06.46 In Austria, in Vienna, at the hostel Do Step Inn, in room B2 and on a small table, my breakfast baguette is waiting for me. It is the trip´s last Vienna morning. I can hear voices, a car door closed again and again. The car started and there is another one.

07.57 With a baguette, it's easy to become full. Now we soon will leave the room. Today is the day of many returns. First we'll take us back to Vienna Westbahnhof and from there we´ll continue with the metro. Yesterday's purchased travel card is still valid.

09.00 Everything went well until we came to Südtiroler Platz. Here it is a construction site, few signs of direction and we can’t find the station itself Südbahnhof. The train to Bratislava will depart eleven minutes from now. We have plans to catch it. This isn't good at all.

Peter is leaving Austria on a train.

09.21 The station building that we were inside in 2000 and we are supposed to be in now is no more. It is exactly like the one in Salzburg and at the Westbahnhof grated. However, we found the provisional station and boarded a train to Bratislava. It isn't the train we had planned to catch. I wonder if it exists. Anyway, soon we are off. Soon we will leave Austria for this time.

09.55 We´re traveling through a flat agricultural region east of Vienna. Here and there we see a number of wind turbines. It does not look like what I remember from the trip in the year 2000. Are we really on the same track as then?

SLOVAKIA

10.24 We are once again in Slovakia. There have been a number of visits here over the years but there are yet some new tracks to cover here. We are about to leave the station in Devínska Nová Ves. The station master just waved us away. We are on a different track than last time between Vienna and Bratislava. This time we will reach Bratislava from the north.

11.13 After we reached Bratislava's main station (Bratislava hlavna stanica) we have purchased a ticket to Budapest and some soft drinks. Christer's drink was carbonated to say the least and as much of it ended up on his clothes and on ground instead of down the throat. Now we are continuing on foot towards the next home. Right now we make a stop in front of the presidential palace. It is closer to +20˚C hot. In other words, it's summer!

Christer and Alf on the way into the baggage storage room at Patio Hostel.

Kapucinska street in Bratislava. The freshly painted castle is visible in the background.

11.42 Christer and I arrived at Patio Hostel on Špitálska 35 (http://www.patiohostel.com). Here we paid for our day here. After that we and Alf (the old TV extraterrestrial), went to the baggage room. Alf was on the keychain. Now we are ready for a city walk. I changed clothes into shorts and sandals.

12.20 It is hot today, Anastasia sings and we have put ourselves in a place that our guide book mentions. The location for our lunch is Slovenská Krcma (Slovak pub) on Obchodná 62 (http://www.slovakpub.sk). Here there are plenty of trophies from various deer on the walls. I have ordered goulash and Christer has ordered schnitzel.

13.35 Our lunch was, as the food in this country always is, good. Now we are sitting in the sun in the park behind the presidential palace. Here in the park there are a number of small marble blocks. On them you can find the names of a number of heads of state who has visited the city. A great deal has been here, including the king of Sweden.

The pedestrian street Obchodná, Bratislava.

Swedish-Slovak crafts exhibition Sloverige.

Christer enjoying good beer at Slovenská Krcma.

Slovakia's presidential palace, the Grassalkovich Palace.

We´re not the only Swedish visitors to this city.

14.19 On the bench we are sitting on there is a plaque saying George Kovats, Mudra (1843-1907). We are here in the old town of Bratislava. Behind me a man with white hair and beard, wearing a striped shirt and beige baseball cap is telling something with a passion. We are on Hlavné námestie, the Main Square and are about to find out where we go next. There are many tourist groups all around the city. We’ve also seen a man play on an ancient instrument that is centuries old.

14.34 After we had immortalized some cool statues we´ve once again ended up in front of the National Theatre in this city. It has appeared in a James Bond movie (The Living Daylights).

Michalska street in Old Town, Bratislava.

"Man at Work", a wellknown photograph subject in this city.

14.43 We're now sitting right next to the new bridge, Nový Most over the old river Danube. We rest our legs and we´re thinking about the next step. We are also looking up at the castle. It has a new colour since we were here the last time in 2004. The castle is now white and restoration is still going on. The square we are at is called Rybné námestie, that is, the Fish Market. In the past, before the bridge was built, fish were sold here. Nowadays, there are few fish but plenty of people passing by.

15.23 We followed the Danube and we´ve had time to see the restaurant Umelka which we visited in both 2001 and 2004 and a bit later on, after we left the river behind us so we came to St. Elizabeth Church. It is blue and as beautiful as the last time we saw it. It is also known as "Blue Church".

