Budapest, Hungary

Sorry it's taken a while to update my blog, but in Trebic the wi-fi didn't work, and although the staff let us use their computer we've had to use that time to research places to stay for the next leg of our trip (takes a lot more time when you're on a budget and it's high season here, and the US$ is weak). What I'm doing now is write my blog offline and post them when I get time.

We are now in Budapest, Hungary, a couple of days earlier than anticipated. Originally we were going to stop in Bratislava, Slovakia, for a couple of days, but our experience upon arrival both with the rude manager at the hotel (more like a hostel) and the rude waiter at the train station cafe were so bad that we decided to just get on the next train to Budapest.... and it was one of the best decisions we made. Instead of not sleeping in some nasty room, we're now in a room on a boat on the Danube (THE Danube that I've heard about since I was a kid) with a view of Castle Hill in the distance. Today we walked around Castle Hill where you can get a great view of the Danube an the Pest side of Budapest (one of the first things you learn about Budapest is that it's made up of 2 areas across the river from each other, Buda and Pest. Kind of like the first time visitors to New York learn that the NY they know about is only one of 5 boroughs).

Here's a picture of our Botel (that's what they call them... I didn't make it up):

Here's the view of the Danube from the botel:

And here's a picture of us enjoying the sun from the deck (you can't see the beer but they're there):

This city kind of reminds me of Paris, not because they look alike, but similar in that there are lots of beautiful buildings spread out around the city making it a great place to wonder around. The food is supposed to be very good, and I'm also excited about the thermal baths. We'll be in Hungary for over a week so I will have more on this place. For now, it's time to go to bed.