7/29 The train to Budapest was almost full. In my car there was actually smoking allowed! I thought smoking had beened banned on trains long ago. In the same car there was a smoking section and a non-smoking section separated only by a piece of glass with no door. Basically you could touch hands between the two sections since there was nothing to block the air flow. Lots of non-smokers, myself included, could not believe smoking was allowed and were irritated because there were not other seats available.

The train trip was 2 1/2 hours through the relatively flat countryside . We followed the Danube much of the way since we were both going to the same place. My nerve pain was flaring up so I was glad to get to Budapest and be able to walk around. Coming into Budapest was not very pretty. There were homeless people, lots of graffiti and decaying buildings - probably the same type of assessment someone would give Houston if they came down I-45 from Intercontinental.

As we approached the train terminal the surroundings became much more upscale. There were a lot of new buildings, green space, cranes and for sale signs. The train station was one of those old elegant train stations that you often see in Europe. I bought a one week travel pass for Budapest to avoid having to buy and validate individual tickets all the time. It was good on any type of transport and a great deal for about $20.

I had directions to my hostel but was at the address and still couldn't find it. There were no signs anywhere. A guy who saw me walking around in distress showed me the door to the hostel which really did have NO sign . It is in an apartment building on the second floor. After getting lost again because there were no signs in the apartment building about where to go a hostel guest finally showed me the right place. There was no reception area just a hallway in the apartment with a computer. It was all very strange.

When I arrived there was no staff present and I asked some guests where to check in. They said the manager had gone out and they were not sure when he was coming back. I asked if the hostel was a one man operation and they said it seemed that way. I was incredulous that guests could arrive to be met by no one and have to wait to check in.

To make a long and irritating story shorter I ended up waiting 2 hours for this #$@$@@$ to show up. While I had been waiting, there was guest after guest showing up with complaints or even trying to pay but left since there was no staff present. I would have walked out had I not put down deposits online and knew that most hostels were full from my online searches . I booked the hostel after having read online reviews that were all complementary. It seems the hostel had self-destructed in the last couple of weeks.

I was so tired and distracted by my nerve pain that I just wanted some place to collapse. The area where the hostel was had only dorm beds and I had reserved 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 he had no way of keeping. The current guests had told me about the manager's frequent use of the word "tomorrow." Everything was going to be fixed "tomorrow" - the computer, the stopped up toilet, the dirty room, etc . I got my share of "tomorrows" from him as well.

He showed me the balance I owed for the 6 nights so we stopped by an ATM so I could settle. The apartment was just around the corner in an excellent location within the tourist district. On the way he told me that an Italian couple was in the other bedroom of the apartment and then blathered on about all the services he could arrange like airport transfers, etc. Right.

The apartment was in a decent older building built around a central courtyard. The Italian couple was watching TV so we exchanged pleasantries. I noticed they were hearing-impaired which was sure to keep our conversations to a minimum. The manager laid the linens on my bed while I noticed that the room had obviously not been cleaned in a long time. Since I had already paid and was exhausted I figured I could handle it.

My Italian roommates had actually bought supplies and cleaned the kitchen and some of the common areas that they could not tolerate . My room had old magazines, socks and trash scattered about. After the manager left I noticed that the bed had no pillow and that he had left no towels. The apartment did have a good refrigerator which was its sole asset.

7/30 I had the most vivid, bizarre dreams all night (12-5) and awoke to a steady rain. That was a sound I had not heard in a long time. The strange dreams I realized later were probably the result of me forgetting to take some medicine. The lack of a pillow could have contributed. After the manager had left I discovered that he left me single sheets for a queen-sized futon bed too. Par for the course.

I had planned to take the open air sightseeing bus to see all of the highlights in Budapest and get an idea where I wanted to spend my time. With the rain that would have to wait. I had marked the map in my guidebook with some places I wanted to visit, including some English-language bookstores. I bought 4 or 5 paperbacks that I had wanted. Budapest is a great walking city so, despite the rain, I explored the large old town. After hearing of temperatures well over 100 here two weeks ago I never dreamed I'd be wearing a sweatshirt in Budapest.

My guidebook says = more cosmopolitan than Prague, more romantic than Warsaw and more beautiful than both, Budapest straddles a gentle curve in the Danube, with the Buda Hills to the west and what is essentially the start of the Great Plains to the east . With parks brimming with attractions, museums filled with treasures, pleasure boats sailing up and down the scenic Danube Bend, Turkish-era thermal baths belching steam and a nightlife throbbing until dawn most nights, the Hungarian capital is one of the Continent's most delightful and fun cities.