Nový Most (New Bridge) with its UFO-like restaurant.

Blue Church's real name is St. Elizabeth's Church.

Peter blends into the urban environment.

15.44 We are sitting on the patio on Patio Hostel. We sip on a Mirinda each. They were purchased in the kiosk next to our hostel. I managed to mess it up when they were bought. I read wrong and thought that it costs 85 cents but it costs 1 euro. We will go to our room as soon as we’ve finished the soft drinks.

16.19 We’ve moved into the room D1, I have a lower bed and Christer has a upper bed. We put dow our backpacks and went out again. We are now sitting on Primaciálne námestie. It includes Primaciálny Palace, the archbishop's palace. It is unfortunately a little rain in the air.

Christer is having an afternoon coffee at Coffee & Co.

16.47 It is time for the afternoon coffee break. It will be at Coffee & Co. We ordered indoors and are waiting to be served outdoors. In the distance we hear music. Some girls in yellow and purple clothing just passed. They carry placards. What has happened with coffee?

17.21 Coffee and pastries were served, and was subsequently terminated by us. The price was high or low. High to be in Slovakia but still low. Now we're on our way again.

View of the suburb Petržalka across the Danube.

A cozy corner.

Bratislava Castle (Bratislavský hrad).

17.49 Behind us we have the city's castle. It's quiet up here above Bratislava. The castle may look impressive and historical, but it´ss actually a reconstruction. The original castle was destroyed by Napoleon's cannons, and later by a fire. Finally, it was just a ruin before it was rebuilt 1953 It is a fantastic view over the Danube and Bratislava from here. Across the river is the Petržalka district with all of its apartment buildings. About 115 000 people live there.

18.34 It's true nostalgia. We are outside the accomodation Svoradov on Svoradová 13. Here we stayed both 2000 and 2001. It was a student accomodation that worked as a hostel in summer. Maybe it´s still the case?

From the castle there is a nice view of Bratislava.

20.20 We have been shopping at the Tesco store in the mall "My Bratislava". I bought breakfast, something to take home and new journal books. They may be good to have this summer. Christer purchased a salt and pepper shakers, breakfast and something to take home. Now we´ve prepared our beds, and soon we´ll go out for dinner.

21.04 It was yet another visit along the memory lane. We have returned to the restaurant Minerva on Michalská 3. I ordered what I always order here, Rumpsteak with Roquefort cheese. Christer has ordered the Cordon Bleu. That's right; I have also ordered garlic soup.

We walked past the residence Svoradov where we lived in 2000 and 2001.

Our Bratislava accomodation, the simple Patio Hostel.

22.50 It was just like before at Minerva. We were served big and tasty portions. Now we are at home in the dormitory and here no one sleeps. They giggle, run around and enjoy themselves. Now we are planning for tomorrow and to relax.

23.43 They are talking, laughing and screaming. People are running in and out of the rooms. There is absolutely no respect for the rule saying it will be quiet after 22:00. I don´t want to be whiny but I really want to sleep.

Saturday 10th of April

07.45 It stopped around midnight and was quiet until the return sometime during the night. The noise continued and there was not much sleep. After that I slept well and now we are preparing for yet another breakfast in another city. If you live in a hostel you have to be a little patient, but it seems ridiculous that there are rules that no one bothers to follow, rules of silence and the ban on alcohol in the rooms, etc.

08.29 The breakfast was finished and bedclothes gathered. Soon we will go down to reception and then to the railway station.

09.27 Today we're going with a train that runs between Prague and Belgrade. We will however get on the train from Bratislava to Budapest. Look there, four capitals in the same listing. We are on platform 2, waiting for the train.

When is the train arriving?

09.54 The wait is over and we are leaving. We are summing up our stay in Bratislava and the accommodation could have been better. There were few toilets, and a lot of people and noise. Consolation is that it was incredibly cheap.

10.45 We have temporarily stopped in Nove Zamky. Two of the three fellow passengers in the compartment have left. Christer and I read in our books. A man passes by and now we roll on.

11.14 At the moment the train with us in it is standing still at the station in Štúrovo. We’ve been here before. That was in 2003 and we went here by train and continued on foot across the border and across the Danube to Esztergom.

HUNGARY

12.05 Hungarian life can be seen outside the window. Christer raises the camera and immortalize this moment in time. We´re soon making a stop in Rakospalota-Újpest.

12.40 The train arrived at the station Keleti (Eastern Station) in Budapest. It is the largest of several major rail stations in this city. Again, it is under reconstruction. Why cant the railway stations be left in peace? Is there a European directive? Soon the train and we will leave the station, but in different directions.

