Budapest, Hungary…the morning should have been simple, but it was rocky…I bought a first class train ticket, but couldn’t find the first class car and was relegated to airless second class! Then upon arriving, I thought I should buy my onward train tickets to Krakow. The ticket office was packed with smelly back-packers and the wait was over an hour and half! What am I doing? Mini meltdown…Forget it…I stormed out!

The taxi driver annoyed me too… oh, was Budapest gonna be a bust or did I just hit a wall from traveling 6 weeks? I think I was craving a switch from the series of small little towns with village squares and elaborate churches…

Well, I peeled myself off that wall when I got to my glorious hotel, Zenit Budapest Palace! It’s fantastic and things are looking up! The day totally turned around…I love the vibe of Budapest…it’s not just castles and churches(they have them too!)… It’s youthful, has an energy to it, a bustle in it’s step…bigger than the other towns on this tour so far! It’s got fashion and style along with cafes in spades! People everywhere, chilling in parks or soaking in makeshift pools! I am totally responding to this change…

It’s a large city spread out on both sides of the Danube…so my focus for now is just getting my bearings of what looks like a great place!