Budapest is very stylish and just has a classic, timeless look so it's easy to see why it is called the Paris of the East. I was impressed by the transportation system with subway, light rail, bus and tram options available. Even though the city is large the public transit helps make it seem very manageable.

I enjoy exploring grocery stores so I paid a visit to get groceries for the week. In Europe the common practice is for the customer to bag their own groceries and if you need bags for your groceries you are charged for them {not a bad idea to cut down on all of the plastic bags}. It is not uncommon to have 8 or more people waiting in line as well . The customers act like that is the norm while I often would walk out not wanting to wait. I have not seen anything like an express lane either.

What impresses me about Budapest is how the buildings all seem to be of similar styles, 3-4 stories and complementary designs. It is as if they were all built at the same time (many were built around the turn of the 20th century). The city is vibrant and, if I knew the language, I could see me living here (provided I had plenty of money and AC).

Here are some famous Hungarians:
Leslie Biro 1899-1985 inventor of the ballpoint pen, which he patented in 1938
George Cukor 1899-1983 legendary American film producer/director
Tony Curtis b. 1925 American actor
Eva Gabor 1919-1995 fabulous star of Green Acres
Zsa Zsa Gabor b. 1917 famous for being famous
Harry Houdini 1874-1926 American magician and escape artist
Estee Lauder 1908-2004 American fragrance and cosmetics baroness
Franz Liszt 1811-1886 piano virtuoso and composer
Bela Lugosi 1882-1956 film world's only real Dracula
Erno Rubik b .1944 inventor of the hottest toy of 1980 holiday season
George Soros b.1930 Billionaire financier and philanthropist

After a day spent wandering the city and enjoying the fall-like weather I stopped for dinner at Pizzeria '93. I sat outside and read just basking in the cool temperatures. I went out on a limb and ordered the spinachi pizza with chicken, spinach and cheese. It was the most awesome pizza I think I have ever had! It was just perfect and who would have thought of Budapest as a pizza mecca.

7/31 With the rain gone, I took my Queenybus tour of Budapest. I have no idea where the name comes from, but later saw the Barbie Bus so it must be a competitive thing. The open air bus tour took 3 hours as we saw different parts of the city of 2 million. It is the sixth largest city in the EU and was the site for the filming of the movie Evita. Our first stop was at the enormous Parliament building. This monsterous building has 700 rooms and is the largest building in the country . Heroes Square was outside of the old town but flanked by the Museum of Fine Arts, Zoo and a beautiful arts exhibition hall. Hungary has their Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in the middle of Heroes Square.

The day was so pretty that I really enjoyed sitting in the open air bus and taking pictures while I listened to basic descriptions of what we were seeing. With the city very spread out the tour bus was a great way to see so many sites. The Royal Palace and Fishermans Bastion on the Buda side stood out with magnificent views of the entire city. The most impressive sight to me though was the entire city and how beautiful it looked rather than any one particular sight.

Afterwards I passed one of many casinos and went in to check it out. I was told that there was a $15 admission charge! I thought that was a joke to pay to enter a place to lose my money. I quickly headed for the exit.

One of the attractions my guidebook recommended was the House of Terror . It is located on one of the most beautiful avenues in the city so I walked the length of the avenue before entering the museum. The House of Terror was built in 2002 and is a very slick visual presentation of the atrocities from WW2 and the 1956 Uprising. Unfortunately most of the exhibits were not identified in English. There were flyers in each room in English to explain what the focus of the room was but not the individual items.

The museum was well-done except for the language issue. It was quite educational and presented visually much of the information. There was a huge tank on the ground floor along with photographs of the many victims who died during the wars. One of the most surprising parts of the museum to me was a wall featuring the photographs and brief biographies of the war criminals. I can't recall ever seeing an exhibit that so thoroughly called out those who committed the crimes, many of whom are still alive today.

The weather today was like a perfect spring day . Budapest is a wonderful walking town so I explored different sections of the town in the afternoon. The city has many fewer scooters and motorcycles than the other cities I have visited. I am not sure why since there are plenty of cars despite excellent public transit. I read in my guidebook that Hungarian is one of the world's most difficult languages to learn (after Japanese and Arabic) so perhaps I will try Italian first.

I looked at many Hungarian restaurants but, besides having a difficult time translating the dishes, nothing really looked good. Many Hungarian dishes are seasoned with paprika, which is not a favorite of mine, and it is kept on tables along with salt and pepper. With this in mind, I went back to my pizzeria and 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 close to the center of town. There are no private cars, motorcycles or scooters allowed on the island so it is a wonderful pedestrian oasis. The island also has every imagineable recreation venue and is the sports center for the city. There was a long bike loop, jogging paths, soccer fields, clay tennis courts, water polo stadium and at least 15 pools on this 2.5 km long island.

