Budapest: For Lovers Young and Not-So Young

A Glittering City

People often tell me they live vicariously through me.  Generally they’re referring to my travel adventures and stories rather than the more tedious aspects of my single woman’s life, I imagine.  (Although my romantic encounters can, I suppose, be sometimes viewed as out of the ordinary!)  I rarely envy other peoples’ travels, mostly because I often see them as uniquely their own.  But recently I arranged for my friend, Denise, and her husband, Alan, to go on a trip where I imagined myself every step of the way.  It turned out to be a most romantic journey and I’m sure part of me not only coveted her travels but I also imagined myself experiencing this magical city—that always intrigued me—with my own special someone.  Oh well, thankfully my life isn’t over yet!

Folk Dancers at the Wine Festival

The Hungarian capital of Budapest was her chosen destination, a selection made partly because of her husband’s Hungarian ancestry.  Denise and Alan divided one week between Budapest and Prague; the another was passed in the Hungarian countryside where they found it to be quite easy to explore by car.  As in France and other European countries, good signage in Hungary is more the norm than the exception.

Largely considered one of the most beautiful cities of Europe, Budapest is most typified by the Danube, the river made known probably first as a frontier of the Roman Empire and more recently (in 1867!) by a Viennese waltz that will forever evoke merriment and optimism.  Classified as World Heritage sites, the two banks of the Danube, Buda and Pest, are punctuated by many great buildings and monuments, some of which house hotels that overlook the legendary blue swath of the Danube.

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