It is just a 230km drive from Vienna to Budapest which takes a couple of hours on the direct motorway between the two.(These capitals are surprisingly close together – and I only just bi-passed Bratislava, which is only 60km from Vienna).The motorway was actually in better condition on the Hungarian side of the border compared to the Austrian. Interestingly, despite there now being no discernible border crossing between Western European countries, other than a welcome sign, Austria and Hungary have not yet dismantled their border crossing areas and the motorway briefly stops to wander through a decrepit concrete paved area ,lined with concrete bollards,with abandoned duty free shops,to the unmanned border booths.The only reason to stop is to buy a Hungarian motorway vignette,but I already have a valid one.It is a real nuisance having to work out how long your various road tax vignettes will last, and how to get one for the next country. Please ask your MEP to press for reciprocal road tax agreements across the EU!
I am heading for a the closest campsite I can find to the centre of Budapest,but it’s on the other side of the city to the one I’m approaching from.I have hesitated to accept my satnav’s plan to take me slap through the heart of the city and out the other site,but after a bit of checking I decided to follow the directions,for to go round the motorway ring road would add an extra 60km.In fact its fine;other than stopping at a few traffic lights the traffic is quiet,and I cross the Danube by the white Elizabeth Bridge and arrive at the campsite on the Eastern outskirts of Pest with no hitches. Whether it would have been a different story had it not been Sunday, I don’t know.So I have travelled down the Danube from where it is known as the Donau, to cross it once more where it is now known as the Duna.
My first impression of Budapest is that it looks very different to Vienna.For a start the Danube flows right through Budapest,like the Thames through London,and the huge neo-Gothic Hungarian parliament building sits right on the river bank, as ours does in London.(That is on the east side of the river,Pest.The twin city of Buda is on the hillier west bank).In comparison ,the centre of Vienna is set well back from the river,and the river bank there is either wooded ,motorways,or industrial.Also there is very little baroque architecture evident here in Budapest,as opposed to the surfeit of the stuff in Vienna.If anything the centre of Pest resembles Paris,although with rather grubbier buildings,and it doesn’t take long, heading out of the city,to find utilitarian 60’s concrete apartment blocks lining the main road.
I arrived at the campsite at about 3pm, and by 4pm had walked the 15 minutes back towards the city centre to the terminus of Metro line 2,from where it is just 10 minutes to the centre of the city.I was pleased to hear the ‘next stop ’announcements on the metro in dual Hungarian and English, as opposed to just German in Vienna. English is definitely the Lingua Franca in Eastern Europe,if that makes sense;you often hear other Eastern European tourists making themselves understood to the locals in English , although by necessity the staff of bars,restaurants ,and so on, usually can speak both German and English.
This is not a modern phenomenon,judging by Patrick Leigh-Fermor's comments on arrival in Budapest in the Spring of 1934.He had fallen on his feet and joined the smart set in the city, having been given introductions from landed gentry he had met further back on his journey, in Austria and Germany."Very many of these people talked English; when an exception cropped up, German was used,sometimes ,I think for historical reasons, rather reluctantly, but it was the universal second language."
I am heading for a the closest campsite I can find to the centre of Budapest,but it’s on the other side of the city to the one I’m approaching from.I have hesitated to accept my satnav’s plan to take me slap through the heart of the city and out the other site,but after a bit of checking I decided to follow the directions,for to go round the motorway ring road would add an extra 60km.In fact its fine;other than stopping at a few traffic lights the traffic is quiet,and I cross the Danube by the white Elizabeth Bridge and arrive at the campsite on the Eastern outskirts of Pest with no hitches. Whether it would have been a different story had it not been Sunday, I don’t know.So I have travelled down the Danube from where it is known as the Donau, to cross it once more where it is now known as the Duna.
