Budapest, round 1.

Budapest from the citadel. that guy should get a haicut.
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Hi everybody! Tinks here.  I know my voice has been a little quiet on this series of entries on the blog , I guess it's just that lee is a little quicker to the keyboard and a little more verbose when he gets there but now that I'm out on my own I think it's time for my voice to be heard for the viewers at home and I'm sure for myself later on.

So, after leaving the city that could easily been mistaken for paradise, Dubrovnik, and splitting up with lee for the first time which was a little weird and scary i can assure you, I headed north to meet up with some amazing, you guessed it, Americans in Budapest.  We'd met them in Rome and they'd showed us some great sites and stuff so when they said they were going to be there the week Lee and I split up i though I'd organise to see them in Budapest on my way through to Lake Balaton.

The old palace from the opposite bank of the river next to this cool life size statue.
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Little did I know that due to Dubrovnik not having a train station and that there aren't any direct trains from anywhere south to Budapest, that I would spent the next 27 hours in transit. A 5 hour bus followed by trains and waiting on platforms to the equivalent of about 20 hours later, I arrived in Budapest and there is no city that I would've rather arrived in cranky and a little beligerent.

Budapest is amazing.  And of all the cities I've been in so far the people and the atmosphere of the city are the closest to Melbourne I've experienced, but with the added bonus of about 2000 years of rich cultural history and the best city baths you've ever seen.  Complete with mineral springs, and pools especially designed for playing chess or board games across the middle while you soak up the sun and socialise. The main thing that immediately struck me about Budapest and Hungary in general is the warmth of the people.  So much so that after landing and feeling quite ready for a nice long sleep and hoping that no-one would talk to me for fear of me biting their head off, I was totally disarmed by some local folks and myself and 3 other travellers ended up in an open air, dual stage, hawaiian themed nightclub until the wee hours.

Millenium Square and the gallery of heroes.
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During the days in Budapest I saw so many cool sites including the old citadel and castle, the amazing gardens and Magyar Museum (The Magyars are the "indigenous" if you like, people of Hungary and most Hungarians are still related to the Magyars and share many of their cultural traditions), and of course the beautiful St. Peters Basilica but whether hanging out in the baths or just wandering around the Deak Ter market on a Saturday that appears like an oasis in the centre of the city, Budapest is awesome.  Oh yeah, and I had my first ghoulash too.  awesome.  oh yeah and they have this praprika chilli sauce on the table next to the salt and pepper on every table in Hungary and If you go there you should do it, it great.  In fact I'm gonna have to buy some for back home if they'll let me through customs with it.  Anyway, I hope you're all well and I'll see you on the lake.