No. There is absolutely nothing to see in Budapest. Dull. They don't even have a Carl's Jr. Stay away! ;)

Hmmmm... I'm in Madrid as I write this, doing some late research on Budapest a few days before heading there, and I read this gem from one of our Irish cousins... I started to think about how the over 5 million Irish immigrants that have settled in America since 1820 have exploited the entire place... Overwhelmingly for the better!

It's my opinion that more exploitation and damage was historically done to Prague and Czechoslovakia by those guys wearing jackboots. Wasn't Reinhard Heydrich (AKA "The Hangman") serving as Nazi Governor of the occupied country when he was assasinated in Prague? After the Nazis, those defenders of personal freedom, the communists, festered in Prague until the Prague "Spring," and then the Velvet Revolution which brought an end to communism. The great patriot Václav Havel was elected president during the country's first democratic elections in 1990 and in 1993, guided Czechoslovakia in the Velvet Divorce split into two separate countries: the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

If you want an interesting take on the Communist years, the Museum of Communism is an interesting place to visit. It's located on Na Prikope 10 in Prague. My 15 year old daughter talked me into visiting it on one of our family trips to Prague and I enjoyed it more than I thought I would have.



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Thanks for the info - one other question:

What's the best way to get to Budapest from Munich? Train is 7 hours and plane is closer to 2 hours. Is a 7-hr train ride easy to handle?? I believe it's an RE; doesn't seem like an ICE type train is available. Is such a train ride enjoyable?

I realize that it could be broken up with a visit to Vienna but my wife isn't interested in Vienna as she's been there already.

Thanks
Michael

The direct day train from Munich to Budapest is an RJ (Railjet) train - a brand new (Dec 2008) Austrian train. It is not really faster than the previous service, but it has three classes (including a premium first class). Second class has airline-style seating. The seven-hour journey can get a bit tiresome if you don't like train rides.

Flying time MUC to BUD rarely exceeds one hour.

prspad, you might find some interest in this tour in Budapest. We took it last year. The tour guide is an English teacher in Budapest, and an expert on the Communist years. It was a very interesting walking tour, and seeing the Trabant up close was really something, as well as the movie they show.

http://www.budapesttours.net/tours/t...m?tour_id=7480

Thanks - there is alas only one flight MUC-BUD with LH which is currently 723 EU. There isn't a budget airline nonstop (that I've found), so those fares are about 4hr of travel time. So the 7hr train (69 EU) somehow feels more appealing... especially when adding time for airport transits and security versus the train stations being smack in the middle of the two cities.

What's the best way to book RJ service - bahn.de shows only two classes (first and second) and the first class fare is 69EU (saver) with RJ. I assume this isn't the premium first class? What's a better website for comparing the first class and premium first class services?

My main paranoia with train travel is with the luggage - even though I've never suffered luggage theft, it just takes that one time to really ruin it. Otherwise I love riding the trains, they're quite lovely.

Prague to Vienna and Budapest
 

My husband and I are going from Prague to Vienna and Budapest. We just booked the Das Tyrol hotel in Vienna. Anyone has comments to share? We plan to stay three days in Vienna. What would be the best way to get from Prague to Vienna? Then from Vienna to Budapest we have heard many suggest a river boat? Any suggestions on ways from Vienna to Budapest as well as hotels in Budapest? Someone mentioned the Hilton Budapest - Castle District? Any reviews on that? Or is it worth going with the Four Seasons? Thanks!!

3 nights in each city? Is that doable?

We did the reverse, flying into Budapest and out of Prague, taking the train between the cities:

3 days Budapest
3 days Vienna
4 days Prague

We were there last spring before the river boats started service.

We stayed at the Hilton Budapest in the Castle district and loved it. The exec lounge is great and the views across the river are very nice.

Vienna to Budapest - Hilton Budapest?
 

Anyone have advice on the river boats from Vienna to Budapest, one way?

Glad to hear Hilton Budapest in the Castle district was good. Was it far from the action other than the castle? Easy to get around to the other sites?

THANKS!

Personally, I agree with you - I've done the journey several times.

You can get useful information about Railjet and the different classes here.

From 6 April there are two trains a day from Munich to Budapest - at 09:27 and 13:26. DB site is probably your best bet.

You should have no worries about this - you can keep your luggage by your seat.

Thanks for the OEBB site!

How can I book the Premium Space seating - the OEBB site doesn't allow it despite having links for booking tickets. The Munich/Budapest would be in the "International" section but they don't allow for ticket bookings. And the link for booking tickets only seems to have Austrian cities.

DB (Deutsch Bahn) website seems to only book First and Second class but not the Premium class.

And I can't find fares for any of the classes on this route. Argh...

I don't think you can book this train on the Austrian website, since the train neither starts nor finishes in Austria.

You may not be able to book premium class at all on-line, probably because it is a rarity in Europe. (I can only think of Eurostar as a parallel). Also, there will certainly be no discounted fares (the ones you can see on the DB website) for premium class (only first and second class). I think there is a fixed supplement for premium class if you have a first class ticket. I would ask at Munich station, a day or two before you travel, when you are there.

Thank you - if we buy the advanced discounted tickets for first class, would we be able to buy the supplement for premium class? Or is the supplement only for those who pay full-fare first class tix?

I'm still torn about this, as we will save about 50% the plane ticket... but we lose a few more hours. Plane leaves earlier and arrives 2-3 hours before our train would arrive in Budapest... ugh. But the train sounds lovely (regardless of the class).

Hotels - The Hilton in the Castle district is fine, but if your budget allows, you should head for the FS. The other riverside hotels are also very good (IC, Marriott, Sofitel) - get a room with river view!

VIE - BUD by boat is certainly a nice trip, AFAIK it takes some 5 hours downriver.

My TA got the answer.

For premium class, there is a fixed supplement of €25 per one-way journey (of any distance - so the supplement for Budapest-Munich is the same as for Budapest-Vienna) for any first-class ticket (or pass) holder.