Novotel Centrum Budapest

... had sobered up and after all the effort decided to flag paying the 5 euro cover charge (which is actually rather cheap but I dunno where our logic was coming from). ANYWAY, we ended up wandering aimlessly around the Square, visiting a reggae bar (not quite our scene), a euro pop-techno bar (definitely not our scene), and then mistaking a wedding reception for a bar (!). Finally after all the effort we ended up at our original bar. Sigh. <br><br>Slight hangover the next day but awakened ...

... true Hungarian experience that I'll never forget. Nicolien had to leave for Vienna that evening, and with Joszef and Margarita having already left, I was alone for the evening. As I dined outdoors at the pizza place we spent the previous couple of nights at, (and in a bonus moment got half a pizza free of charge) this made me appreciate that much more how their company made my experience in Budapest so much more fun than it would have been without them.

After spending most of Boxing day on the coach and travelling through Slovakia we arrived in Budapest late on Boxing day. We went out for a quick dinner then went wandering around the city that night. It was good because last time I was here I didn't get to see the castle lit up at night but went and saw it. This was really pretty although lonely planets 'lit up like a birthday cake' is a good statement because that is what it looks like. The next day I ...

... stories in order to get on it. It makes me dizzy to go down into the metro because I lose track of where up and down are. The posters are lined up with the edge of the escalator, not where up and down should be. When we got to Parliament we found out that we were too late to go on a tour, so we walked around the outside of the building. There were some short chain fences and a gate, but other than a couple of guards there was little security around the ...

... like they were from a SBS movie" - for non-Australian readers SBS is our multi-cultural channel that shows predominantly foreign films. So the next day I went back to Esztergom and walked the 3 kms into town again (on my blistered feet - have I got your sympathy yet?). Esztergom was the capital of Hungary for hundreds of years (the founder of the Hungarian state and church, King Saint Stephen was born here) and it is Hungary's ecclesiastical centre - the cathedral is the largest ...

... Buda castle or Budai Vár, as Hungarians say, as well as a few more bridges which across the Danube linked two parts of the same city with almost two different identities. It was a spectacular sight. "We could come back here tomorrow evening and take a few night photos." - I suggested. Su Yeon obviously liked what we saw from the taxi, too, so she agreed with my suggestion. And soon after that, taxi brought us to our hotel in the Hegyalja útca street. It was pretty late ...

... had another awesome pizza. 8/1 My guidebook mentioned that the world's most elegant McDonald's was in Budapest at one of the main train stations so when I had to change trams there I went to see it. The building is quite elegant and sure doesn't look like a McDonald's. In general, the McDonald's in Europe are far nicer and have a more upscale look than those in the US although I have not eaten at one yet. I walked to Margaret Island which is in the middle of the Danube River ...

... one had chess boards were old men crowded around, playing as they soaked! The other bath had lots of jets on two cycles. On the first cycle, the middle was a whirlpool and jets along the stairs offered back massages. Then those would switch off and underwater jets would blow up from the bottom and old people would race to stand over the jets. Bri and I couldn't stand on them for more than a few seconds. So most people spend a few hours at the bath (and if ...

... and taken the much needed shower, it was already the mid-afternoon. Choosing to walk and stay awake, we strolled through the city and up to Castle Hill on the Buda side of the city (which is more or less the side West of the Danube). In crossing the great river on a foot bridge, I sent my obligatory droplets of spittle into the water below. This is a stupid tradition I have about spitting in the great rivers of the world. I don't know why I do it, but I do. Thankfully, none of the ...

So I'm up-to-date now in Hungary. The train journey to Budapest from Ljubljana was the worst yet (but not the worst of the trip I fear), 8 hours in an old smelly train in the baking heat. But hey, that's what we let ourselves in for with the interrailing I guess! The hostel here is nice, except it's back to sleeping in Dorms which I was quite glad to leave behind! Very noisy although these dorms are mixed so I get to share a bunk with Simon, and there's much more ...