Budapest, day 2: Dresden to Budapest

We tried to get an early start, but the breakfast buffet at the hotel was so good, that we couldn't rush through it. They even had trays of assorted desserts which included something that at first glance appeared to be a brownie. There was only one of these, and I was reminded of a bumper sticker I'd seen long ago: Life in uncertain--eat dessert first. That seemed particularly applicable at this moment, so I had this square of dense chocolate/cherry cake with a cup of hot chocolate as well as a reasonable breakfast of scrambled eggs, a multigrain roll with cheese and liver paté, cantaloupe, a yogurt drink, and tea. Knowing that my husband does not like to stop for food when driving, I figured it was okay to stuff myself. It turned out that was a wise decision.

We drove through central Dresden again on our way out. Road construction soon after the Czech border took us on a very scenic detour. Here the city was much more industrial looking. On the hillside overlooking the river, there were again lovely huge Victorian manor houses, but these looked like they could use some renovation. Some looked like they urgently needed a lot of renovation, and interspersed were boring modern houses. The landscape was beautiful, and there was a lot of potential, but the impression was sad. I think this was more of what I was expecting from Eastern Europe.

We got to Prague around 10 AM. Since it was too early for lunch, we drove around a little before returning to the highway. It was gorgeous, as I'd expected, and I definitely want to go back. The roads in the Czech Republic were nowhere near as good as they were in Germany, and they seemed to get worse as our drive progressed.

Our route took us through Bratislava, Slovakia, which looked very much like what I'd expected for Eastern Europe, except instead of cement gray, the buildings had been painted a variety of bright colors. A few historic buildings punctuated the scene which was otherwise mostly industrial or agricultural.

The roads were just as bad when we crossed the border into Hungary. Map reading was pretty much impossible in those conditions, and Budapest is not a car-friendly city. The signs are in Hungarian, and left turns are pretty much impossible. I was really glad I wasn't driving. With the help of a fold-out map in my Swedish library book on Budapest, we eventually found our hotel.

It turns out that the Budapest Hilton is quite a landmark since it's partially a modern building and partially built into the ruins of an ancient church. It's on the top of a hill overlooking the Danube in the historic walled palace district. It was 4 PM by the time we got in, and we hadn't eaten lunch, so I was starving. We found a place just a block from the hotel that had the most incredible cakes and coffees, so once again I had hot chocolate and a piece of chocolate (mousse) cake. Yum. I'll have to see how many of these cakes I can try during this trip.

We were invited out to dinner with my husband's colleagues a few hours later, but there's no way I would have made it without eating something. Since it was dumping rain and very windy, we returned to the hotel without much sightseeing. Dinner was excellent. I had white asparagus with hollandaise sauce, lamb, and risotto. Dessert was included: a sponge cake with cream filling and chocolate sauce. It was incredible, but I am now so full I can hardly breathe. For those keeping score, that would be two hot chocolates and three chocolate desserts in one day. I might have to make a visit to the hotel gym tomorrow if my clothes are still going to fit me by the end of the week.