In Munich
posted by Luke at 5:54 AM
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Sunday, January 29, 2006
Wednesday, January 25, 2006
Sunday, January 22, 2006
Saturday, January 21, 2006
Budapest Last Post
Today, I went to the Baths in Budapest. They have a variety of baths of different temperature and mineral content. It was an interesting experience, something quite different. I don't think I would go to the bath on a regular basis, though.
Vas and I went to a restaurant near Vas's place in the evening. It was quite westernized but still good. It was interesting in that they give you a huge basket of peanuts and you throw the shells on the ground.
Yesterday, I went to the Train station to get my train ticket. I thought I could get a euro rail pass here in Budapest, but no one said they sold them here, which was annoying. I just got a ticket to Vienna. The railroad station was overall very non-modernized. For example, In Prague, they would print off a timetable for you and could even get information for connections between other cities. However, not so in Budapest. They only could get information for Keleti Pu station.
Vas and I went to a restaurant near Vas's place in the evening. It was quite westernized but still good. It was interesting in that they give you a huge basket of peanuts and you throw the shells on the ground.
Yesterday, I went to the Train station to get my train ticket. I thought I could get a euro rail pass here in Budapest, but no one said they sold them here, which was annoying. I just got a ticket to Vienna. The railroad station was overall very non-modernized. For example, In Prague, they would print off a timetable for you and could even get information for connections between other cities. However, not so in Budapest. They only could get information for Keleti Pu station.
posted by Luke at 11:24 AM
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Thursday, January 19, 2006
Budapest part 2
I've seen much in Budapest. Today I went to see the Citadel and Margarit island and Nyugati Pu. I walked probably 4-5 miles. Yesterday I saw St. Stephen's Basilica, Church of Our Lady at Buda, and Budapest Historical museum. Basically, I've seen a decent amount of hte major sights in Budapest. Tommorrow I will see City Park and Andassy avenue. Not much else is new with me otherwise.
posted by Luke at 11:03 AM
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Tuesday, January 17, 2006
Budapest
Vas has internet in his flat, which is very nice. Vas is working full time on his chess engine, Rybka (Rybka website). We talked a bit about Rybka and he showed me where he is running tests on some Rybka improvements.
So far, Budapest has been great. Haven't done any sightseeing, but I have walked around the center of town. I walked along the river, the Duna, last night and took pictures. I will go see Budai castle later today.
Budapest is less modern looking than Prague. The housing and buildings look less up to date. However, it seems that there are many more cars. This may be because the roads are better or the public transportation worse. The trams are very old looking as if they're from the '40s or something.
I exchanged money today and it was different than exchanging in Prague. In Prague, I asked every exchange office what exact amount I would get for the US currency I wanted to exchange. I never got the advertised rate because of commissions and whatnot. In Prague, the advertised rate is not really what you will get but more an upper bound (you won't get better than the advertised rate). However, in Budapest, every place I asked, I got exactly what they advertise and most of the exchange offices have the same rate. I noticed in both Prague and Budapest that you get a slightly better rate at the small exchange offices rather than at a major bank.
Right now I am figuring out how to use Vas's washing machine. I have promised to explain its usage to Vas if I manage to get clean clothes out of the process. I am also very happy Vas has a regular American keyboard and not some insane Czech setup... z y ( ) ' ? : are all much easier to type now.
So far, Budapest has been great. Haven't done any sightseeing, but I have walked around the center of town. I walked along the river, the Duna, last night and took pictures. I will go see Budai castle later today.
Budapest is less modern looking than Prague. The housing and buildings look less up to date. However, it seems that there are many more cars. This may be because the roads are better or the public transportation worse. The trams are very old looking as if they're from the '40s or something.
I exchanged money today and it was different than exchanging in Prague. In Prague, I asked every exchange office what exact amount I would get for the US currency I wanted to exchange. I never got the advertised rate because of commissions and whatnot. In Prague, the advertised rate is not really what you will get but more an upper bound (you won't get better than the advertised rate). However, in Budapest, every place I asked, I got exactly what they advertise and most of the exchange offices have the same rate. I noticed in both Prague and Budapest that you get a slightly better rate at the small exchange offices rather than at a major bank.
Right now I am figuring out how to use Vas's washing machine. I have promised to explain its usage to Vas if I manage to get clean clothes out of the process. I am also very happy Vas has a regular American keyboard and not some insane Czech setup... z y ( ) ' ? : are all much easier to type now.
posted by Luke at 2:34 AM
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