I had planned to continue using the Interrail pass for the journey from Bratislava to Budapest until I found out about a fast hydrofoil service down the Danube between the two cities. At around £30 for a one-way trip the boat is about ten times the price of the rail fare and explains the absence of other backpackers. Instead, the passengers on board were made up of a few middle aged American couples and a group of elderly French tourists suitably attired in nautical motifed shirts and scarves. The scheduled four hour journey turned into six hours due to the amount of mist on the river but it was quite a relaxing way to travel and has the additional benefit of dropping you off at the very centre of the city.

I've often found that you make up your mind about a place within the first hour or so after arrival and the initial impressions of Budapest were good. It seemed to have a more friendly and relaxed atmosphere than I had seen previously; shopkeepers would often greet you and there was less of the stern, dour look in people's faces. I noticed this when I went out shopping soon after arriving and went looking for the CD of a Hungarian artist I first heard played by the tour driver in Russia. I'd tried every country since then and hadn't been able to find it anywhere.

Budapest is situated in spectacular surroundings on the River Danube, overlooked by hills upon which the Royal Palace and its primary church reside. There are no high-rise buildings in the city and with its wide streets, parks and elegant buildings it has been said to resemble Paris, albeit a slightly worn and faded version. It also has a vibrant cafe culture and many of the pedestrianised streets in the centre are taken over in the evenings by diners and revilers.

I stayed at a large hostel just outside the centre. It was reasonably comfortable and I was grateful for the chance to do some laundry. However, it did suffer from one of the curses of modern travelling - bedbugs. Having occasionally been afflicted by these nasty pests I'd learnt the basic precautions - using a sheet sleeping bag when in doubt (I'd been using a single duvet cover that I bought in Slovakia), and if it gets really bad, sleep with the light on and use an eye mask. Until this particular hostel I'd never actually managed to see of the little critters in the flesh, only occasionally noting the dead skin that they tend to moult. But on the second morning just after one of the travellers in the dormitory had left, a young guy from Poland, I saw a couple crawling around on his sheets. One large bloated one had the reddish colouring evident of a recent feed. I moved into a single room and went into heightened alert mode.

Budapest is renowned for its thermal baths and there's none more prestigious than the Gillert Baths on the Buda side of the river. Located in an imposing Art Nuveaux building it houses a labyrinth of corridors leading to all sorts of heated pools and steam rooms. I had wanted to witness the typically Hungarian social activity that surrounds the baths, seeing potbellied old men playing chess and engaging in philosophical discussions. Perhaps the Gillert Baths are a victim of its reputation but there were a few too many tourists taking photographs of the interior to create a completely relaxing environment and I suspect most of the locals use more mundane locations. Still, it was a nice way to spend a few hours.

Exploring the city beyond the familiar tourist spots I came across a large shopping mall, a sure indicator of the cities rapid move away from the Communist era and the embracing of all things Western. Budapest's "West End" mall is identical to its American counterparts and as large as any I've ever been to. Judging by how busy it was these malls are very popular with the locals but there was something slightly odd about the atmosphere. It took me a while to realise it but there's a smoking ban in the mall and given the amount that Eastern Europeans smoke, (i.e. continuously) I'm surprised as many of them were able to bare it.

The capital city of any country is where you see how the nation wishes to portray itself to the rest of the world. Everything is on a grander scale and more overt but it can come across to the casual observer as being slightly contrived. You don't see the more typical and routine side of life until you venture out into the regions. I choose Szeged, a lively university town on the Southern plains of Hungary. Not being on Hungary's main tourist route, i.e. not Budapest, facilities are fewer but much better value. I tried a hotel that was sign posted from the station and after being submitted to a presentation by the owners young son of his newly learnt English (I was the first proper English speaker he'd ever met) I checked into a nice little room with bathroom, TV and breakfast all for £8.

There's a huge church and a nice town hall in Szeged but apart from that its attractions are based around doing what most of the towns population of students do - that is ambling around in pleasant and relaxing surroundings. Something I was happy to do before leaving Hungary couple of days later.

The train from Hungary was an International service with standard European style comfort, particularly in first-class where it was worth paying the extra £5 for the ten-hour journey into Romania. What was unexpected was seeing a number of families in the process of moving home, each laden with dozens of bags, holdalls and boxes with everything from tubs of washing powder to vacuum cleaners in them. It took me a while to work out their strategy but basically; a couple of members of the family would buy a first class ticket so that they could use the extra space under and above the seats to store all the junk. It simply wouldn't all fit in to a second-class carriage and it still took a lot of banging around to fit it all in to a half empty first-class carriage. I noted the disapproving looks from the other passengers but I found it all quite resourceful. Good luck to them.