Two countries, three trains, two trams, and two buses later and I've arrived at my final destination on this tour: Budapest. From the tiny town of Tatranska Lomnica, I made my way to Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. It's not the best place for photos, though there are several palaces that are camera worthy, and the main square, which is surrounded by embassies, is a nice place to start your shopping. Bratislava is fairly cosmopolitan, though. There are plenty of international businesses, like Ernst and Young (Private). It's also home to the stock exchange, the BSSE. And, like Krakow, there's a lot of construction going on. As I told you last time, growth has not been checked so you've got unusual buildings thrown up side by side with historical sites. Take a look at the panoramic photo of the city. Lots of concrete... And cranes. The city has quite a ways to go, though, but it's getting a lot of influence from its surrounding countries. Bratislava is a mere three hours from Vienna, and is right on the border with the Czech Republic, too. It's also 200 kilometers (124 miles) from Budapest, which is by far the largest city on my trip. Budapest has about two million residents, and the city has sprawled out to include suburbs with big shopping malls and a large number of car dealerships. You name it, I saw it. From Porsche (PAH3:Frankfurt) and Audi (NSU:Frankfurt) to Skoda and GM (GM:NYSE), Hungary seriously may be the new Detroit. Yet, while the outside world is looking in, Hungary is looking out. I find Hungarians to be extremely proud of their heritage and history, and it shows in how they've rebuilt their city after breaking the communists' rule. Unlike Bratislave, Budapest is very conscious about using the same materials in reconstruction and the same styles of architecture. You can compare a panoramic view of Budapest to the one from Bratislava above. There are a couple modern buildings thrown in from the communist era, but many of the historical sites are absolutely stunning. Budapest is definitely a place to visit. It is very tourist friendly, even though the language is the hardest I've tried to speak yet and the money is a bit hard to get your head around. To convert (at current rates) you'll have to divide by 16 and drop a zero. As an example, I grabbed a Whopper from Burger King when I got into town. (I know, it's not traditional Hungarian, but I was in a rush.) It cost me 730 Hungarian Forints, or about $4.50. Tonight, I'll get authentic goulash. It's the best here. I'll let you know how it is, and how the traditional baths are, too.