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Link to PHOTO ALBUM:
Well, I may not have mentioned it before, but I don't like cities. At least at first. Cities often grow on me. It does not mean I would want to live in one, but visiting them can be good.
Obviously having a terrible time
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Budapest took longer than most to win me over, but it won be over big time. It is smelly in spots, as all cities are. It is dirty, loud, gritty. In spots. It is also stunningly beautiful, mostly safe, interesting as hell. It has old and new next to each other. Stunning Art Nooovo 8) sitting next to falling apart wrecks. It is street fairs. Not a few hundred feet of street, but a mile or more. It is castles, Thermal Baths with natural water and amazingly beautiful buildings. The Danube Promenade. Ancient next to old Soviet Bloc next to Art Nouveau next to Modern. Statues to those that helped make Hungary what it is, and to those that tried to destroy it. Vlad the Impaler (Dracula) was imprisoned here. A city of contrasts and history. I won't get too deep into the history, because google makes all that up, I mean supplies all that, but Hungary has gone through a lot of tough times and come out doing pretty well all things considered.
Budapest had all the most modern things.
Modern Trains
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Modern Busses 
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The newest Movies 
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Cruise ships, just not the usual monstrosities. 
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The latest Harley Davidsons in the HD T-Shirt Shop 
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And Columbo. Every city needs Columbo 
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Really, I wanted to photograph everything, and nothing. There is just too much here. There is no real comparison, but if you considered Prague like Boston (it ain't) then Budapest would be New York City. Combined with LA. And Chicago. And San Fran. And maybe a little of Mesa Verde.
The parks are fantastic. There are lots of things for kids to do. There are tourist attractions beyond count. If I was so inclined, I could spend all day, every day for a month just going from one thing to another.
For me though, it is walking. Sometimes with a purpose, sometimes as if I was completely lost (often true). I walked over 15 Km yesterday. At least that much today. I only touched a portion of the interesting areas. I could spend a day or two more here. Coming from me, that is a big compliment. Still, I preferred Prague. If only because it is smaller, quieter. And sorry Oslo, as much as you have my vote as one of the few cities I could live in if I had to (seasonally of course), Budapest is just more interesting for a visit.
I expect I will be back, but I don't think I will come back alone. And not for a short time. This is a city to be shared, and taken in bits, not a day of power walking.
Many of the places on Buda Castle Hill do not take credit cards or the Euro. That is fine, it saves me money. I have traveled 12,000 miles through 15 countries and that is the only area so far that I had to use local currency only. The best though, was the Labyrinth. That is where Vlad the Impaler was imprisoned for a spell. The guy says he only takes cash, foreign currency. Took me a bit to get that he was saying Forint, which is the Hungarian money. I said, I am afraid I don't have any, he says "So Sorry, Too Bad, Bye Bye" in a tone that translated into "FU, we don't like money you capitalist pig" or something like that. All other places were very helpful and let me know where I could find an ATM and tell me that I could get out a small amount if I like.
Castle Hill and Buda Castle and many other areas of Budapest are interesting in that there is all kinds of things to see and do. Old buildings? Oh Hell Yeah. You like museums? Sure. You like Bulovo Watches, got it. Hard Rock Cafe? Yup. Ancient Ruins? Uh Huh. Art Nouveau? Of course.
A Catholic Church that "requests" a Euro for entry, and lets you in during a wedding (on the sidelines of course). Yes. A Jewish Synagogue that has a barker trying to get you to take their free tour, that comes with the $15 dollar entry fee? Got that too. Really awesome from what I have read, but the timing didn't work. and there is so much else to do. You say you are tired and just want to sit in a park? Got that too, even have a fountain that squirts water to the beat of music. The park, Margaret Island, is a 2.5 km (1.6 mi) long island, 500 metres (550 yards) wide in the middle of the Danube.
And the blister that formed in Prague due to wearing winter wool socks in my sneaks came back with a vengeance, just a little while before I was done walking in Budapest.
Two Days walking in Budapest, about 30Km, or 19 Miles
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Now, the place I am staying is in Pest. Budapest is actually Buda, and Pest. Well, OK, the place can be broken down more, but I was in Pest. More specifically, City Center. There were a lot of choices on Air BnB, but I decided to do something different. City Centers are not normally where I want to be, but it worked out. It was an easy walk, well, a walk, to anything I wanted to go to. The specific area was not really my style, more for young people and late nights, but it was OK. The only issue I had was the place woke me up at 5 am every morning, either by 3 hours of Garbage Can Crushing, or 5 am partiers going home after a night out. 'Cause, you know their conversations as they headed out at 10 PM were pretty dumb, but the conversations at 5 AM made me question the survival of the species.
The Chain Bridge. 
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Vajdahunyad Castle 
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Heroes Square 
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Berlin Wall Memorial 
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Section of the Berlin Wall
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These "protesters" were celebrating that the EU recognized that the Hungarian Government is not democratic enough, and also does not fly the EU flag. If I were to guess, it is the flag flying that annoys the EU the most. Committees expect people to act as they demand. 
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Gellért Hill Cave - Catholic Church 
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People wait in line, in the sun, for a LONG time to take this funicular. It is only a few flights of stairs. It is a short walk. Less stressful than standing in line in the sun. 
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As always, Bikes are special. This one was from Latvia, and I could have sworn I had seen it and those two helmets much earlier in my trip, but I could not find the owners. 
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This just made me think of Stargate 
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St. Stephen's Basilica. There was a wedding going on, with plenty of organ music, but we were not allowed into the area where the pews were. I don't understand why. 
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Yet another place I walked a ways to see that was under construction. Hungarian State Opera. There have been a lot of places on this trip that were recommended to see, that were under construction so there was little to see. It is good that they are fixing these places up, but they should check with me for my schedule. 
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Miles of Street Food, Music, fun stiff for the kids, beer, wine, FOOD, and my first Gołąbki - cabbage leaves stuffed with spiced minced meat and rice, outside of the US. 
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This was the place across from my dingy building. Art WTF?? 
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