Summer Holiday

In September I went on my first holiday to Eastern Europe. During our initial plans we talked about visiting Poland, or perhaps traveling around the Czech Republic.

I wasn't sure what to expect, but I had heard good reports from friends who had previously visited Budapest in Hungary, so this is where we eventually decided to go.

One of the main advantages we found of traveling into Eastern Europe was that our money went quite far. For less than we would normally pay to stay in a two star hostel in Barcelona or Paris, we managed to rent a private apartment in the centre of Pest. The cost also included the cost of someone meeting us personally at the airport and driving us back to the apartment (although we did have to pay a little extra for a ride back to the airport at the end of the holiday).

My initial impressions of the city were that the shops and fast food establishments were getting very westernised (with branches of M&S and Burger King found across the city), but the styles of many things seemed to be a bizare blend of both 70's and 90's fashions.

I've included a photo of a telephone box I found in Buda. How many colours are there? The telephone handle is pink, the telephone's body is blue, while the telephone box itself is green and yellow!

During our stay, we managed to take in quite a few trips. One of my favourites was up into the Buda Hills. I've included a short video clip.

We set of by taking the underground metro from Pest into Buda. We then transfered onto a tram to take us to the base of the hills. Next we took the cogwheel railway up into the hills.

Once in the hills, we then went to catch the Childrens Railway. When I initially read this in the guidebook, I had presumed that this was a railway for children. I guess this was true, but not in the way I had imagined. Infact, this is a railway completely operated by children (with the exception of the engine drivers) and they take this very seriously. Apparently, like in many countries, as boys grow up they consider a job on the railways, and this was a way for them to get a taste for what was involved, while thye were still at a fairly young age.

In the entrance hall we found the ticket office was staffed by a young man who took our coins and in return provided a couple of tickets. When the train pulled off from the platform, all the staff on the train stood by the doors and solemnly saluted all the staff left at the station, who had all come onto the platform to salute back.

During our journey through the hills a very young boy came to sell us souvenirs, while another came to inspect our tickets. We eventually left the train at a small station close to an observation station. As you will see on the video, even at the small stations the children took there responsibilities seriously.

We then took a stroll up to the observation tower to get a wonderful view over Budapest. Once our trip was over, we took a chair lift back down to the base of the hill, and then caught a bus back to the metro station in Buda.