Day 16 Wed July 25

Up early and out the door to go back to the National Parliament Tour.  I felt like the character in Chevy Chasses' Vegas Vacation who kept getting beat up at the blackjack table.  I just couldn't take enough crap.  The line was much shorter this morning, but they did the same little routine about the march across the parking lot to Door X.  When it was my turn after 20 minutes in line,,I actually started out when the preceding person was only 3/4 the way back.  You would have thought that I entered Putin's private chamber or something.  One  of the 3 goons who were doing nothing came at me and started in Hungarian.  I stopped, listened, had no idea what he was saying and then decided I really didn't want to see the damn place, no matter how grand  it looks from the outside,  so I left and got back on the same tram from  2 days prior and off I went to another "bath".  Now the fun was just starting, I got checked by a plain clothes agent on the tram for a valid tram ticket.   I Had One! The young student and his girl friend sitting behind me didn't. The last time I saw them they were taken off the tram and being held at the tram stop. No one ever paid any attention to the homeless and sick that were everywhere...but they sure know how to intimidate people on the transit system. Eventually I got to Gellet Hotel and Spa and another 2 hours in the medicinal baths.  I was on my way back to the hotel to check out and head to the train station when there was some kind of Emergency in the Metro.  At one of the stops, there was announcement which I of course didn't understand,but I noticed everyone got off.  We were marshaled out of the underground and onto the street. I could see nothing wrong.  but I heard emergency vehicles on the street.  Eventually I found my way back to the Novotel via the surface bus and got out of the hotel and to the train station where I  almost missed the 3:10 to Vienna because of more stupidity on the part of the ticket sales people. You just go on thinking that the old Communist ideology is dead....I actually really enjoyed Budapest.  It is my # 2 favorite after Berlin.

PHOTOS HERE