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For the most part, the night passed calmly and quietly. However we knew that at some point we'd be awakened by customs to 'check us out' of Romania and then later into Hungary. Romania is bigger than I anticipated though because it wasn't until 3 or so that the train stopped in the dark night and people boarded to inspect papers. The Romanian border patrol was very casual and low tech, just basically glanced at our passports and scribbled something on a pad of paper. At our second stop, the Hungarian border patrol was much more amped up, four people came to our door, immediately turned on all of our lights and told us where to sit. They had hand-held computers to scan and process our information in real time. We also spied them checking beneath all train cars with flashlights. Interestingly, when we crossed into Hungary the old engine was switched to an electrically powered engine for the rest of the journey.
Local living
Adventures in Buda
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In case you didn't know, for much of it's history Budapest was actually three cities: Buda and Óbuda on the west side of the Danube river and Pest on the East. The cities were unified into one in 1873. Because of their diverse histories, the character shifts dramatically when crossing the Danube. Buda hosts many small-scale buildings and large parks on its rolling hills. It is home to the large Saint Gellért Hill topped by a citadel with sweeping views, the sweet and impressive Buda castle and History museum set atop another hill and many more beautiful places. Here are some views and stories:
exercise parkS in buda
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Turkish Spa
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