We left Zagreb this morning on what was supposed to be a 1st class ticket and a 5 hour train ride to Budapest. Well, that didn't exactly work out. We were in a car that was labelled 1st class but I was a little apprehensive upon entry since all the 2nd class cars looked newer and shinier than ours and didn't have windows that were dirty with grime built up over the years! It started badly and got worse. After a 35 minute delay we left Zagreb station. The air conditioning unit turned out to be a warm air blowing unit [View Full Entry]

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It's hot here. Very, very hot. My room is stinking hot, and it's after 11pm. I think only one set of windows is open, and it's not enough. The day was also (obviously) very hot. I arrived in Budapest around noon, and proceeded to get off the train and go in search of a bank machine for some Hungarian forints. The first bank machine I went to decided that it didn't like my bank card. That had me a little worried, so I went off in search of another machine. Fortunately, that machine spit out some forints (to my relief) and [View Full Entry]

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...and its my first day in Budapest. This day was one of the most beautiful days I've had in last 3 months. Budapest has 7 bridges and in the evening they are all shown to tourists that are going on little cruise on Danube. Budapest is fascinating city...with old buildings that were built long time ago, during aristocracy. I've started trip in this country first because it was just curiosity that could't come me down. Tomorrow is a tour to Pest and im very excited cos i know there is lot more of this city that im going to discover. [View Full Entry]

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I'm a bit late publishing this entry - we were without internet for a couple of days - I’ll start by talking about dinner on Sunday night in Budapest. We decided on a restaurant just off Vaci utca (the main shopping and tourist street of Budapest) that was suggested in our guidebook. It turned out to be a great choice. A violinist and xylophonist were playing outside on the patio where we ate a very nice traditional Hungarian meal. Nothing exceptional but good basic food (seems typical of Hungarian cuisine) and nice wine. The musicians were very good and it made [View Full Entry]

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What a difference a 1 hour 40 minute plan ride can make! From the flatlands and canals and bicycles of the Netherlands to the hills, the Danube and majestic buildings of a bustling former communist city. Budapest is impressive -- we arrived on a Sunday and at first I thought that that might have been a bad idea. It turned out to be a very good one. The main bridge spanning Buda and Pest across the Danube was closed to traffic and turned into a huge Sunday market with all kinds of goods and more food that one could possibly imagine [View Full Entry]

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This will be another quick one... I'm facing my 3rd night in a sleeper train - which is saving me money on hostels, but I'm slowly crossing the border from smelly and oily to really quite rancid. I may be forced to use the train shower...shudder with me now. The train from Istanbul to Bucharest was pretty ghetto and hot, but definitely way better than toughing it out in a hard seat for 20 hours. I'll have to save my stories for another time, but hilarity ensues when the train staff speak Russian...only. My 1 year of Russian didn't quite prepare [View Full Entry]

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After getting another train....this time to Hungary from Croatia, we arrived in Budapest. The hotel was 200m from the train station which was handy and we were checked in, in no time. Budapest is impressive. The city is actually divided in two by the Danube River - on one side is the Buda district and the other is Pest. The local currency is the "Hungarian Forint". One EURO = 240 Forint and rising. I don’t know how the kids manage in school with this; the maths must get pretty heavy when trying to work out the price of a car or [View Full Entry]

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Well, an eventful weekend. We found a Matt at Budapest airport, and also managed to find our hotel, two successes. We had booked a 3-star hotel over in Buda, a tram ride away from the city. After dumping our stuff at the hotel we went for food, and tried to eat food outside, before the heavens opened, forcing us inside. There was much beer in funny shaped bottles for Matt and pretty drinks for me and SB. First night we had stopped up past ten in a long time! The first day was spent doing general sight seeing things on a [View Full Entry]

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Woke up in my seat kind of sore and tired!! Try sitting in a seat for 12 hours and tell me what ya think. Very warm in Hungary.There was one other guy who was Hungarian in my cabin who spoke a bit of English. I asked him about the Baths and where to get internet. He told me a few things about Hungary which was pretty helpful.He told me about the mall where I could get 100% wireless he said. That was a good sign. There was a lady checking tickets as you left the station as well??? Kinda odd. I [View Full Entry]

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7/5/09 Lily and Austin (with some parent input): We have been in Hungary for the last 1 ½ weeks, including travels through Budapest, Lake Balaton, and Eger. Budapest is a giant city divided in two by the Danube River. Pest is flat and Buda is hilly. While we were there, the Danube kept getting higher each day until flooding over the banks was prominent. Many different styles of architecture can be seen in Budapest, but one of the most impressive sights is the government building, Parliament (see photograph). Budapest is Austin’s favorite city so far because of the pretty buildings [View Full Entry]

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