Romania, October 2007

Greetings from the EU's latest entrant


Transylvania


Bucharest has only one remaining block of belle epoque buildings


Typical residential block in Bucharest


Part of the old quarter which wasn't torn down to build Ceausescu's Presidential Palace (so hideous even Blogger refused to upload an image of it)


Braşov in Transylvania, hub for the fledgling tourism industry (just don't expect any actual tourism services). Hub for sex tourism too, apparently.


View from the White Tower


Proof we walked all the way up the hill


Dinner: bread filled with goulash and raw onion at our hotel, Bella Muzica


Bran Castle, aka Dracula's home






Next stop: Râşnov


View from on high


Râşnov fortress wall


Watching over the fortress


Still in shock from our homicidal taxi driver (no tour buses yet in Romania) and his tales of adultery


A Roma gentleman our driver tried to run down


Then to Sighişoara, little fortified town of much mud


... a Saxon clock tower


... houses with antlers


... and f--- all else to do.


Waiting for the 5am train from Cluj-Napoca (Romanian for "hungry? tough luck") to Budapest. Oy.

Budapest, October 2007

Inside Budapest's Parliament


Now part of the opulent Boscolo New York Palace hotel, the lavish Café New York was the haunt of Budapest's intelligentsia. One of Europe's original literary cafés -- now a hotel lobby for the bored rich toting Louis Vuitton bags. Read more about its impressive former clientele here.


The faded glamour of Muvész Kávéház


View from Buda hill


Fisherman's Bastion


Bullet holes preserved in the memorial to the 1956 revolution


Heroes' Square


St Matthias Church in Buda


Andrassy út boulevard, lined with cafes, grand 19th-century buildings and music halls


Callas Cafe next to the Opera House


Everything goes better with sour cherry cake


Inside the Museum of Applied Arts


A perfect Wiener schnitzel at one of my favourite restaurants in the world: Bock Bisztró. Named for one of Hungary's foremost winemakers, it is truly an oenophile's delight.


Bock's lobster soup


Bock's chocolate beef with morels


Bock's house-cured meats and salamis


Accordian helps the wine go down


Tokaji is definitely okay


Atop Gellért Hill

Special mention to the unforgettable Szechenyi Baths, which we didn't photograph (due to being in our swimwear at the time). A series of indoor pools ranging from hot to freezing, and a large heated outdoor swimming pool in the shadow of the majestic domed building. Watch the old men play chess between the rising steam, or get sucked into the whirlpool and feel like a kid again.

Prague, October 2007

Vltava River from Charles Bridge




Inside Prague Castle




Pork, dumplings, cabbage. Salty.


The Old Jewish Cemetery


Fabulous meal at Černý Kohout




Cute signage at our hotel