We arrive in Hungary early morning, quite tired and in need of rest and somewhere to stay. The guy we met the previous day recommended the IYHA. Since he was good at being conned we decide to check them out with caution. As we are getting off the train we are approached by someone from the IYHA and given the hard-sell. Let's Go quotes their prices as being about twice everywhere else, but it's simple so we try it. We get a free minibus

[View across Budapest from the Fisherman's Bastion.]

to the hostel with two Americans and two Spanish. All of us decide that it's probably too expensive, and the Americans get dropped at another hostel, having decided to make their own way somewhere cheaper. We arrive at our hostel and the rooms are poor quality for the price, and have the added benefit of having no hot water. We're told this entire side of Pest doesn't have any. We see some Australians in the lobby, and ask them about accommodation. They're coincidentally leaving, having found somewhere cheaper - across the street. We go across, and it's half price for even better quality. We rescue the Spanish, who are about to re-board the bus back to the station in

[The Castle in Budapest, complete with bullet marks from the last time Hungary was invaded.]

disgust, and they stay too. The bloke in the new hostel, student accommodation, is very helpful. We get a double en-suite room for £11. We shower (after 3 days on trains we desperately need to be clean) and sleep until lunchtime.

We get directions from reception, and head by tram towards Castle Hill, Varhegy, getting some cash from an ATM on the way. We decide we ought to eat, despite not being hungry, as we've barely eaten for several days. We eventually find a Pizzeria with stonking pizza and Sprite for 30p a glass, six of which we down thirstily. We head up the hill on a cablecar. It doesn't look far, but it is, and we're

[Us in front of a waterfall. Ahhhh...]

glad we didn't try to walk. It's a large hill area, overlooking the river Danube, with a castle and palace on top. We walk around, stopping to look at the Matthias Church and Fisherman's Bastion. The latter was used as a defensive wall and is now a viewpoint over the city. The weather worsens and a huge storm thankfully passes around rather than over us.

[The view from the Citadel, towards the castle and over the Danube.]

We walk to Gellert Hill, which has a Liberation Monument at the top (ironically built by the Russians upon liberation from Germany and shortly before invading the city themselves). Iain wants to climb to the monument, but my foot is hurting, so we compromise and go halfway up to the Citadel. It's a large monument but not terribly exciting. We descend back to the hostel where I call home. The helpful phone system cuts out every 3 minutes and 50 seconds. Iain spods then we sleep, tired after the intensive travel previously.