Lots to see today! It's easy to see that Budapest was once a thriving Eastern European power city but now, it's STILL picking up the pieces from WWI and WWII. One of my first stops was called the "House of Terror" which reminded me a lot of the Holocaust museum in Washington, D.C. It was, of course, a little depressing but I'm glad I went there first because I learned A LOT about Hungarian history that I never knew, especially about events leading up to WWI and all the way to the end of WWII. Obviously I knew that Hungary was effected by the Holocaust but there was so much more than what we scratch over in school. Really interesting stuff and the museum was very well done. Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to take pictures! I did sneak a quick video of one room, mostly because the music was so creepy and dreary.

After the museum, I continued down the main drag, taking in the sun and warm weather and enjoying the views of a new, unique city. There was a large park at the end with tons of people out and about. There was a zoo, a small theme park and lots of vendors selling postcards and cheap sunglasses. I wandered into a HUGE shopping mall that looked less than 5 years old and it was PACKED with shoppers. There are some areas of Budapest really hurting and impoverished, but I think there is also a fairly prominent middle class because so many people were out and about and parts of the city seem really nice. The House of Terror museum really gave me a new perspective of Hungary, though, and sometimes history makes me SO frustrated the way things pan out!! Such a shame.

Anyhow, I'm still resting my feet from all the walking today but I'm going to make some dinner ("add water" soup package again - easy and cheap!) and then I'll probably try to round up some fellow travelers for a night out on the town. The hostel was full last night and there are still quite a few here tonight so I don't think that will be too difficult. Don't worry, I won't be wandering around alone at night in THIS city!!

I think it's supposed to rain here tomorrow which will be rough because the weather was so gorgeous today - the sun was out and it felt like 60s or 70s. Some ÖBB trains leave non-stop for Vienna tomorrow on the odd hours so I think I'll try to get the 3pm or the 5pm and be back around dinnertime, maybe earlier.

Please note the link for more Bratislava/Budapest pictures on the right! Enjoy!