Budapest, Hungary (November 2006)

And the final city I visited for this trip was Budapest. I loved this city so much - it reminded me of Prague only much bigger and much less touristy, and quite a bit cheaper too. The people are so friendly, and (as was par for the course with this trip) the food was fantastic! Meat, meat and more meat, really!

I stayed in a great little hostel here - very cosy with really friendly staff that were always there to give you tips on what to do, where to eat etc., or just to have a nice old chat! It was actually good to be in a place like this - in Copenhagen and Berlin I went for quite polished and organised hostels, and while they were clean and nice etc. they just felt so cold and clinical - this place made you feel right at home!

Anyway, enough of that. Here are some photos:

The awesome Royal Palace on Castle Hill. It's impressive during the day, but at night it looks amazing!

The Szechyeni Chain Bridge across the Danube River:

The view across the river from Castle Hill:

In one of the courtyards of the Royal Palace:

Heroes Square and the Milenary Monument:

A castle in the City Park:

The Szechenyi Thermal Baths (which I visited later that day for a soak - very relaxing indeed!)

The front of the palace with incredible views across the whole city:

Andrassy Avenue a long tree-lined streets with lots of historic buildings, and it's also a World Heritage listed site:

The 'Shoes on the Danube' - these are actually cast iron sculptures of shoes, and this piece of art is said to commemorate the Hungarian victims of the holocaust:

Another view of the Buda Palace:

St Stephen's Basilica, the largest cathedral in the city:

Tram lines along the river:

Again, the palace!

The Budapest market hall:

The Metro underground train - this was actually the first underground train service in Continental Europe (but it's so small - a bit like an underground tram!). And the sounds it makes when doors open and close or when there's an announcement have been taken straight from a pokies machine! Felt like I'd won a prize at every stop!