Budapest, May 8

We drove about four hours from Zagreb, Croatia to Budapest, Hungary.  We had a few sprinkles, but, overall, a pleasant drive.  We had a bit of extra driving to do as getting to our apartment was made a bit more difficult due to lots of construction and blocked  roads.  But, we arrived to find Kati, the mother of the owner waiting for us. We are in an old apartment building right on the Danube in Pest.  Kati spent hours with us...we had to drive quite a ways to the parking lot and she went with us.  Mark did an amazing job driving!  Then, Kati gave us a tour on the walk home.  "Let's go, let's go," said Kati who is quite a character but very kind.  We had our own Hungarian guide, really.  And, she is a fast walker! 
We are parked in the old Jewish quarter.  Budapest had over 200,000 Jews before WWII and they were relatively protected until the last year of the war, when they were rounded up and sent to the death camps. All told, a horrific 600,000 Hungarian Jews were Holocaust victims. Kati took us into an old Jewish school and into several  Jewish restaurants.  We also went by the largest synagogue in Europe.  She also took us to several other restaurants and cafes and pointed out other sights.  We had to get money, both euros and florists, the euros to pay Kati, as the flat is 300€ for 5 nights.
Note:  we left Croatia with NONE of the currency...pretty good.

The apartment has four locks that must be locked at all times.  "Banditos". After Kati left, we went out for a quick meal and to a grocery store.

 Mark had a pesto type of spaghetti which he really enjoyed.  We have no guide book for here, so it will be a challenge to figure things out.