On the weekend of the 21st, I finally managed to get out of the country by going to the capital of Hungary. Paul of Kansas State, Andy of Bristol University (UK), Char and Ben of Union, and I took an overnight train from Prague. We opted to save $24 and not take the sleeper car. I think it worked out fine because with six passport checks and three ticket inspections, I don't believe we would have had much more sleep in a bed. The trip almost ended in disaster when we got on the wrong half of train. The conductor, who didn't speak English, crossed his arms and said "Brrr, Siberia!" The train was going to separate, and we were on the section bound for the frozen tundra. Fortunately, we switched, but every time the conductor saw us after that, he mock-shivered.
| Andy, Paul, and Ben. Ben is not as drunk as he looks. |
After we got there and had a nap, we went exploring the city. Visibility was only a few hundred feet because of incredibly intense fog. We found the Buda Castle, which had a creepy character in the gathering darkness.
 |  |  | 
|
| Castle turret | Turret and wall | Funicular railroad | Griffon-like statue |
A river slices slices through the city, separating Buda and Pest (yes, they were once separate towns; I wonder if they had trouble deciding which name would be first: imagine if it was called Pestbuda). Therefore, it is a city of bridges, much like Prague. Budapest's bridges are all much newer than Prague's, but not without decoration. They have a much higher capacity, which is good, because there's much more traffic than in Prague. There was a public transportation system, but not as developed as in the Czech capital. A few surface trams existed, but the dominant system was electric busses (which looked like they had a giant turret mounted on top).
 Chain Bridge |
 Lion close-up |
 Nearby Mosaic |
 Electric Bus |
The general feeling of the city was one of faded grandness. Impressive buildings were easy to find, but they could usually use some repair. My guess would be that during the 19th century, Budapest was a happening place, but it sort of fell into disrepair while under the control of the Soviet Union. The Great buildings were in better condition than most. Much of the rest of the town was in worse shape.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
One of the well kept areas in Budapest is the Hero Square. A number of statues are situated on walls or pillars. The square was built in 1896 to remember the Magyar victory of the Turks 1000 years earlier.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
The geothermal heated baths were one of the hottest things in Budapest. It was these huge outdoor pools heated to body temperature +/- 3° C. Because of the cool air, the air was incredibly steamy, reducing visibility to a few dozen feet. Fountains sprayed water out, which was almost like a massage. There were also a number of mineral pools indoors of various colors and smells. We definitely stayed there four hours.
No cameras were aloud inside, so I don't have any pictures of the pool itself. I think this is because on the weekdays there's separate days for men and women; I'm sure you can guess why. The first picture in this set is one of the big buildings behind a very large ice arena. It was easily twice the size of a hockey rink, and it had a movie screen playing music videos on one side. Can you think of a better way to get people to run into each other? Next is one of the more useless bridges in Budapest. We couldn't figure out what it crossed, or what was on the other side. The last shot is of the entranceway to the baths.
 |
 |
 |
Here are a few miscellaneous pictures that don't really fit any category. Explanations coming.
 Char seducing a pillar |
 A very fancy McDonalds |
 Flaming Hungarian Desert |
 Coolest car in town |
vu/~stodolan / Prague / Budapest
Updated: 25-NOV-2003
Webmaster: Nathan Stodola