Today we took a tram over to Margitsziget, an island situated in the middle of the Danube river that seperates the city into two sides - Buda and Pest. Pest is the modern, commercialized side where our apartment is and where we have spent most of our time so far. Buda is the older side, and holds a lot of the statues, monuments, castles, etc. The island is pretty big and is mostly parks and wooded areas. We stopped and took pictures and looked around a some statues and small museum-like buildings. We saw some "beaches" on the island at the [View Full Entry]

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Today we woke up pretty late because we were all tired from flying. We were able to go out and walk around for a few hours, though. I didn't have my camera with me, so I don't have pictures, but we didn't do a whole lot besides walk around. We did go over to the university and did all our registration type stuff. Orientation things start on Thursday, so we still have some time to explore. We found a different supermarket on the next street over that is small but has a decent amount of stuff. The huge Central Market has [View Full Entry]

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After over 8 hours of flight time, I arrived safely in Budapest via SwissAir around 14:00. The flights were uncomfortable, but the service and food were very good, and the entertainment on the long flight was enough to get me through over 6 hours. The airport was extremely crowded, but we managed to get our bags and find our driver with little hassle. He was a nice Hungarian man who spoke fairly good English, so we were able to chat with him during our 20 minute ride to the apartment. He drove like a madman - weaving in and out of [View Full Entry]

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Another little bit of worthless information for your next trivial pursiut night for you.Hungary is situated in Eastern Europe but is their laguange Eastern European???Well,no it is not!!The language which is totally incomprehensible to English speaking people like us actually is a Finno-Ugric language going back to the Neolithic age from the Urals.So store that in your nec ktop computer for the next challenge down the pub on a Tuesday night!! Its another beautiful day(we hope we aren't boring you Southern Hempishere people coming out of a wet and cold winter)but the change in the weather last [View Full Entry]

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Here is something for the next time you play trivial pursuit and this question comes up.How did Budapest get its name???Well,Buda was the name for the old part of the city on the western side of the Danube while Pest is the name of the more recent part of the city on the eastern side of the Danube.Joined together the city became Budapest!!So there you go - you are all that much more knowledgable now. The weather changed overnight and it is much cooler this morning with a lot of cloud cover which will make walking about a bit easier than [View Full Entry]

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We spent a good amount of time last night checking out Google maps ready for the run to Budapest and getting down the instructions.I am on trial again as navigator and I have to pick my act up after what has now beome infamously known as 'the Vienna debacle'.!! The day has dawned beautifully fine again and the heatwave continues. It is a relatively short drive to Budapest even via the lesser roads we plan to take so we are not in a hurry.However we are still having breakfast when there is a tap on the door and they are wanting [View Full Entry]

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A tale of two cities - Buda and Pest. It's also a tale of two visits - 1997 and 2001. We arrived on the train down the scenic Danube from Bratislava into the not so attractive greeting point that is Keleti Station. In the days before the internet made having a good look round online before the trip, it was an arrival into the unknown. We opted for the underground metro and took the train to the last station possible in Buda, which as far as I can recall was only about two stops. It probably took us longer to figure [View Full Entry]

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Manoevering their colourful logo covered planes through the tough river Danube course demands exceptional skill,experience and almost superhuman like aviation knowledge. Only the world's very best pilots compete in the Red Bull Air Race World Championship. The race pilot's know exactly which speed is right for each sector. Flying too slow means losing the race, so does flying too fast over the 370 kph course speed limit, which incurs instant disqualification. I have just spent an unforgettable few days in the beautiful city of Budapest, though sadly over the three nights I was there, did no [View Full Entry]

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“Ladies and Gentlemen! Are you ready? I said are you ready! Here he is! The blues man! The King of the Blues! B! B! (Pauses) Kiiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnnnnnggggggggggggggg!” The crowd rises; the band plays as BB shuffles along the stage to take his seat. He’s 83 now and it didn’t matter. BB was a perfect excuse to come visit one of Eastern Europe’s most attractive cities, Budapest. Coming from my Cairo whipping at the hands of a 46-year-old Egyptian Tennis Pro, the next day was the concert. He was playing throughout Europe and I had 4 cities to choose from. Paris [View Full Entry]

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Just a quick Hello. I do not have enough time on the internet to update the blog with pictures this morning but wanted give an update on our progress.. We have gone through nine countries. We are currently in Budapest, Hungary and going to make it to the Beaches of Bulgaria on the Black Sea before the end of Month. We will take another route back to the North but for now am trying to catch all the warm weather of the South. Blue Betty is so great. The cities are exciting and we have enjoyed taking the smaller roads through [View Full Entry]

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