Despite all the stories, we were not robbed by Gypsies on the way to Budapest, I was ready for them anyway!! Arriving in Hungary, it was like coming back to Western Europe. Although officially eastern (maybe central depending who you talk to), Hungary has a long history tied to Austria, and the buildings show it. Grand and imposing, they, like the ones in Vienna tell a story of imperial grandeur. We spent the first day in Budapest desperately making the most of it, looking at the sights walking everywhere and doing as much as we could. There was one problem with this though, the temperature was at 43 degrees. Eastern europe was gripped by an amazing heatwave. Even when we were in Romania and Bulgaria it was all over the news, people were even dropping dead.
... read more