Around the World with Hardy(T)Around the World with Hardy(T)I get the train down from Vienna to Budapest.
It's an excellent ride down the Danube valley and I have the whole carriage
to myself - until, that is, we cross the border and the 
Budapest
hostel runners start working the train. Now that I know the score from Prague, I don't mind this too much and I'm soon fixed
up with a place at the Diákszálló Hostel (aka the Party
Hostel) for the princely sum of 975 Ft (about £5) a night. It looks
like it's going to be Prague all over again, as the place is full of western
backpackers and the bar is open 24-hours! The two English girls in my dorm
have a copy of the backpacker's bible - the latest Thomas Cook rail guide
- and they tell me that I can get a ferry, somehow, from Dubrovnik down to Corfu,
so this looks like a better way of getting there (to start the Albania trek)
than getting the train through Serbia and Macedonia to Athens - a trip that
would involve me getting two visas. Things are looking up. The first night
is very reminiscent of Prague as I don't get any further than the Hostel
bar. I meet up with some excellent people: Neil, an English hippy; Leah,
a bit of a space cadet from Canada; and Jeannie a lovely San Franciscan
- and don't leave the bar until 6am.
The similarities with Prague continue on my second day in Budapest - I spend most of the day in bed, venturing out only as far as the 'Champions' Sports Bar in a futile attempt to see if they're showing Pompey v QPR on Sky TV that night. Delivered pizza provides sustenance - Hungarian pizzas are great, they come with a fried egg on top - and the night is again spent in the hostel bar!
My sightseeing of Budapest begins in
earnest on Day 3, and what a magnificent city it is. If you're thinking
of going to Vienna, forget it! Budapest is exactly
the same - I think they were built as twin capitals of the Austrian-Hungarian
Empire or something - and Budapest is much cheaper and less crowded. Budapest
is really two cities: modern Pest sits on the eastern bank of the 
mighty Danube, whilst historic Buda overlooks Pest
from high on the west bank. Pest is a very bustling city, seemingly affluent
and brimming with exclusive shops and modern office blocks. A short walk
across the historic Chain Bridge and a ride on the funicular railway takes
me away from the hubbub and into the old castle area of Buda. I have a very
Hungarian moment sitting in the Palace courtyard listening to a busker playing
the fiddle before heading up to the castle parapets. These are not only
fascinating in themselves, but they also afford an excellent view over the
Danube towards the Hungarian parliament and across the sprawling city below.
The walk back to the hostel along the river bank is particularly pleasant
and it takes me past Margaret Island - a huge park on an island in the Danube
where the residents of Buda and Pest can escape the noise and pollution
of their city for a few hours.