Blogs from Central Hungary, Hungary, Europe - page 111

Hello all, I am recently returned from Budapest, Bratislava and Vienna. This post is going to be on the Budapest portion of our stay which covered the first couple of days of our seven day tour. I will first say that the highlights of Budapest were the big buildings, there were several large ones, the castle, the dinner on the Danube, the nightlife, but most importantly, the fact that i threw Medieval European Ninja stars in various shapes and sizes and threw spears as well while at a castle where at one time these things were commonplace. You were supposed to pay, but after I paid and threw the first type of ninja star I must have so obviously been having an absolute ball that the girl in charge of the things just started handing me ... read more

I have been in Budpest now for 12 weeks. Well, more like Budapest has acted as my home base for the last 12 weeks, and will continue to be one. My next side trip I'm planning is to Krakow, Poland and Aushewitz via Bratislava, Slovakia. Since my former travel buddy, Bri, is now working in Heidelberg , Germany as of 2 weeks ago, I am now either having to resort to flying solo or finding a new travelling mate. After spending a month here, I quickly realized that I had to extend my stay, and now the prospect of leaving in early January seems far too soon. Budapest is now ranked among my favorite cities. All the hidden treasures of the city continue to intrigue me, and the people I am meeting are so incredibly interesting. ... read more

So I have now been here for 6 weeks and it has gone by so fast! I have done so much in that time! My first few days here, I got to tour around the city and take some great pictures. One evening I went on a boat tour down the danube which was amazing! All the buildings (the parliament, the castle, the bridge etc.) all light up and it's so beautiful! I tried to take pictures but because the boat was moving I couldn't take any at night as they just became blurry. I started school September 1 and I am in a grade 11 class! Most of the students know english which helps in the communication part of things, although not so much in the "me learning hungarian" part. I gave my rotary presentation ... read more

Our weekend in Budapest was brilliant. Not knowing much about the place, I had a very good first time impression, which exceed my expectations. We stayed in Istvan and Rika’s place, in Buda, however we spend most of our time in Pest. I learnt that Budapest is a city formed by the union of 2 cities (Buda and Pest). The famous Chain Bridge links both sides of the Danube River. Once upon a time, Budapest was a very important city but events like the World War I damaged Budapest development, culminating with a massive territory loss. After the World War II, the Russians took Budapest territory and under Communist rules its popularity decreased loads. It is clear to see that some important buildings such as the parliament were once created to accommodate a much more powerful ... read more

The demise of the Soviet Union has led to extraordinary changes within the former Eastern Bloc in the last twenty years or so. Following on from an effortless bus commute out of Vienna, a cursory glance at my passport was all it took before being stamped into Hungary en route to the capital Budapest. The journey from Vienna to Budapest is a little over 200 kilometres by road, yet the contrast in heading from west to east is not that noticeable, due to the massive economic advances made since the Republic of Hungary was declared in 1990. Hungary has since gone on to become one of the ten newest member states of the European Union after the results of a national referendum in 2003, and the country became a proud member of the EU in 2004. ... read more