Bratislava

Slovakia

Budapest

Continued from Vienna 27Jul06

Written in Prague, 1Aug06:
By evening we were working our way through the public transportation system in Budapest, which I later learned is the oldest Metro in Europe! We waited ages for a connecting bus (the Metro stop in front of our hotel was closed for construction) that took us only 3 blocks to our hotel! Ooops!

At the hotel, we were greeted by unbelievable poshness, and... Cindy! She had just made it in a few minutes before us and we all were sticky and gross and tired. After luxurious showers we all felt a bit better and decided we'd better find dinner at about 11p. While people were walking everywhere, we couldn't find anything serving food until we met a "political" pimp that, once we turned down the sex shows, gave us great advice and pointed us toward an Arabian restaurant in a basement that seemed to never close! We ordered a from a menu with no English, so the waiter suggested a kebab platter that was second only to the unbelievably well-made Mojitos! So we ate and watched belly dancers flirt with patrons while a DJ and live singer kept the music pumping. Aside from the fact that it was a thousand degrees in there, we could have stayed all night! The girls even got up at the end of the night and joined in the dancing!

We stumbled home exhausted and decided to sleep in the next day! Our first full day in Budapest was fairly chill. Breakfast at Cafe Anna, the girls went shopping (I even bought a new shirt!); I had a bath. Cindy and I bought a buncha groceries - Nutella, bread, Sangria, etc... and we snacked at the hotel, then hit the POOL! On the 8th floor was a warm pool and a warmer spa, plus a sauna and scented steam room. We met a British bloke that joined us in the steam room and we tried to make plans to meet up later, but we overslept. We grabbed a late dinner (I learned apparently "Ovari" is Hungarian for "mushroom" which I hate, wheee!) and made our way to bed.

Hungary

Vienna

Written in Prague, 1Aug06:
Vienna worked out quite well really, as by the time I made my way to the hotel and checked in I was exhausted. Brianna had made it in the night before and wasn't feeling well, so both of us lazed about, napped, and then headed out at night to find some food. We had a fun walk, crossing the Danube and back, but failed to find food. Fortunately, there was a supermarket next door we had hit earlier, so we had sandwiches and salad and ended the night in our fantastic hotel.


The next morning we woke up early and checked out, stored our luggage and grabbed some croissants on our way to a biking tour of the city! We got there just in time and the people running it were great! We cruised past the giant ferris wheel, through the amusement park, up a promenade in the park, along the river, to a crazy little block designed by a guy whose name I forgot, but was very Gaudi-esque. (I described it in my journal as Gaudi meets the Madonna Inn.) Then past the Opera House, through the massive palace, by some other sights and ending at St. Steven's Cathedral. The front was built in 1260 and the inside was gorgeous! Finally we headed back and back to the hotel to clean up, get our bags, check train info online and hit the road!


Some confusion with trains put us on a later train than planned, but also crossed our paths with a helpful Melbourne native that gave us the City Spy map of Budapest. Man those things are helpful! After a train ride spent passing notes with Brianna and chatting with the poeple around us, we barely made our connection in Gyor - the one minute transfer time didn't leave us time to buy a reservation, so we got a stern warning later...

Continues in Budapest 28Jul06

Manchester

26Jul, 10a -
After about a million hours of travel, I find myself sitting in the bus terminal in Manchester Airport... The travel itself was smoother than expected with no real problems... Supposedly tomorrow is the hottest day recorded here - 100 degrees I think! Couldn't get the connection I wanted... Not much layover time in London today, so no pasty, but a quick connection to Heathrow and then on to Vienna!



27Jul, 9a -
So, that last entry was the last time anything went right for a while. But you know me - loving the insanity! First I decided to pick up some water for the long bus ride and discovered I was without wallet! It couldn't have been nicked - I hadn't even brushed against anyone since landing! After racing back to the bus terminal, there it was, under my seat...

The bus was already an hour later than planned, but that was before Luton. Fading in and out of consciousness after my long journey, I awoke realizing that we weren't moving. Traffic was BAD. Two hours of delay nixed my plan of hopping off the bus at Marble Arch and strolling through Hyde Park and my old 'hood to Gloucester Road tube to Heathrow. Instead, racing the fastest route possible to Terminal 4 (with that damn bus transfer!) put me in the airport at 6.15p, 25 minutes before my flight and 5 minutes after the closed check-in. 20 minutes and 30 quid ($59) later, I was rebooked on the 7.30a flight.

Continues in London 26Jul06