13.08 Our walk through Budapest has taken us closer to our final home for this time. We are now along Andrássy utca. It is one of many streets in the big city.

Oktogon

13.32 We finally arrived at the Home Made Hostel (http://www.homemadehostel.com) on 22 Teréz körút (Oktogon). Oktogon is a major intersection and a subway station on the yellow line. This is by a first look one of the oddest homes we´ve had. We walked into a courtyard and up a staircase. Our room has a staircase to a loft above and even a valet, a men's valet that we can hang clothes on. Now we plan where to stroll. We do not have too much time to use.

One of the stations along the European mainland's first subway (metro) line.

14.31 The boarding cards for tomorrow's flight with WizzAir have been printed out on the hostel´s computer and printer, thank you very much. We also bought a 24-hour transport card and have traveled with the metro. We are along the yellow line and it is the oldest metro line after London. Now it is time to get off. We went from Oktogon and are now on the Vörösmarty tér. We don’t know if we are right. We'll see.

14.40 Well we were almost right, it was not what we had planned but what the heck. We stood and looked out over the Danube. We’ve taken some pictures of the areas across the river, the Gellert Hill, Castle and Matias Church. Now we will try to use the trams.

Tram line 2 travels along the Danube and is used by many tourists.

We take the tram.

The Danube and Gellért Hill.

Market Hall in Budapest.

15.14 We went with a tram to the Market Hall. During the trip, I had to show my newly purchased 24-hours of travel card to a casually dressed controller. We took pictures of the Market Hall and are now having a non-Hungarian lunch at Burger King. The sooner we eat, the more time we have to see the city. We’ve been here before so the goal for the day is to take as many photos as possible because we do not have digital photos from Budapest before.

16.00 The time has come for a genuine and lovely open-air bench break. We rest near the beautiful Parliament. It is more or less under constant refreshing because the building is built of a material that fails the modern city's air. The white building turns black quickly.

16.58 Different people passed during our bench break. Christer thought he recognized one of them from the hostel in Bratislava. Now we’ve moved on and seen some different things around the Parliament. We’ve seen one exhaust pipe from the underground. There were plenty of more or less burned candles there. Why, I have no idea! We’ve also seen a bus that may have been from City Sightseeing. In addition, we’ve had time to see a statue of Imre Nagy standing on a bridge. Imre Nagy was one of the main leaders of the Communist Party in Hungary, but he criticized Stalinism and Soviet control over Hungary. When he wanted to introduce changes in 1956 he was taken from power by the Soviet Union and was later executed.

The Hungarian Parliament, one of Budapest's most famous buildings.

Statue of Imre Nagy who led the 1956 Hungarian Revolution and was then executed.

17.15 The sun is shining over us and the others here on Hõsök tere, Heroes Square. This is actually a new attraction for me here in the city which we’ve visited so many times. The Square is still one of the members of UNESCO's World Heritage List.

17.32 We continued to Városliget, City Park. Here we wandered around and have among others seen the Jak chapel and some newly weds. It has happened before that we have seen newly weds on our trips though it has been some years ago now.

17.51 We walked a lap around the Széchenyi gyógyfürdõ. It is one of the most famous baths. It is the largest thermal bath in Europe. It is here you can see men playing chess in the pools. After the lap we went to the metro station Szechenyi Fürdõ.

Hősök tere (Heroes square), Budapest.

Széchenyi baths.

18.15 We got off at Oktogon and went to buy breakfast in a store with very little open space. Now we’ve popped briefly into the hostel and put the food into the refrigerator.

19.02 A metro ride to Moszkva tér metro station and a walk took us up to the castle area on the Buda side of town. Our hostel is located in Pest. Now we sit at the Fishermen's Bastion and have a fabulous view over Budapest. Everything around us is of course on a particular UNESCO list. For the second time during this trip we´ve seen a car from Monaco. Now the question is, is it a second car or is it the one from Vienna we´ve seen again? They looked similar.

A cozy neighborhood in Buda.

East Germany's contribution to the car history, a Trabant.

19.43 We saw more of the castle area before we went down to Clark Adam tér next to the Chain Bridge on the Buda side of Danube. It was not easy to find the right way, some tracks and footpaths were dead end streets. We are waiting for a tram which will take us forward this on intense day.

Budapest.

Christer and a view of Pest.

