seats were great and the arena was small, so it gave us a whole new perspective of the strength and speed of the athletes. 

 This is the winning pair, Tatiana and Maxim from Russia. Check out the height and her arm muscles!!!  We are excited to watch them in the Olympics!

Our seats were close to the area where the skaters would enter and exit the arena. The skaters were all so gracious to talk to the kids and give autographs. The guy above was giving autographs before the event,. We had no idea who he was, but Chelsea got his autograph anyway. Turns out he was the men's champion, Javier Fernandez from Spain. He is a tiny dude. The women were all super tiny, of course, and looked in need of a cheeseburger. 

This is Stefania Berton from Italy, she and her partner were so kind. 

This was our first Hungarian sporting event, so it was interesting to compare to events in the US. Here, even for this international event, there were no metal detectors or bag searches. The official program/book only cost about $2, and drinks, etc were $2-$3 each. The tickets said no photography, so we were going to be good little rule followers. After a while, it seemed everyone was taking pictures so Larry pulled out the big daddy lens and no one cared. There was a security guard near the skater entrance/exit, but I'm pretty sure anyone could've gotten by them. It is nice to be in a country where you don't have to worry about safety and crazy people, and everyone can just enjoy the event!

We also had some good life lessons for Chels - she is small for her age, and sometimes brings that up. This was a good opportunity to show her a sport where it is good to be small. She also is a bit of a perfectionist, so it was nice to talk with her about how these skaters are the best in the world, yet they still fall. I think ice skating lessons are in our future! :)