A little more Goulash

Thought I'd share a few more observations on Budapest ...It's really a pretty city (as always, click the photos to see them larger), but we were really disturbed by the amount of graffiti we saw. Everywhere - on buildings, in subways, on billboards. I know defenders of graffiti believe that it is expression of an art form. This was in no way art - it was vandalism. And it was everywhere.

You just don't see much graffiti in London. There is never any in the underground and I don't want to think of what would happen to you if you tried to deface a building. But in Budapest, it is rampant.

We brought Hungarian currency (forints) into the country with us. We're glad we did because we found that credit cards were not widely accepted. This almost became a problem at dinner on Friday night. We had chosen a restaurant (from the guide book, of course) called Trofea. It's a hunting-lodge style buffet restaurant, highly recommended. You pay a set price and there's a vast buffet. They have many kinds of soup, salads, fruit, fresh breads, cheeses and vegetables. Then there is a section with lots of marinated meats. You pick your meats and take them to a grill where they are cooked. Beer, wine and soft drinks are all-you-can-drink.Hungarian food is quite heavy, and it was late so my meal was a chicken breast marinated in garlic and beer, some marinated cucumber salad, cheese and fruit. Keith went a different way, sampling a variety of meats, veggies, salads and of course, more goulash.Did I mention dessert was crepes made to order with a variety of toppings, including cherries and chocolate?Anyway, we ate and enjoyed ourselves thoroughly. We asked for the check and handed the waiter a card. No cards, he said. We're down to the last few forints and it looks like we'll be washing dishes until the plane leaves ... until the waiter says there is an ATM outside, around the corner. Keith got the cash and saved the day.You assume most nice restaurants take cards and the guide book said they did. But apparently the policy changed. Boy, I am so glad the Russians aren't in charge anymore. I might be sending this blog from a Siberian work camp.

One of the Magyar words I learned over the weekend was "barack." Our president-elect's name means "apricot" in the Hungarian language.

The subway system in Budapest is the world's second oldest, behind London. There are only three lines and it seems very primitive compared to London. The trains, for example, look very old - but kind of neat, almost retro. And the stations look like they haven't been changed since the '60s - lots of plastic molded seating and orange and yellow.
But their escalators are the fastest I've ever been on! They really fly! We were riding the escalator today in the London Underground and it seemed so slow compared to Budapest. One of the last things we did in Budapest was visit Heroes Square. This was built in 1896, for Budapest's 1,000th birthday celebration. It's a sight to behold - enormous statues all around. Look at the size of these monuments!