We arrived in Budapest at 6 in the morning after a night train from Salzburg. I think that I wrote about that in my last update. It was when we had to sleep with all of the scary people in the train station until 1 in the morning. When we woke up on the train, we met two of the guys in our little compartment. They were from Colorado, and were entirely too excited considering the hour!! I found out that one of the guys has the same birthday. He wanted to go out for drinks to celebrate, but that never materialized. From what I gathered, their trip has consisted of partying until 5 or 6 in the morning and then sleeping well into the afternoon. I decided to pass on that and actually see Budapest. We got off of the train and went to our hostel. We were so excited when we learned that there was a refrigerator in our room. We showered and then found a local market. We bought milk, yogurt, cereal, cheese, fruit, and cups to eat our cereal in. You have no idea how exciting it was to have really cold milk and cereal. We were in heaven. We ate a little and before we knew it we were asleep. Our bodies said "NO MORE"! After a wonderful nap, we walked around some of the streets, just trying to get a feel for the city. It is so huge. The Danube runs through the middle of the city, separating it into the Buda side and the Pest side. We were staying on the Pest side, and explored that area before we called it a night. We had big plans for the following day.

When we woke up, we got ready and went to the Hotel Intercontinental (something that Eliza told us about). It was wonderful. We got cheap, yummy pastries and coffee. It was so plush and very air conditioned. We sat and read some newspapers and a Newsweek, and just enjoyed the morning. It was nice to catch up on some of the events occurring in the States. We you are travelling like this, you are so out of touch with everything. After breakfast, we decided to brave the heat and venture over to the Buda side and visit Castle Hill. It was really neat and provided a spectacular view. We went into a beautiful cathedral, and then went into a museum that was in the castle. It was a scorching day, so we decided to shop for some shorts for me because my jeans were really unbearable, but had no luck. I found a couple of pairs, but my cheeks would have hung out, so I decided to stick with the jeans. We poked around a little longer, and then went to the room. It was definitely laundry time (the stench of our clothes told that)!! We went to bed a bit early because we had big plans for the following morning. It was going to be my 21st birthday, and we were going to wake up early so we could go to the Turkish Baths to get pampered. We felt we deserved, and we were definitely going to enjoy it!! I am going to sign off now because I have finished my beer and people are waiting to use the computer, but I will finish our Budapest tales along with Germany at another time, and post this when everything is complete, so I am warning you now that this page will be LONG!! Auf wiedersehen for now!!

I am back and in Prague, but I am going to finish telling you the rest of our Hungarian experiences and tell you all about Germany. I just received all of my e-mail and I want to thank everyone that wrote me. It really helps a lot to hear from people back home. It has been a month now, and it is really beginning to feel like it has been a long time. We are still having a great time, but I am really ready to soak in a bathtub for a long time, and then get out and put on a pair of shorts!! I will get to soon enough, so I will stop longing for the nice little things that I miss about home and tell you about my birthday in Budapest.

We woke up bright and early on Saturday, packed our stuff and checked out of our hostel. We were on our way to the Turkish Baths to be pampered. We felt we deserved it after what all we have put our bodies through. My shoulders were definitely looking forward to the massage!! We walked over to the baths and paid, and entered the women's area. I knew it was going to be a weird experience, and when I walked through the door, it was confirmed. These large hungarian women handed us some apron type garments and motioned us to change. I knew it was going to be very difficult with this little language barrier problem that we had!!! We changed into the aprons and handed in our massage reciepts, and headed for the thermal baths. There were two huge pools in this beautifully tiled room. One of the pools was kept at 36 C and the other was kept at 38 C. I don't know what that computes to in Farenheit, but I do know that it was quite warm. It felt great. It was so nice to actually have the opportunity to soak in warm water. I am so used to showers that shut off every 10 seconds or so (or we have to pay for the hot water), so it was nice to have an unlimited supply of warm water at our disposal!! After spending a long time in the bath, we showered off and waited for our massage. The massage was wonderful. It was a nice way to begin my morning. I wish that I could start every morning like that, and I was the cleanest I had been the entire trip!!

