August 8, 2016.  I’m guessing that if most of you were asked to rank your top-ten ideal European destinations, Budapest probably wouldn’t be in the lineup.  Maybe it’s the lingering impressions of Iron Curtain countries as dismal.  Or maybe it’s Hollywood portrayals of Hungarians as blood-sucking vampires, devious gypsies and petty criminals, or brainless beauties.  (I’m thinking here of Bela Lugosi as Count Dracula; Peter Lorre in Casablanca and most every other movie he was in; and Eva and Zsa Zsa Gabor from T.V. classics like Green Acres and Gilligan’s Island.)  But whatever the reason, Budapest has had a bit of an undeserved bad rep, at least in the U.S. Continue reading Budapest Bound →