Budapest - wow

Headed into Hungary with a hotel booking in the capital Budapest. Wasn't sure what to expect,but certainly not something in the vein of Prague.

A couple of things first. The road down ftom Slovakia is pretty flat and boring with nothing really to write home about. I had seen on the road one particular warning sign heaps of times...see below. I had seen lots of tractors (almost always in towns/villages for some reason) and pushbikes but didn't really expect to see many horse and carts. Well I was proven wrong and took the photo below as proof!!!!! Lots of reindeer warning signs too, but haven't seen any of them yet. To drive/ride in many Europen countries you gave to buy a road vignette (some countries exempt motorcycles). This is basically toll, although sometimes you also have to pay additional tolls for some particular roads ir bridges. If you're caught without one the on-spot fines can be huge (over $1,000). Some you can buy online (see my Hungarian one below) but some you pick up at the birder or services stations etc.

Budapest took me by compete surprise, fantastic buildings, beautiful squares, hundreds of bistros, cafes & restaurants, beautiful bridges, monuments and statues. I walked almost 20 kms in one day, mostly with my eyes looking up with my jaw hanging down. There are a couple of places I'd love to revisit with Anne and this is definately one of them. When I thought about historic and beautiful European cities I used to think about Paris, London and Rome - but there is so much more.

I'm heading to Szeged (still in Hungary) close to the border with Romania. Next stop will be Romania actually have yo stop at the border to seek entry permission. Not sure how long it will take to cross to want to have some time up my sleeve.

Talk soon.Read more