HUNGARY

Budapest feels like a cult classic, despite some lingering annoyances left over from the Soviet era, there's a lot to love.

"I walked the gut-wrenching garden of the Dohány Street Synagogue. Such a different feeling from the immense splendor and beauty inside the building. Underneath this stone and dirt lies the mass graves of thousands of Jews--killed by violence, or left to freeze and starve by the occupying Nazis during WWII. It's hard to separate the garden's mark of mass death with the joy of faith just inside the doors a few yards away. I linger long enough to register the heaviness, an atrocity like this can never happen again."

--Luke's Journal

CITIES VISITED:

MUST DO:

FAVORITE MEMORY:

Budapest

Visit Dohány Street Synagogue, The Hungarian Parliament Building, Heroes' Square, the Fisherman's Bastion and of course the Széchenyi thermal bath.

Dodge the partying Brits on Király Street long enough to enjoy a Dreher beer.

Having the Fisherman's Bastion nearly all to myself on an unseasonably cold and wet summer day. Felt like I rented a castle for a few hours.

DIFFICULTY TO VISIT RATING:

2/5  MODERATE

Speaking for Budapest, it was fairly simple to navigate but public transportation can be trying for tourists. I was targeted on two separate occasions by Soviet style subway attendants that claimed my ticket was not punched correctly. Once I ended up paying a $30 fine not to get arrested. The second time a nice Hungarian guy stood up for me and told the attendants they were wrong. Either or, it was annoying. Cross your Ts and dot your Is.