This morning we checked out of Hotel Orion, a bit of currency translation issues regarding the price but it all worked out, and then off to the last train ride of this trip. It was a quick metro trip to the station and we got there in plenty of time. Only to discover that our train had been delayed by 45 minutes. We don’t know why it was late, it just was, and it seemed that all International trains were delayed today. It is actually fairly rare, in our experience, for trains in Europe not to run on time (ok Italy can be a major exception) but it arrived and off we went to Berlin. The train ride was uneventful, except that the porter was 12 (well probably early 20’s) and don’t tell Jerry, I think ... read more

We both slept very hard, didn’t wake up until the alarm went off at 7. Breakfast is included in the price of our room here so we took advantage of that. I want to explain what breakfast means in Europe for those that may not know or for those of you that are not on my e-mail list and might just be reading this for hints about travel. When breakfast is included in the price of the room, do not expect pancakes, oatmeal, omelets or bacon and eggs; those are American breakfast items. What you get varies from hotel to hotel and country to country, but the basics are pretty much the same: Bread, pastries, yogurt, granola or some cold cereal, coffee (usually Nescafe), juice and cheese. On occasion you may get soft boiled or hard ... read more

My thoughts and feelings towards Budapest are very mixed. Let me start by saying I think I had over romantized the city. Everything we had read and or heard about Budapest said how beautiful it was and how much it was the Paris of Eastern/Central Europe. What wasn’t mentioned was anything the resembled the truth of Budapest. It is a beautiful city in places, of course the food is amazing but it is not the Paris of Eastern, Central or any other part of Paris. I am not saying that it was a mistake to come here, because it wasn’t. I just wish I would have known the truth about the city, my mind set would have been quite different. When we went to Bangkok, I knew what to expect, the travel guides did not hide ... read more

The number 1 line of the Budapest Metro was the first subway to be built in the continental Europe. The emperor of Austria and Hungarian King Franz Josef was the first to ride. It was built to celebrate the millennium of Budapest in 1896. It is a short line the runs the length Andrássay utca and the stops hit many of the major highlights of the city, such as the Franz List Museum, Opera House and Heroes Square. We spent most of the day going back and forth seeing various sights. Franz Liszt Our first stop of the day was the Franz Liszt Museum. On Saturday’s they also have a short concert at 11 am. The museum is part of the Museum Academy which Liszt helped found and served President all his life. During the last ... read more

The trained arrived in the station at just before 1 pm. When we stepped off the train we were greeted by 2 things both not pleasant. The first, and most noticeable, was my dear friend humidity. I do not like humidity; fortunately it wasn’t Deep South or Chicago humid. The second thing was the obnoxious taxi hockers. The literally tried to take your suit cases out of your hand before you even got off the train and wisk you to their waiting taxi. Between Jerry and myself I am pretty sure we said no about 20 times. The train station is under some serious renovation and it took a bit to find the main lobby. Once we found that I went inside to covert some Euros to Forint’s while Jerry had a smoke. The guide book ... read more