After we left the baths, we headed over to the Hotel Intercontinental for a little treat. I didn't get breakfast in bed, but I did get a slice of chocolate truffle torte. It was so yummy. We sat in the hotel for a while because it was already very hot outside and we were so clean. We hated to go out and get all sweaty, but we didn't have a choice. We took a metro to the train station to make a reservation for our night train to Munich, and when we got there the lady told us that they were no longer taking reservations for couchettes for that train, and we would have to make a reservation with the conductor when we boarded. That made me a bit nervous because I would hate to have to ride on a night train sitting up!! There was nothing else we could do for our train situation except wait, so we went over to Heroes Square and walked around for a while. It was a very nice monument, and there were some beautiful parks surrounding the area. We walked around for a while and decided it was too hot, so we took a metro back to one of the main streets and walked around in the shade for a while. We made our way to Fatal which is a Hungarian restaurant. The food was so good. The portions were huge, so I wasn't able to even eat half of my meal, which made me sad because the food was excellent!! We walked along the river some before we headed for the train station to wait for our train. I liked Budapest a lot, but I know I would have liked it even more if the weather had been more agreeable. When our train arrived, we rushed on and asked the conductor if there were any couchettes available. There were, and we were the only ones in our compartment. That was the best way to end my birthday. It is so much more comfortable when you are not crowded into a little compartment with five other people and their luggage! We were on our way to Germany, and we were going to sleep well!!

When we arrived in Munich, it was 6 in the morning, so not much was open yet. We went to our hostel, which was a block away from the Hauptbaunhoff (the train station) and checked in. We couldn't go up to our room until 3, but they did let us shower. We were so excited after being so dirty from Budapest. (I have come to the realization that if you can't stand to be dirty, never ever travel like this because it is inevitable!! You are usually dirty!!) After showering, we paid for breakfast at the hostel, and had a feast. We felt like real people again. It was so wonderful! After breakfast, we headed out into the cool morning air and went to the botanical gardens. They were really pretty, and it was a nice way to start out our little visit to Munich. After the gardens, we went to the Marianplatz to see the Glockenspiel. The plaza was really neat, but all of the stores were closed, and we couldn't visit the churches because they were in service. We decided to visit Dachau. It was about a 20 minute train ride to the city, and then a short bus ride to the camp. The weather was cold and dreary, which was very appropriate for such a morbid place. We went through the museum and watched the film about the concentration camp. It was very disturbing, but it made it more of a reality for me than just stories that you read out of history books. After Dachau, we went back into Munich, but our spirits weren't too high. We poked around some of the plazas, and were able to see some of the churches. We decided it was time to head over to our hostel and check out our rooms (and our beds!!). We had a little snooze, and woke up upon the entrance of our new roommates, Conrad and Sebastian. We had two more London boys. I love the way they talk, and I think they like the way we talk also. (If nothing else, they like "yall"!) After talking for a while, they decided they were going to take a nap before they hit the beergardens, and we decided to go to a German restaurant. After walking around for a while, we finally happened upon a place that looked very German, and not touristy. We were correct because they had no English menu, and they had difficulty explaining what the dishes were. That is our biggest problem. We never know what the menus say and that can be a problem (I almost ordered tongue in Italy once)! We finally found something we thought we might like, and ordered it. We made a good selection because it was very good. After dinner, we walked around for a while before we headed in. We had a busy day planned for the following day because we were going to go shopping for clothes. I needed shorts, and Katina needed all new shirts, and we also had a lot more to see of Munich.

After breakfast, we set out to shop. All of the stores were having sales, and we were hoping to cash in. After shopping for quite a while, I finally gave up. No one has shorts!! Katina did luck out and bought three shirts. She was so excited. She couldn't wait to get back to the room to throw her other shirts away!! We also visited the Residenz, which is the palace of the King of Bavaria. We saw all of the jewels, and took a tour of the palace. It was really beautiful, but also very overwhelming! We got to see the Glockenspiel chime at 9:00 that evening, and we got to see the little Munchen Kinder (Munich child) head off to bed. It was really cute. When we were waiting for the clock to chime, there were two guys playing the xylophones. They were excellent, and entertained us while we were waiting. The following morning we caught the 6:50 train to Fussen so we could visit the castle Neuschwanstein. It was a quite a little journey, but it was worth it. This is the castle I have wanted to see since I saw it on the Headbanger's Ball with Danzig in the 9th grade. I finally got to see it, and it exceeded all of my expectations. (It is the castle in the picture on this page and at the beginning of my web page.) We had to hike a little ways up the mountain that this castle is perched on. It was a very cool and overcast morning (once again, but I am not complaining. It felt wonderul!) which we appreciated once we reached the top. We waited in line for the English tour, and I was pleasantly surprised when I saw our guide. He was so cute!!! I definitely enjoyed the tour (I loved the castle as well, but the guide was a definite highlight!!). There were some gorgeous views from different windows in the castle. At one point you could see a waterfall cascading down the rocks of the mountain, and it was surrounded by the dense forrest. It was so beautiful. At another window, you could see two blue lakes, as well as King Ludwig's parent's castle. I was so thrilled to be at such an amazing place. It is called "the fairy tale castle", and that is what it really is. After the castle, we walked over to his parent's castle and walked the grounds before we went back to the train station. From there we took a bus to another little town to visit the castle Linderhof. This castle was not as large, but just as extravagant!! All of the rooms were decorated in gold except one, and it was decorated in silver. The grounds were immaculate, and he also had a cave built with fake stalagtites and stalagmites for his own personal enjoyment. It was a wonderful day, but by the end we were completely exhausted.

