The Danube river represents some of the best aspects of new and old Europe to an adventurous traveler.

I think the best and amazing creation of nature is water. Any form of water is magnificent to me. “No water, no life” – it is as simple as that.
Being from Kathmandu, I have been exposed to mostly dirty rivers here. Our Bagmati- never gets clean even after a couple of hundred weeks of cleaning. Sometime I wonder when would we discover the root cause of it and start working to fix the basics.

I have a fantastic memory of the Breg and the Brigach in Baden-Württemberg, Germany which is the originating place for the second longest river in Europe called the Danube. The Danube river basin is home to millions and millions of fish species including salmon and trout. Both types of fish are my favorites. 
The Danube flows southeast for 2,850 km, passing through or bordering Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova and Ukraine before draining into the Black Sea. I am fan of this river and one day I hope to follow this river and visit all those countries. And I am sure they are all very beautiful countries.

Beautiful Poland
My recent two-week long professional cum personal visit to East Europe started from beautiful Poland, landing at Warsaw then straight to Lublin by car. Wow! The beautiful apple garden along both sides of expressway between Warsaw and Lublin was marvelous. We have similar terrain and landscape around Kavre, Myagdi, and Tanahu area.
Before I go further, I would love to make a request, if you ever visit Poland, to please try BOSKO Ice Cream in Lithuanian Square though you need to stay in a long queue, but maybe not that long queue as at “Honacha” in Mangalbazar for Newari Bara (Wo).

My views about Europe in general
Basically, I am interested in nature than recent man made structures, but you get overwhelmed with the extremely well preserved ancient architecture, alleys, and culture that you find in any European cities. Even with the struggling economy, I find the same effort is being made by Polish government to maintain it. 
Europe is famous for thousands of ancient palaces, castles, museums, churches, cathedral, monuments, and huge buildings. They are  maintained perfectly as if there was no devastating WWII right 70 years back. I always remember Singhdurbar and its pathetic condition when I see those building. We are unable to keep the one and only Singdurbar and Keshar Mahal in their original condition.

BUDAPEST
In this particular travelogue, you will find me describing Budapest, in Hungary. Hungary’s capital city Budapest is actually made up of three unified cities, with Buda and Óbuda on the west bank of the Danube River and Pest on the east bank. Much of the city has been granted UNESCO World Heritage Site status, and importantly the sites are well preserved (beyond Nepalese mind set) and visitors get mesmerized with the city and consider them to be some of the most beautiful cities in Europe. Budapesting (roaming around wide and clean Buda-Pest) is clean and refreshing.

Rubik’s Cube
Many people may not know that the World famous Rubik's cube was invented in 1974 by Erno Rubik, a Hungarian architect, who wanted a working model to help explain three-dimensional geometry. After designing the “magic cube” as he called it, he realized that he could not actually solve the puzzle.

Chain Bridge
The chain bridge is one of the icons of Budapest. It is the first permanent bridge to connect Buda and Pest. Ever since Hollywood star Will Smith climbed the Chain Bridge to dance on it as part of the “In My Feelings Challenge” craze to climb the Chain Bridge has hit Budapest.

Synagogue
The old synagogue is something very special – it looks like a church for us. It’s so very big and it is the world’s second largest and Europe’s largest Synagogue, with seating for 3,000 people. I felt the entry fee is a bit costly and it was HUF 4000.00 which is equals to Euro 12.00.

Ruin pubs
Budapest is famous for its “ruin pubs.” The best ruin pubs are set up in sprawling, deserted buildings, which have been filled with comfortable, but slightly worn out furniture. Each pub has its own unique rugged style. I had fun time in one of the Ruin Bars, and in the following morning on a Sunday the same place was greatly crowded for weekly farmers’ market. I had bought a bottle of handmade mustard sauce, which I had to surrender during a security check at the Vienna airport for being banned liquid item.

10+10 deal by government
The population of Hungary is decreasing day by day, so government has a deal for its citizens. It provides a grant of around Euro 35000.00 (10 mil. HUF- Hungarian Money) instantly, if a married couple signs a contract with the government to raise a minimum three kids. The couple also gets another 35000 Euro loan at significantly low interest rates. 
Margaret Island: a paradise for outdoor workout.


Hungarians are very lucky to have Margaret Island which is a 2.5 km long island, in the middle of the Danube River, and has parkland and recreational facilities.
We can rent pedal carts, golf carts, and other self-powered vehicles to explore the island. The best part of this island is that a rubber-coated 5.5 km running track encircles the island. It is a popular jogging spot for runners who want to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city.

There are numerous castles, avenues, squares, wine bars, coffee shops around down town of city as any other European city would have. Special number plates are assigned to fully battery operated vehicles and they are allowed to drive in the bus lane. The charging facility is free, paid for by the government. 

As I confessed earlier, I always prefer to walk the extra mile where ever I go so that I could get a feel of the city outskirts and get a bit closer to the bare nature. The most closest hike was about 45 minute drive, a bit uphill. The name of that particular peak is Normafa. You can have a great view of Budapest from this peak. It is a bit chilled even during April, whereas Budapest is already warm. Just imagine it to be like our Kakani kind of place.

It is a very quiet place and full of greenery. We need to cross multiple layers of small hills like what we have to cross to reach Trishuli from Kakani. We reached Slovakia by just crossing the Duna river after driving for about an hour from Normafa hill. We spent the evening again in one of the most happening ruin bars where endless fun was waiting its guests with chilled craft beers of unknown names…..
I promised Budapest that I would come back again. I then went off to Vienna by train that cost me just below 25 Euro for about a 2.5 hour journey… Here comes Wien Hauptbahnhof (Vienna main train station).