21.08 We got off the tram and took the metro to our home station Oktogon. From there we went to Nyugati railway station. We’ve bought tickets for tomorrows trip to the airport. After that we bought drinks in various forms in the Match supermarket in the huge mall West End City Center (http://www.westend.hu). Now we are looking for a place where we can have our dinner. Right now, we take a welcome bench rest. We have walked a lot today!

Trams at Batthyány Ter.

21.30 It is no longer easy to find cheap restaurants here in Budapest. Prices are high even in small, cozy places. Obstinacy was strong and we kept on searching for that perfect restaurant with Hungarian food that we hoped to find.

22.02 We have thrown in the towel and gone to the Star Kebab. Other possible restaurants began to prepare for closing. Here they have schnitzel and we have ordered. No Hungarian food, sad, but food, glad.

23.16 The food was no culinary sensation, but much needed. Something else that was needed was a shower. When I came back to the room I received the news on TV that the Polish President Lech Kaczynski had died in a plane crash in Smolensk, Russia. We are now about to have an evening beer each.

23.52 We show some signs of fatigue. One has to have strength to visit, walk around in and look at three capitals in three days. My legs ache and I do feel tired. Out on the town sirens can be heard. I want more sleep. Tomorrow we have to travel again. Are we doing this for fun or we are some kind of masochists? Who knows? We must in all cases exercise!

Széchenyi Bridge (Chain Bridge) at night.

Sunday 11th of April

07.48 After a night filled with dreams, I woke up with sore legs. Today, its my traveling companion's name day. It is Ulf today. It is Christer's second given name. Today is also the date of the return journey. Tomorrow at this hour I am back at work.

08.54 Why did we buy a litre of juice each? Could we not have split one? Enough of this, time to put one some shoes and leave for the railway station.

09.24 There was one last trip on the metro. It took us to the railway station Nyugati (Western Station). Now we are sitting on the train, which, when started, will take us to the airport. We are going with the ticket we bought yesterday.

A Sunday morning at the Nyugati train station in Budapest.

10.35 We’ve arrived at the airport and the right terminal. Now we are in the queue to check in at the Ferihegy airport. It goes forward slowly.

11.12 We are having one last cup of coffee at Café Porte in Terminal 1. It cost a lot. Why is it always more expensive to drink and eat at airports? There's a constant stream of customers so it would surely be possible to keep a lower price.

11.37 Security control is passed without a beep. I bought something to take home, a bottle of the Hungarian Unicum liqueur, bitter drops to say the least. Now it's time to move towards the gate.

12.18 Some Swedes discussed lively in the queue to the gate. Could you have the jacket on the arm or would it become a second hand luggage then? How much would you then have to pay and would they accept a credit card? It is easy to recognize Swedes who are travelling. They are often nervous, scared and looking generally frightened. It's also typical that Swedish tourists in a check-in queue in Hungary can discuss what groceries you have to buy when you get home. Now we are in all cases on board the Wizz Air flight to Skavsta airport outside Nyköping.

14.17 It is time to lower ourselves down to earth. It's time to return to Sweden.

SWEDEN

14.49 We are still waiting at the baggage conveyor belt. The return journey is not over yet.

15.12 We´re having a coffee here at Skavsta airport. Once complete, we'll get into the bus to Nyköping. We have bought a chocolate Easter bunny. They are extra cheap now after Easter.

Christer is talking with his father on the phone and is soon ready to eat the Easter bunny. The place is Skavsta airport.

15.40 Here the dramatic stuff happens, some gentlemen, Italians? just came and pushed their green car. Jumper cables were used and a silvercoloured car stopped. It took a while before they got help from someone. Most just went by without any thought of to help.

16.14 The green local bus took us to the train station in Nyköping. We bought a newspaper and we´re now sitting on a bench just near Railway Hostel. Good to know is that it´s now not possible to pay bus fares in cash here in Nyköping. You have to use a card. In other words, tourists who arrive in Skavsta have to be equipped with a creditcard to get into town.

The two travelers relax in the sun at the train station in Nyköping.

17.25 It's time for dinner, not in a capital city this time and not becoming a Schnitzel. There will be pizza at the pizzeria 12:an in Nyköping. It may be good enough when returning home.

18.10 So we're sitting on a train yet again. This train will take us north to Gävle, we hope.

19.21 The journey home makes a short stop at Stockholm central station. Soon the journey goes on.

21.05 We’ve changed trains. Soon we will leave Gavle for further travel to the north. It's cold out there. We´re going with the X-train.

23.54 Christer is at home. If everything goes as planned, I can say the same about 1,5-2 hours from now. Now there will be no more traveling, at least not this month.