Budapest

It is a three hour train trip from Vienna to Budapest. We made this journey on Monday - leaving Vienna on a spacious and comfortable train. When we stepped off the train at our destination we entered another world. . . : clean and refined Vienna replaced with dinghy, worn Budapest train station and peopled not with elegant Viennese but with a cadre of folks looking worn and aged by hard living. Our welcoming committee was a handful of pan-handlers and guys looking to trade currency on the black market. Via a subway ride and a walk at dusk to find our hostel on a dark side street in Budapest, we were sobered by our introduction to this city. Each of us later confessed that the thought of spending four days here was daunting and I even wondered how I had developed such high expectations.

Today it is Thursday, four days from that melancholy introduction, and in a few hours we leave on an early train for Croatia. We turned the corner on that inauspicious introduction to Hungary, when later that evening over dinner in a joint that bore the hilarious title of "Western Saloon" (in English even), decorated as a early American west saloon . . . but with wait staff decidedly Hungarian (knowing no English) and the menu equally, completely - and deliciously - Hungarian. Over the successive three days the wonders and beauty of Budapest unfolded for us. .. made all the more sweet by our initial grim impression.

My highlights:
1. Walking across the Danube River on the Chain Bridge. .. going from Pesch to Buda.
2. Viewing Budapest and the Danube River from Castle Hill and the National Gallery of Art. Standing in the cupola at the top level of the museum, a kindly guard motioned me to a glass door which he gestured me through with the single word, "Wonderful!" . . . ahh, the view of a lifetime. . .
3. Taking the group to the Hungarian Opera House for a performance of the National Ballet Company in 'Zorba.'
4. Dining at a cafe on the plaza by St. Stephen's Cathedral on a clear and gorgeous evening as the bells tolled the hour.
A special shout-out to 'Robert' our English speaking waiter at this cafe who wins the prize for the most effusive Hungarian we met. . . as gregariousness and smiles are not cultural traits we have encountered in high proportion. (Frankly, Robert didn't have much in the way of other contenders for this award. As a group from southern US culture that highly values warmth and interpersonal 'niceness' . . . it has been a point of intercultural awareness.)
5. The Baths of Budapest. . . ! As a group we went to one on Monday. . . which turned out to be the true local scene. We were THE only non-natives and trying to figure out the customs and proper behavior in this very Hungarian place / tradition was quite a hoot. Today I went with two of our group for an afternoon at the bath in town that is the true destination - The Gellert Hotel Spa. It is stunning enough to be listed in '1001 Places to See Before You Die' . . . a status it deserves.