Ah... memories of the night train.  At 2:50am in
Ljubljana, I board the train to Budapest.  I lock my
bags up above me and fold the seats down forming a
bed.  

The sleep isn't so good.  I must have gotten checked
for my ticket and passport every hour.  As the morning
approaches, I get a great view of Hungary's scenic
countryside.  The train passes through small towns,
people's quaint homes, and lakes.  I even see chickens
wandering around.

Upon arrival in Hungary, hostel runners take me
immediately to a good hostel.  I meet up with another
Canadian, and we get decide to check out all the
touristy stuff.  

Budapest is huge, relative to everywhere else I've
been to, and a little intimidating.  It consists of
the two former cities of Buda and Pest, divided by the
Danube river.  I first head to the parliament
building, modelled after Britain's, but only 12% full.
 Following this, I check out St. Stephen's Basilica to
climb to the top for a great view of Budapest, as well
as catch a glimpse of St. Stephen's mummified hand
(for 100ft, you can light it up).  

I then catch a bus to Statue Park, where all the
statues from Hungary's Communist past are stored.  I
love the Communist music being blaired as I enter.

I head back to the hostel, meet up with a bunch of
Swedes in my dorm, chat for a while, and head out
together.  

For dinner, I decide to have the cliche Hungarian beef
goulash at a popular diner.  It's not that great, but
the portions are huge.  However, I do like how the
food is served in its cookware, and the price is right
($10 Cdn. including the local beer Dreher).  The
restaurant also serves fried brains and lungs, but I
decided to pass it up just this time.

The following day, I head to Hero's Square to visit
the Museum of Fine Arts.  There have some of the huge
European paintings you would see in the Louvre,
although probably not as well known.  I exit the
museum and enter the neigbouring park where a castle
lies - it's particularly interesting as there are
several different architectural styles in the
individual buildings.

I take a funicular up to Castle Hill where I get a
panoramic view of Budapest.  I check out the Ludwig
Museum of Contemporary Art.  There are two other
nearby museums, but I pass them up.  This museum is
great.  Besides your typical Warhol, Lichtenstein
stuff, there is a lot of local contemporary art, and
they also have a special exhibit entitled "Chinart",
for Chinese contemporary artists, which I haven't seen
much of.  I noticed that many of the Chinese
contemporary artists put much effort and detail in
their work.

I take a snack break at the gallery with an order of
gymolesleves, Hungarian cold fruit soup.  It really
hits the spot, and I get a great view of Buda Castle's
plaza from the gallery cafe.  The soup only costs me
$1 Cdn. - when are you ever going to find gallery food
at this price?

Time to eat for real.  I take a subway to the
outskirts of Buda in search of a traditional Hungarian
eatery.  The subway is really old - it's the first one
on mainland Europe, but it's efficient.  I get my
ticket checked a lot though.  I believe many
foreigners don't know they need to punch a new ticket
when changing lines, and the city can make some quick
cash off the fines.

Dinner is a heart attack on a plate.  I order the
Rantott Camembert, which is deep fried Camembert
cheese with deep fried Parisian apple rings, served
with tartar sauce on a bed of fried potatoes and rice,
with salad on the side.  Again, in huge Hungarian
portions, served on cookware, and a great price.

At night, I head out to see the lit up Szechenyi
Bridge.  I end up wandering the very quiet streets of
Budapest to do some photography.

Okay, thus far in Budapest, it's been touring and
tasting, but I've planned the next day to be much more
interesting!

Next: Butt Naked in Budapest