Week one - First Impressions

Having not really had a calendar to work to, the start date for my trip to Budapest and my 5 months away from London has come around rather quickly - having finished in London after 6 years on the Friday and started with a new office on the following Monday, my feet have hardly touched the ground! Through in a quick 48 hrs in the UK having spent 2 days here and it is no wonder that I am not sure what day of the week it is or what I am currently doing!!

Although I have been to Budapest in the past, 4 days as a long weekend, in the snow with a bitter wind blowing off the Danube, have not necessarily prepared me for what I am finding at the moment - 10 degrees warmer than London with the leaves still just starting to fall off the trees and the skies still blue with wispy clouds makes me have a slight chuckle at the expense of those still in the UK - grey and cold is what I was gearing up for and the opposite is currently true although I am sure that will change in the next couple of weeks.

Undergoing the strange sensation of corporate relocation at the moment - staying in a serviced apartment but then spending time on my weekends to meet with estate agents and try and find somewhere to live - haven't done this since I was at University in France, where I have arrived in a city about which I know next to nothing and have to try and identify a place to live whilst carrying on with day to day life - everyone is more than willing to share an opinion which is great and so escorted by the agents tomorrow, I am off to examine the 2nd, 12th and downtown districts - one of the flats is labelled as having a view of the Danube which could be a major selling point but might possibly be out of price range - we will wait and see!

First impressions of Budapest are of an interesting city - a mix of modern and old, Western and Eastern bloc with a culture thrown in that it is all of its own making - having been the frontier for so long of the Austro-Hungarian empire, Budapest seems to have a stateliness about it that other cities don't have or have lost. The view from the castle at night is amazing with the whole of Pest laid out in front of you, starting with the river and then pushing back with the Parliament and Opera buildings adding some really dramatic impact to the skyline - the only downside is the rather steep steps up to the castle and Fisherman's bastion when you climb up from the Buda side of the city - even more so when you think you are invincible and try and run up them - won't be doing that again in a hurry! I can understand why the little funicular from the the front is so popular.

Today is a work day but tomorrow and Sunday should give me a chance to explore a little further and get a better feel for the city - most urgent priority is to find somewhere that shows rugby - after that, anything else will just fall into place!!