The following morning we took a train to Heidelberg. What a charming little town!! It definitely ranks up there with Salzburg. It isn't a large city, and there aren't tons of historical monuments everywhere, but the town is so quaint and beautiful. I almost like these towns more because it feels more like a vacation. You can actually relax, and the surroundings are so tranquil. There are mountains surrounding the town, and there is a river that runs through the middle of the town. After we arrived, we poked around in the open market, walked along the river, and visited some cathedrals. We went into some little shops, and found a little shop that sold fresh fruit juices. We ordered one, and it was so refreshing!! The weather was beautiful. It was sunny, but cool. I love this mountain weather!! (Too bad Texas doesn't have summers like this!) The following day we took a tour of the castle ruins. It was a wonderful tour, and following that we walked the grounds of the castle. I wanted to hike so bad, but there is no way I could have in jeans and sandals. Our second day in Heidelberg was a bit warmer (it was actually rather hot), and of course we were homeless until we caught our night train to Prague, so we wandered around in the heat for a while. We finally went to a market, bought food for lunch, and went over the bridge, and had a little picnic on the river bank. It was lovely in the shade. For the rest of the day we walked about before we caught our train. We were headed to Prague, and things were about to be a whole lot cheaper!!!

When we arrived in Prague, we exchanged all of our extra currencies from other countries, and went to make a reservation for our train to Amsterdam. It was for 3 days later, but it is better to be safe than sorry. Luck was not on our side, and we will be enjoying our 14 hour journey on a night train sitting up. I have always questioned why people would do that to themselves, and now I know that they do not always have a choice. I think this will definitely be an interesting night, and I think that we are going to try to get some Nyquil, or some wine before we board the train!! Anyway, after we booked our seats, we went to our hostel. It is a bit far from the city center, but it is less than $8 a night, and they have Internet Access, so that saves me the trouble of having to hunt down a cafe!! (Yeah!!!!) After we checked in, we took some time to do laundry. We were completely out of clothes, and I can't rought it to the point that I am turning garments inside out or wearing them twice! My jeans are getting a bit grim, but there are no washing machines here, and the laundro-mats are far away, so I will try to do them in Amsterdam. It will be a bit interesting, because I am going to have to sit in the laundro-mat in my boxers until my jeans wash and dry!! After laundry, wandered about for a while. We went to the old town square, and went into some of the cathedrals there. I had no idea Prague had so many cathedrals! They are everywhere, and they are so amazing. We also went into an old Jewish cemetary, and wandered around the Jewish Quarter for a while. The next day we went to more churches, and climbed one of the towers. The view was gorgeous, but I don't know if my pictures will turn out because the sun was really bright. We walked around for quite a while before we headed back to the room. Katina had used some of my lotion the night before, and some bumps were developing. We went back to the room so that she could shower, and I could use the computer. We were going on a pub walk that evening. The walk was fun, but I was drained. We went to three different pubs, and after the tour a group of us went to a little restaurant for dinner. It was a lot of fun, and I met a really fun girl, Amanda, from Australia. She told me that if ever I am in Australia, I can always stay with her, so that may be my next adventure!! (I have always wanted to see Koala bears, and the Great Barrier Reef!!!) This morning we checked out of our hostel and ate breakfast. The first thing on our list was to find a pharmacy for Katina. Her rash had gotten worse, and it looks like she is covered in mosquito bites!! We got some medicine, and I really hope it works!!! Tonight is our long train ride, so we will see how it goes.

I will write about the train ride, Amsterdam, and London in my next post. Hopefully I have plenty of exciting, cheery, and fun things to tell you!! I miss everyone, and I hope everyone is doing great. I will be home soon, and I am getting anxious. I will definitely miss Europe, but I also miss home (and air conditioning)!! Bye for now!!

If there are any words spelled wrong, I apologize, but I don't want to take the time to proof read this, so please excuse any errors!

August 17, 1998