Swing City Budapest

... our neighbouring room which had 3 girls travelling together who could not last a day without an argument of differing degrees (this one lasted 1.5 hours). How appealing. Jumped on a bike tour (I think I enjoy these almost as much as audio guides) and weaved our way about the charming town. Krakow suffered no destruction in WWII so everything is original. Of course WWII plays a major part of its history and it was interesting to find out that the Jewish Quarter in fact only house ...

Today we leave Hungary after five absolutely wonderful days...it's been so good. Monday morning started by our Turkish hotel ripping us off $50, so it was always only going to get better. Landing at 6am we had time to kill before check in so we had some Nutella croissants at a cafe across the road from our hostel. The Boomerang Hostel was brilliant. We were advised before booking not to let the name put us off, and contrary to what you're probably thinking now there were ...

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 ...

... well as an extensive list of other dishes, all cooked incredibly well. Just as great was their fantastic sommelier, who advised us on our wine selection each night. Not surprisingly, our $80 bottle of Hungarian red wine we had our first night was able to gain Ben's good opinion on Hungarian wine. He had been a doubter, as he had imbibed in a $2 glass the previous night which, not surprisingly, was not that good.

... Renaissance - King Matthias of Hungary was fascinated by the Renaissance in Italy and brought many Italian sculptors, painters, architects, etc to Hungary to assist in modernising his kingdom. I also visit the Hungarian National Gallery, where there is a massive print collection (much of it bought from Everard Jabach, a wealthy French/German art collector who lived in the 1600s), before having a light meal of grilled goose liver on parsnip puree with sour cherries and a glass of ...

... that we had at hand, the Christmas Market would be starting the first weekend after Thanksgiving. Well, as the time got closer we realized that actually the market would be starting on November 29, which happens to be the day that we are to depart Munich. Sharon and I then started researching other options for Christmas Markets and we were not having too much luck - Cologne was an option, Salzburg and Budapest. All of those locations were to start their market ...

... an apartment bedroom so I had no clue where it was and no way to get in. I was thinking that had Lee been with me he would have, rightfully, gone bonkers. We even tried calling the manager on his cell phone but got no answer. When the manager showed up he did not show any concern for my long wait. He was incredibly disorganized. He kept his records in a 3 ring binder like those from high school. He should have been selling used cars since he made promise after promise that ...

... Hungarian people since it has been built and rebuilt so many times, they feel it no longer has a sense of authenticity. Due to Turkish invasion, Austrian siege, an 1848 Revolution, World War II and Soviet siege, this palace along with all of Budapest has had to be rebuilt and rebuilt again. Paula and Jeff along the jaunt. Scenes of the city: We leave Budapest having great appreciation ...

... bought a shower cap and easily entered the all-alluring cold pool...once they were out I grabbed one and did some laps....sensational. That afternoon, staggered with luggage on the main road leading to Keleti Station....found an 'all-you-can-eat-and-drink' joint for 10 Euros and has I had about three hours to kill, I thought why not. Ran into Ed (from Vienna) and his mate so was able to have a good chat and a few drinks, whilst finding out what they all got up to after I left Vienna.Left ...

... of my old clothes and a few new J.Jill items too! My family rocks. The most wonderful thing has been smelling the clothes and the towels they sent that smell like home. It's the closest thing I have now to touching and/or holding my family and I almost don't¡¦ want to use or wear any of it b/c I want the feeling of them being next to me to last as long as possible, and for the smell to not go away. The other day I was feeling particularly homesick and a little frustrated with my job ...