Travel tips

We have enjoyed our visits to Budapest and Vienna, but we wanted to give you some tips before you travel to those places.

First, it is safe to drink the tap water in both places, but you might have to pay to use the toilet in Budapest and other places in Hungary.  Some restrooms have attendants, but there might be a slot for a coin to be inserted before the turnstyle is unlocked.  In either case, it is best to have the local currency, the forint, specifically 100 forint (equivalent to about $.33) to use the toilet.  They will accept Euros, but you might not get a very good exchange rate.

The thing you need to know about Vienna is that grocery stores and pharmacies close at 6 on Saturday evening, and are closed on Sundays, except for stores that are in the train stations.  If you go to the grocery in the train station on Sunday, you cannot buy toilet paper, laundry or dish soap, but you can buy that in the pharmacy next door.

I hope these things will be helpful to you if you travel to these areas.  Happy New Year!