There is a magic fountain at the entrance to the island that is choreographed with classical music. Colorful flowers were plentiful on the forested island which kept out the city noises. One of the first Olympic swimming champions was from Hungary and he paid for a swimming complex to be built on the island. Despite it being for serious swimmers, I had hoped to get in a swim workout . Unfortunately lap swimming didn't start until 2:30 and it was only 12:30.

Fortunately another huge swimming complex was less than a kilometer away. As I was leaving so was the Australian mens water polo team. There is actually a dedicated water polo stadium here. I read where Hungary has dominated the EU Championships and the Olympics in water polo for decades. I noticed several other national water polo teams that all seemed to be training at the facility.

The other swim complex is called the Palatinus and has a dozen pools--medicinal pools with thermal waters, kids pools, a lap pool and a waterpark. It was amazing to see so many pools in one place with the Danube just meters away. It was a great family venue since everyone could enjoy a different pool. There were chairs and picnic tables too.

I had hoped to enjoy the lap pool but did not have a pullbuoy. I checked the shops at the complex and asked the lifeguards as well but no one seemed to know what one was . I watched the other lap swimmers and no one had one. I tried swimming without one but had an awful time with my legs sinking. I only managed to do 150 meters which was disappointing since I needed the exercise. I did stay though and enjoyed a book. I just fell in love with Margaret Island and feel that it makes Budapest an even greater city.

8/2 This morning I planned to see the Buda side of the city. I set out to take the cog railway up the hill to the Palace but noticed that there were hovering helicopters nearby. It turns out they had closed several major arteries in town for practice sessions for the Formula One Grand Prix which is the sporting event in Hungary all year. It was a very odd site to see the busy Chain Bridge with not a single car. Car drivers as well as pedestrians were gridlocked with a key bridge shut down. I noticed the cog railway was not even running since it was right at the start of the course.

I walked down to the next bridge and then climbed the big hill on foot . People were gathering at viewpoints to see the race cars because they were having trouble going anywhere else. I recognized the names of some of the drivers and they sure had a beautiful course. I wondered how they could pass each other though given the tight turns and narrow roads. The barriers between the spectators and cars were most often a chain link fence which I sure would not feel safe behind.

After seeing some of the exclusive Castle Hill neighborhood I decided to take a tour of the Castle Hill Labyrinths. My guidebook made these tunnels sound quite interesting and highlighted their historic past. After paying the admission I was given a map which showed the labyrinth route as well as the names of the rooms. It did not have any information on the history of the labyrinths or interesting facts. The labyrinths themselves were extremely dark so I had to be very careful and still had a couple of missteps.

A lot of the items in the tunnels just did not look real to me. They had cave paintings which were supposed to be prehistoric but sure looked more advanced than that. There was nothing protecting the paintings from graffiti or other damage. The labyrinths themselves looked pretty new although they were used during WW2 and could provide shelter for as many as 10000 people. Later there were footprints and other relics that were supposedly from 38-40 million years ago which was hard to grasp . I felt the labyrinths were more of a tourist trap and thought the downtown tunnel system in Houston would be more interesting.

After the labyrinths I walked to the largest mall complex in Budapest in search of a pullbuoy. I really wanted to enjoy the outdoor pools on Margaret Island. The mall is called Mammut which is mammoth in Hungarian. The mall certainly is mammoth and has a huge variety of stores, including a big grocery store. They had an enormous sports store that had a wide variety of items for the water, including an entire aisle of flippers, but they had not one pullbuoy. :-(

My next destination was one of the famous thermal baths in Budapest. The Kiralyi Baths were housed in a building dating from the 1500s that the guidebook said was definitely a highlight in the city. It took me a long time to find it and when I arrived there was a sign on the door saying they were closed until September! There was road construction out front so I don't know if that was the problem or not but I was having a frustrating day of sight-seeing .

Since I was close to Margaret Island I just walked back to the Palatinus complex with my book. There really wasn't anything else on my list to do in Budapest that could be done today. The weather was perfect again and I still saw no pullbuoy at the pool. One nice thing about the swimming complex is no smoking is allowed although I saw quite a few people ignoring the rule.

I've tried my best to not harp on my tragic housing but ... we ran out of toilet paper on Monday and there was nary a roll to be found in the apartment. I went across the street to the store and bought a 4 pack but later realized I had bought paper towels instead. Whoops. Fortunately I had always carried these disposeable wipes in my backpack for those emergencies when there is no tp so I didn't bother with the paper towels although the Italians did.

In addition to the tp fiasco, the handle to my bedroom kept falling off . I'd go to close the door and the handle on the opposite side of the door would come off. I could just picture getting trapped in the nasty bedroom. There was no way to lock the bedroom so some bad hostel guests could have taken advantage and stolen my dirty laundry. Half the lights in the apartment didn't work either.

