if its wednesday it must be vienna, or a tale of three cities

During the week around Easter we visited the cities of Budapest, Vienna and Prague. First stop was the Hungarian capital Budapest, an interesting city divided by the River Danube (which is not blue in case you were wondering) into two regions - Buda and Pest. The city is a mix of modern redevelopment, authentic un-developed zones and pretty historic areas.

Unsurprisingly capitalism is now well and truly entrenched, with the streets lined with many of the stores you’ll find in London (including Marks and Spencer and Tesco – lucky them). However not all changes have been as quick as might have been expected. For example our tour guide mentioned that when she was working only five years ago she could clearly tell the difference between the locals and the people hanging around the meeting spot waiting for a tour. Now, she says, everyone dresses the same and she no longer makes assumptions about who the tourists are. (Although I think if your citizens are looking as scruffy as backpackers, this may be cause for concern).

One of our excursions was to what is basically a graveyard for the old propaganda statues that used to dominate the streetscape during the communist era. I guess the new government didn’t feel right just destroying them all and instead have relegated them to a park out in the middle of nowhere-ville. Now tourists can visit and treat them with the respect they deserve.

We spent one very cold day in Vienna. After an in-depth twenty-four hours I can say that it basically it all looks like this:

There were loads of tourists about and nearly the same number of men dressed in period costume trying to convince the tourists to attend Mozart performances.

Last but not least was the fairytale-like Prague, complete with a castle on a hilltop. Prague was one of the few European capitals to avoid damage during WWII and retains a range of beautiful buildings from the 10th century to the present, and includes examples of Romanesque, Gothic, Baroque, Renaissance and Art Nouveau architectural styles.

Also on offer were a fantastic choice of cafes and teahouses. We had breakfast at the Café Louvre (frequented by Einstein and Kafka in their day), lunch at the Café Slavia and afternoon tea and cake at the U Zeleneho café. Then the next day it was brunch at the Radost FX, tea at the Café Savoy and…well the interiors were amazing and it was cold outside... do we really need an excuse?

And now, a nice segue...

a bear walks into a bar

The bartender says, ‘What’ll you have?’
The bear says, ‘… … … I’ll have a beer’.
The bartender says, ‘Why the big paws?’

And so may you be wondering (or maybe not) why the big break in news. Well hopefully my excuse is a good one. Okay here goes: I’ve been preoccupied with the not insignificant task of growing a little person inside me. Yes I have a bun in the oven, am in the family way, eating for two, knocked up, or whatever your preferred euphemism may be. Pregnant! B and I will be expecting a visit from the stork towards the end of September.

What with trying not to throw up for the past couple of months or so, getting to the computer and thinking up a snappy entry has been a bit beyond me. Morning sickness is awful (and a complete false term: it lasts all day! The phrase was obviously thought up by a man: ‘Why, you can’t be feeling sick Mrs Smith - it’s a quarter past twelve!’) and coincided with what was already a really busy time. Although I was only working part time (again not what the terminology would have you believe - initially it felt like doing a full time job but in less hours and for less money) I was at school the other days plus doing a short course one or two nights per week and having to deal with homework (something I was naively not expecting). Luckily everything has settled down now. And although school means homework, on the plus side it also means school holidays, which I’ve been enjoying the past few weeks.

Although B and I are both the type who would prefer not to have to make the announcement until about a month or so before the baby is actually due, it’s getting hard to hide the reality of the situation. Unfortunately my desire for a ‘Rachel from Friends’-style pregnancy (i.e. no weight gain except for a slight bump in the tummy region) is not to be (damn misleading television) as I am expanding rapidly in all directions (except for vertically, alas) .

So, that's our big news and the next stage of our adventure. More updates as the story continues…