My first impression of Budapest is that it looks very different to Vienna.For a start the Danube flows right through Budapest,like the Thames through London,and the huge neo-Gothic Hungarian parliament building sits right on the river bank, as ours does in London.(That is on the east side of the river,Pest.The twin city of Buda is on the hillier west bank).In comparison ,the centre of Vienna is set well back from the river,and the river bank there is either wooded ,motorways,or industrial.Also there is very little baroque architecture evident here in Budapest,as opposed to the surfeit of the stuff in Vienna.If anything the centre of Pest resembles Paris,although with rather grubbier buildings,and it doesn’t take long, heading out of the city,to find utilitarian 60’s concrete apartment blocks lining the main road.
I arrived at the campsite at about 3pm, and by 4pm had walked the 15 minutes back towards the city centre to the terminus of Metro line 2,from where it is just 10 minutes to the centre of the city.I was pleased to hear the ‘next stop ’announcements on the metro in dual Hungarian and English, as opposed to just German in Vienna. English is definitely the Lingua Franca in Eastern Europe,if that makes sense;you often hear other Eastern European tourists making themselves understood to the locals in English , although by necessity the staff of bars,restaurants ,and so on, usually can speak both German and English.
This is not a modern phenomenon,judging by Patrick Leigh-Fermor's comments on arrival in Budapest in the Spring of 1934.He had fallen on his feet and joined the smart set in the city, having been given introductions from landed gentry he had met further back on his journey, in Austria and Germany."Very many of these people talked English; when an exception cropped up, German was used,sometimes ,I think for historical reasons, rather reluctantly, but it was the universal second language."
The Hungarian parliament building
 The 'Fishermen's bastion' up on Buda castle hill, built as a viewpoint in 1895 |  Is it just me,or is this reminiscent of Bristol ?-The Szechenyi Bridge, or Chainbridge, over the Danube. It was in fact designed by Scots architects in the early 19th century. |
I set out to explore the old city of Buda,up on a hill in an elongated oval above the river.Up in the old city, the streets are quiet and attractive,and have friendly old ,multi-coloured painted buildings such as I have been seeing in other old towns in central Europe.It is a steep climb up quite a number of flights of steps to reach the top from the metro stop on the riverbank, but at the top there are great views.As well as the smaller older buildings there is just one Baroque monster up here ,the Buda Castle Palace,at one end of the hill, the former Hapsburg royal palace, remodelled several times and now housing the national gallery, and the Budapest museums.
The atmosphere here doesn't seem to have changed much since 1934,judging by Leigh-Fermor's descrition of Uri utca,one of the main streets in old Buda,where some of his new friends put him up for few days. "The Uri utca-die Herrengasse in German-a waving street of jutting windows,tiled roofs and arched doors with coats of arms,ran along the very summit of this castled height....Perched above the din of the capital,this patrician quarter had something of the hush of a country town...."
Its nice to be back where the prices are so reasonable.Coffee and a cake in central Buda,£2 .The same coffee and cake in Vienna,£8.I had a pint of beer in a bar outside on the river bank opposite the parliament building,costing the equivalent of £2.This would have been £5 in Vienna.How the cost of living can differ so much in just a short distance ,with no barrier between the countries ,is a puzzle.
The atmosphere here doesn't seem to have changed much since 1934,judging by Leigh-Fermor's descrition of Uri utca,one of the main streets in old Buda,where some of his new friends put him up for few days. "The Uri utca-die Herrengasse in German-a waving street of jutting windows,tiled roofs and arched doors with coats of arms,ran along the very summit of this castled height....Perched above the din of the capital,this patrician quarter had something of the hush of a country town...."
Its nice to be back where the prices are so reasonable.Coffee and a cake in central Buda,£2 .The same coffee and cake in Vienna,£8.I had a pint of beer in a bar outside on the river bank opposite the parliament building,costing the equivalent of £2.This would have been £5 in Vienna.How the cost of living can differ so much in just a short distance ,with no barrier between the countries ,is a puzzle.
 I just caught the changing of the guard at the (rather unimpressive) President's residence. |  streets of old Buda are low-key |
A magnificent piece of Baroquery-a fountain at the Buda castle
Fortuna utca, Old Buda
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