At 9:15pm the manager of the hostel came by to collect some money from the Italian couple. They had just gone over to pay so they crossed paths somehow. I informed the manager that we had been out of tp for days, that I had no pillow and that there were no towels. I didn't bother to mention that the sheets were the wrong size. He told me all I had to do was tell him and he'd take care of these things. He said he wasn't "a mind-reader!" It was all I could do to keep quiet. First, he was never around to speak to and second, if my room had been cleaned after the last guest, then he would know that there were no towels or pillow.

Of course, he said he could take of these issues "tomorrow ." He said he could get the apartment cleaned but would need a key since he didn't have one! He said to just drop my key off when I left but I told him I left long before the hostel was supposed to open in the morning. He said to just stop by during the day then (he was insinuating that the apartment could be cleaned in one day) although I wasn't about to interrupt my day to give him a key that he should have in the first place. My other concern was that once he had the key I could be without housing again if I couldn't manage to track him down to retrieve the key. I confess it was tempting to leave the key just to see what excuses he would have when the cleaning did not occur.

I asked the manager to give the Italian couple the things we lacked if he ran into them at the hostel. They did meet and he told the Italian couple to just go to the store to get toilet paper! He never mentioned the lack of towels but was thoughtful enough to grab two mismatched throw pillows off the community sofa in the hostel for me!! They were definitely not bed pillows plus who knows how many times people have barfed on them . They did not smell good and never made it farther than the front door. I'm sure the manager considered the issue resolved.

8/3 An interesting fact about Hungary-it's the only nation outside of Asia to use the last name first convention with peoples' names. I needed to do laundry so I checked my guidebook and found a self-service place nearby. It was similar to the place Lee and I went to in Seville which was staffed. In Seville Lee and I were able to do other things while the attendant took care of our clothes but here I had to sit with my stuff which wasn't bad since I had an enjoyable book.

When I went to pay for my clothes the lady said my total was 4860F which is about $27! I about fell over. I had used 2 washers and 1 dryer for my shorts and t-shirts. I had been shown a laminated sheet with prices when I came in with the charges based on weight so I wasn't worried since I didn't even have a small backpack full. I had avoided overloading the washing machine by splitting my load . In calculating the charges they base the charges not on the actual weight but on the number of washing machines you use. The price I saw was also just to wash and it doubled if you added drying. They didn't take credit cards so I had to visit an ATM just to get my clothes back. The ladies were not trying to rip me off but it was just another instance where the language barrier proved a factor.

The most memorable experience when Orlando and I visited Budapest was our trip to the Gellert Baths. I was not quite ready for the culture shock of this unique experience back then, especially when we were given these flimsy loincloths to wear. The whole public bathing experience is an important part of Greek and Arab culture and the Gellert Baths seemed to retain the authenticity of the tradition. Unfortunately, that no longer seems to be the case.

The prices have gone way up so that now the clientele is almost all tourists. A lot of the unique elements such as the pummelling massage I remember have now been replaced with generic stuff that you could get anywhere . The facility hasn't changed and is still gorgeous. The outdoor pool though now also becomes a wave pool which tells you who they are marketing to. There were lots of screaming kids while I don't even think kids were allowed before. I had really looked forward to this since the thermal baths are always associated with Budapest but the Gellert Baths were a disappointment. There are plenty of other choices in town so if I come back I'll definitely try a different one.

My lack of enthusiasm for the Gellert baths may have also been related to the bad nerve pain I was having. I was hoping the thermal waters would help but I guess they aren't for neurological problems. The nerve pain lasted all night so sleep was difficult. The pain was just agonizing but there isn't anything I can do except wait for it to end. I had to get up early for my flight to Dubrovnik so I eventually just got out of bed when I realized sleep was futile.

8/4 I left the hostel with tons of time to spare so I went next door to ask how much a taxi to the airport was (public transit didn't start until 5) . I was told 5840F (despite being in the EU, Hungary will keep their currency until at least 2010). I then walked to the taxi stand on the street and was quoted 7000F. I then walked across the street from the hotel and got a price of 5000F! I was quite happy with my 5 minutes and 30 meters of work since I saved about $17. The airport was waking up when I got there for my flight to Dubrovnik.

I really loved most everything about Budapest. It's a large city with plenty to do but doesn't seem too big. Margaret Island was awesome and a highlight of my visit. The transit system enables you to be more efficient and was pleasant to ride. The hostel was the pits but you know that by now. The architecture is easy to love with each block being a new experience. I'd highly recommend Budapest since it has something for everyone!