Sept 29- Sept 30 Budapest HUNGARY

Crossed the border from Croatia into Hungary without any difficulties. Budapest is certainly an interesting place, having been involved in many conflicts over centuries, more recently the liberation from Germany by the Russians >> which turned into a Russian occupation and communism, which Hungary is now challenged to overcome the effects. Buda is hilly and has buildings going back to the 1400's, while Pest is newer on the flat plains beside the Danube. Many buildings were not repaired nor restored, meaning that much restoration work in underway and pending for the future -- the architecture is fantastic however regardless of the state of restoration. Budapest is 2 cities (Buda and Pest) that became one. In some cases, the buildings still contain the scars of armed conflict, with bullet marks remaining where buildings are pending restoration. One of the most notable things for us has been the lack of high rise buildings -- very few, as many old buildings of medium/low rise exist in Europe. Budapest has a number of different and architecturally interesting bridges crossing the Danube -- most were rebuilt to some degree as the germans blew up the then existing bridges when they retreated in WWII and the Russians took over the city. On the Wednesday evening we had a wonderful cruise up and down the Danube, made that much more enjoyable with dinner and wine on the boat. Tonight (Thursday) we're off for a traditional Hungarian meal with the tour group -- roast duck is on our menu. While Hungary has not yet converted to the Euro (even though it is part of the EC), that conversion is pending for the next couple of years or so. As such, Euros are generally accepted in place of local currency (Forint), so that made it easier getting around. Typically, rest rooms are not free (except at a restaurant when you are a customer), and cost seems to vary from about 0.17Euros to 1.0Euros -- most are very clean and well managed, however the public rooms in Hungary have a way to go to get up to a number of other EU countries. Great weather day today -- cool at 15 degrees, but sunny. Off to Krakow, Poland at 7:30 tomorrow morning.