Beyond Budapest

Hey Folks!Today we embark on the next phase of our journey! We are leaving Budapest and bound for Austria this morning. I love the fact that in Europe, cities and places that we've heard of all our lives are actually quite close together. Budapest and Vienna are only about 2 hours apart, so we'll be stopping there for lunch. Interestingly, both Hungary and Austria were on the losing side of BOTH world wars, but since then the development of the economies in these countries has diverged significantly. Russia got ahold of Hungary and the effects of the communist regime are still felt here, even though they are in the 2nd decade since the wall fell. It is getting better but not nearly as good here as western Europe. Austria, on the other hand, is much better off because Russia never took over there, so they are a major player in the European Union economy.

Yesterday, we walked around Budapest and saw some of the major sights from high above the city. It was rainy and drizzly most of the day, but that didn't take away from the beauty of this old urban center. The city of 2 million people is centered on the Danube river, and began as 3 much smaller cities that merged together as bridges were built: Old Buda and Buda on the hilly east side, and Pest (pronounced 'Pesht') on the completely flat western side. We hiked up and around the castle district to some beautiful overlook points, and then spent a couple hours in the evening at a natural thermal bath called Széchenyi (pronounced: 'your guess is as good as mine'). It was a pretty great, and relaxing, way to end the day (no, the picture here is not ours, as it was rainy all day).

So the Alps are beckoning and we are off to meet them. First stop, Vienna, and then we're following the winding Danube (at least for a stretch) into the mountain climes. Until next time, Sziasztoa! (goodbye in Hungarian)