After a restful day and night in Lipova I was keen to keep moving westwards. Destination Budapest Hungary. My first impression is good. This city has a past but still pushes out from its socialist and classic origins as a city marching to a new and modern tune. There are bits of everything here. 300 year old bronze statues looking across old growth parks at hastily built reinforced concrete tenements. All of this happens in the shadows of new architecturally designed office blocks. There is a definite jump in the quality of living that can be seen when you cross the border from Romania. The first is the new (no doubt EU sponsored) highway. Top speed limit of 130 kms most of the way, with a great big fence dividing East and West bound traffic I am glad to say. The overtaking moves were giving me stomach ulcers. The hotel I will call home for the next two nights is called the silver hotel and for the price (45€ per night) is good enough for me. It is a good central spot and conveniently located on the East side of the Danube river, also known as Pest. Please hold the smart arse remarks. So the mission for the day is to walk around the pests and watch what goes on. So far so good. Am planning on a large feed tonight and an early bed so I can run around tomorrow. Thinking of a hop on hop off bus. I hate those bloody things but in this place it is probably a good idea.