Another so-so night's sleep….not as bad as Monday night, but not great either. Our train was leaving at 840a, which allowed us to meet Paige in Vienna as she was arriving from Vegas and picking it up to go to Salzburg.   As we prepared to leave Budapest, a few reflections….We had heard mixed reviews prior to arriving, some loved it…some not so much.   We are definitely in the "love it" category.

- The people were very gracious and service oriented.   Most spoke English extremely well and provided good guidance. I can’t think of a cranky person in our three days.

· Food was good, not spectacular…but a solid “good”.

· Sights, sounds and ambiance were great. We loved the mix of Communist left-overs, old-style European and modern. Churches were some of the best I have seen anywhere in the world, and the blend of odd (ruin pubs) and grand (opera, St Stephens) makes the visit very interesting.

I would highly recommend a visit!

Now, after a light breakfast and a short taxi ride, we were headed to Salzburg via Vienna on the train. The ride was only 2.5 hours, and as luck would have it, our next train that was leaving in 12 minutes was on the next track and we could see Paige waving from the inside the train. We settled in, happy to have found her so quickly and got caught up for the next 3 hour ride to Salzburg.

By the time we arrived we were all ready for a nap, so Paige snagged a taxi to her apartment and we went to check into our hotel. Ok, remember when I went on a bit of a rant over Booking.com yesterday? Well, they didn’t do much to improve my opinion today.   While checking into the hotel, the desk clerk said…”oh you are two? You booked a family room only for one person, you have two persons…so it is 20 euro per night more”.   My reaction was ???????.  Why would I book a family room and make it only for one person? After some pushing from me, including pulling up the website and showing I can get the same room for less right now, and finally the “can I see your manager” request, we were in our room (not the family room) for the lower price.   

Since it had been mostly a day of sitting, we went out to explore and found the Christmas Market in full swing.   Unhealthy foods, Christmas decorations and local handicrafts were drawing crowds. We joined in and finally decided it was time to sit and watch the people at the outdoor ice rink. We found an outdoor restaurant, which was perfect as it was about 60 degrees, so we relaxed with a glass of wine and a sausage snack.  

Paige called and we met her for another beverage, before she went home to get some much needed sleep. We found a small Italian restaurant that had great pizza but terrible wine, before heading back for an early bed time.