Buda and Pest: It's actually two cities. Duh.

I would like to start out this entry by apologizing to the Hungarian people. There is wonderful internet access here. In fact, I am accessing the internet with great ease at this very moment.

This is why everyone hates Americans. We think everyone else is living in the Stone Age, while we are living out on the frontier of knowledge and culture. I'm not sure how much my readers keep up with this thing called history, but Americans really screwed up on the frontier. Just ask Sitting Bull.

My sister and I left Vienna this morning after a quick stroll through a very nice street market. Somehow, quick stroll + great food + big stomachs = 30 euros = like 100 dollars. Delicious. One word on markets though. I went to one in Amsterdam as well, which was billed as the "biggest in all of Europe." These markets are great places to be outside with wonderful food and mingle with all the locals, but they pale, absolutely pale, in comparison to the markets I have seen in Latin America and I assume to any in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. Like a candle to the sun. But who's competing, right.

So, we took the 3 hour train ride to Budapest. On the way, I read up on a brief history of this country and its capital city. Vienna is supposed to be the most eastern city of the West, so Budapest must be the most western of the East. It has had a tumultuous few centuries (as every country over here seems to have had). The Hungarians, I am told, are a very proud people (aka don't try and rule over them, Soviet Russia). They have had at least 2 large-scale revolutions since our last one back in the States. Budapest regularly falls outside of the American student backpacker's trek and we only decided to travel here like a week ago with an unopened guidebook and one-way train tickets, so what was I to expect? Two goats and a stream?

All I can say is this city is amazing. Ok, so it is a little more ragtag then Vienna (where the streets are uncannily immaculate) and ok, they speak a language supposedly up there with Arabic and Japanese as the most difficult to learn, and ok, their money is called the Forint and you have to have more than a few dozen of them to buy yourself a single candy bar, but this place rocks. Every building seems to have a cultural history of its own. There are both Western and Eastern influences on every window and every doorstep. I have taken a thousand pictures already. I know once I get home people will say, "ooh that's pretty, what famous building is that?" and I will respond, "I have absolutely no idea. They all look that goddamn cool. I lost track."

My sister had booked a couple beds for us at a hostel inside an old apartment building. With free internet and free breakfast, we are in backpacker heaven. Then, we took off walking across the Danube on a gorgeous white stone bridge. From the top of Castle Hill, we could see the whole city stretched out below us, framed by the mountains on one side, the plains on another, and the beautiful river weaving its way through the center.

Tomorrow we are getting up early and going to these 15th century Turkish baths. The guidebook had a picture of a bunch of old Hungarian dudes playing chess in a pool. I am psyched. Also, we found a place that serves beer in front of a huge television screen playing the Olympics 24/7, so basically we're set for the day.

Viszlát! (Look it up, man. It's Hungarian.)