Budapest, Hungary

Departing Nuremberg by train and, because it was the start of another long public holiday weekend across Europe, they became increasingly packed with people as the day wore on. Also, one of our booked trains was delayed so we missed our connection and reserved seats, consequently ending up standing for four hours at one stage. The joys of travel! It was a long torrid day but we finally arrived to a warm balmy evening in Budapest.

Once again, Bruce had done an awesome job of finding an Airbnb right on the edge of the Old Town and just metres from the Danube River on the Pest side, so we gratefully settled in for a six-day stay in the historic city.

The beauty of using Airbnb was being able to save money and eat 'at home'. But some of our greatest and most stressful challenges were finding and then negotiating the aisles and mysterious products in supermarkets, and not to be recommended on empty stomachs and when tired from travelling. Thank goodness for Google Translate!

We discovered 'free' walking tours of cities (you pay what you think it's worth at the end) and found that they give a great introduction, with a taste of places and sites to return to in your own time, as well as a potted history and delightful anecdotes, not to be found on Google.

Ian Walker, who had been whizzing around Europe for several weeks on a train pass, joined us again for a few nights in Budapest and it was good to catch up. He also led us on several excursions having visited the city several times before and he knew it well.

Highlights of Budapest:
Walking tour with Zoltan - Incredibly knowledgable and delightfully funny guide.
Sights along the Danube River and the many different bridges spanning it, by day and by night.
Great Market Hall in historic building, central Budapest
The Dohany Street Synagogue & Museum - The largest in Europe and second-largest in the world.
Margaret Island - Large area of green spaces and recreational activities in the middle of the Danube River. In the past, the site of mulitple monasteries and nunneries.
60 Andrassy Avenue - A musem and memorial to the people subjected to the horrors conducted in that buiding during the Nazi and Comunist regimes in Hungary.
'Shoes on the Danube Bank' - In memory of the victims shot into the Danube by Arrow Cross militiamen in 1944–45.
UEFA Europa League Final held in Budapest on Wednesday 31 May. Sevilla vs. Roma, with 65,000 fans at the game. Result: 1-1 but Sevilla defeated Roma 4-1 on penalties.