Hi everyone! We are in Budapest and it is FREEZING!! Before we write about Hungary, let us back up to our last night in Bratislava. We bought some beer from the hostel for about $1.50 and, like the others we had tried, they were definitely very strong. Unfortunately, they tasted like someone dumped pumpkin pie spice into a Coors Light. We drank them anyway, don't worry. We stayed in a dorm room at the hostel that night, and Sean was confused about how to make his bed. He said "My sheet won't fit on this mattress pad!" Kaitlin laughed and told him that hostels do not have mattress pads....that was his blanket. Welcome to the world of hostelling.

The next morning we left for Budapest. Great train ride, lots of intresting sights along the way. When we arrived, we had directions to the hostel that involved taking two different metro trains. Not that difficult, we thought. We followed the signs and did a pretty good job, considering there is no English anywhere, and thought we were home free and started to walk out the station. We hadn't validated our second ticket when we switched metros (you have to find a little red box here and put your ticket in it...much different than at home) and the metro police officer said "No validate, pay 6000 each." 6000 Ft is about $35. A lot. Especially considering the stupid ticket only cost $1.50!!! We said "please" a lot and tried to look poor and pitiful, and he let us go with only paying 6000Ft instead of 12000Ft. Kaitlin plays the poor, distressed girl well and was about to break out some tears. We agreed it was a valuable learning experience and continued on our way.

The hostel in Budapest is the nicest one yet. Kind of has a Buddhist, Indian feel to it. Very cozy, almost feels like we are in someone's apartment rather than a hostel. Bed isn't too comfy, but the showers make up for it. At last- water pressure!!!! We decided to take a tour around the city on one of those busses that screams "tourist!" Walking around a city definitely gives you a better feel about it, but the bus was worthwhile since it gave us an overview of everything, and some history, and we were able to get a grasp on the layout of Budapest. We decided which things were of interest to us, and visited the House of Terror (a museum about communism and Nazism in Hungary) and the Great Market. The Great Market was pretty great....a huge building with fruits, veggies, and meats for sale on the ground floor, and crafts, souvenirs, and cafes on the top floor. We both decided the U.S. should have more of those.

A couple of you have asked us why we haven't posted our pictures yet...well, we had a little mishap with the camera. The mirror inside got a scratch on it and now there is a huge line across every picture we take. Very, very disappointing. Luckily we brought our little digital camera with us and we've been taking pictures with that. When we get some good pics we'll post them for everyone to see.

Heading to Sarajevo tomorrow!