The following should provide some context and background to your time in Buda-Pest. I'll try and post similar summaries of other locations.<br/><br/><strong><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 14pt;">Buda-Pest</span></strong><br/>Three separate towns make up the city that is often referred to as Buda-Pest. Two of them, Buda and Obuda (Old Buda), occupy the wooded hills to the west of the river; though the two have merged in architecture and character, they are quite different. Buda bears the name of the creator of the fortress-castle. Pest, on the lowland side, still claims its independence from the higher, better defended city - except in times of war when its residents scurry across the river to take shelter there. Pest means 'chimney', a reference to the lime-kilns found in great profusion there; the German name is even more direct - 'Ofen', meaing Oven.<br/><br/><strong><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 12pt;">Buda</span></strong><br/>Although the last area to be 'settled', Buda is the fastest growing section fo Buda-Pest. Construction continues on the castle, chruches, and various noble homes.<br/><br/><strong>VAR-HEGY</strong><br/>In the centre of Buda rises a limestone plateau called Var-hegy (or Castle Hill), which is topped by the royal palace. Divided into quarters, the northern section of the plateau is given over to important nobles and burghers, while the southern portion is reserved for the king's castle. To the west and above the castle are several churches, the most famous being the dark, Romanesque Church of Our Lady. Also in the church quarter are the town's prison, a small market square, and the town meeting hall. To the east rests Vizivaros, or Water Town, a narrow strip between the castle and the Danube occupied by tradesmen, fishermen, and craftsmen. The entire plateau is fortified with stone walls on all sides, though the castle has an inner wall as well. Because of an old superstition, buts of iron were embedded in the rocks of the fortification, a practice intended to ward off evil supernatural things. This section is the oldest part of Buda, constructed on the highland as a defensive measure.<br/><br/>-<strong>The House of the Red Hedgehog</strong><br/>Located between the Castle and the church district, the Red Hedgehog is an inn catering to visiting nobles and people of wealth who wish to stay in the castle district of Buda rather than in the market area of Pest. Accomodations and food are said to be the best in the city, and the inn's division of its tavern portion into three, smaller, linked areas makes each seem private without feeling closed in. Many of the city's elite visit the Red Hedgehog after sunset.<br/><br/>-<strong>Buda Castle</strong><br/>The castle forms a horseshoe shape, with a north and south wing thrusting outward from a heavier (and original) central block. THe central building is typical of 11th century castles - thick stone walls and wooden interior floors and ceilings. It holds a great hall, parlour (or meeting room), kitchen with its buttery (storeroom for beer, wine and candles) and pantry (for salt, bread and cutlery). Bedchambers, a chapel and a large open courtyard occupy the remainder. It is unfurnished but for several heavy wooden chairs, tables, beds and chests. Woolen rugs line interior walls in bedchambers (which are reserved for royalty, nobles and guests). The castle has arrow slits rather than winds. It is heated by an ingenious system of clay pipes connecting the building to the limestone caverns bneaht. The pipes lead upwards from a mazelike cellar. The many thermal springs beneath found in the caves (and outside them) produce steam that rises through the pipes, keeping the castle remarkably warm.<br/><br/>-<strong>Port Town</strong><br/>Below Catle Hill, on wide ramparts that stretch outward from the river, lies the port of Buda. Only a few buildings occupy this area. Most are no more than single stone rooms with stout doors. These warehouses are used for storing goods being held for river transport. Along the banks are posts used for mooring ships. Buda receives regular shipments of timber and bricks from Vienna and sends back fur, amber and exotic goods from the east.<br/>Upstream, where the river is not so wide, ferrymen use barges and rafts to carry people, livestock and goods back and forth across the river. There are no bridges.<br/>The Taban, or tannery district, is below Castle Hill, somewhat further south than the port. Besides tanneries, the district is also home to vintners who use the gently sloping hill as vineyards. Though afflicted with the smell of tanning, the area has many small, but comfortable houses occupied by merchants and ship owners. A street running up from the taban provides the easiest ascent to Castle Hill. Rumours abound among the poor of Buda-Pest that one of the tanners makes his fortune supplying tanned human hides to the devil worshippers that 'everyone' knows are abroad in the city. No proof of such horror has thus far been found.<br/><br/>-<strong>Gellert Hill</strong><br/>Joust south of hte castle lies Gellert Hill, named for the martyred St Gellert, a Venetian who became bishop of Hungary. During a pagan reaction after the reign of Istvan (later St Stephen, patron saint of Hungary), Gellert was nailed into a barrel and thrown from the hill into the river in 1046. The hill's only occupant now is a small shrine to the saint and - further down the riverside face - Celtic-era ruins and many thermal pools.<br/><br/>-<strong>Hare Island</strong><br/>Just above Buda, almost opposite Obuda, sits a small island known as Hare Island, 2.5km by 500m. It is covered with woods and boasts a hot spring in the northern end, and is connected to the Buda side of the river by a pile bridge. A Roman tower and villa, is the only building on the island - a hunting lodge for the King. It is rumoured that it will be deeded to the Knights of St John so that they may build a fortified monastery there.<br/><br/><strong>OBUDA</strong><br/>The lesser nobles, those who cannot afford or find suitable living quarters in Buda, have been relegated to the 'less desirable' homes available in unfashionable Obuda.<br/><br/>-<strong>The Noble District</strong><br/>Many classical Roman buildings and structures remain. A few nobles have constructed houses using the remains of Roman walls and floors, some with beautiful and intact mosaics. Other remains include the Thermae Maiores, Roman baths that include pools, steam chambers, massage rooms, a decorated promande and a temple in which statuary of the nymphs of healing still remain.<br/><br/>-<strong>The Round House</strong><br/>A military amphitheatre near the old baths once held up to 16,000 people. Its arena is topped by a block of abandoned dwellings known as the Round House. Their cellar walls form part of the ampitheatre. Below ground, under the arena, are cells where prisoners and wild beasts were once held.<br/><br/>-<strong>The Amber Market</strong><br/>When Buda-Pest was Aquincum, capital of the Roman province of Pannonia, it was a major stopover on the Amber Road, the main trade route from Russia. The most important goods traded along the route were furs and amber, hence the name. Amber is still brought west along the ancient trade route and sold in bulk, and crushed to make scent or set into silver and gold as jewelry or other ornamentation. That work is all carried on in the Obuda Amber Market, where craftspeople and traders set up stalls when weather permits. On the fringes of the market can be found storytellers, wine sellers, meat vendors, and the ubiquitous thieves and prostitutes.  Though the market is closed for several hours either side of noon, it is open late into the night, lit by torches places throughout the square.<br/><br/>-<strong>Hermit's Hill</strong><br/>This wooded hill rises above Obuda and provides a clear view of the town, Buda, the Danube, and Pest. A watchtower was erected on the hill by the Romans. Though in ruins now, rumour has it that it is haunted - whole squads of men would vanish if stationed there overnight. More recently, soe residents of Obuda have seen a bearded, long-haired man moving about on the hill from time to time. The mysterious figure, who dresses in a dirty, tattered red robe occaisonally comes down to the Amber Market and the central market in Pest. He can also be found at a quiet, shadowed tables in the second room of the Hedgehog. He's regarded as a holy hermit rather than a threat, and kind-hearted or devout people offer him food, wine, or other victuals. He merely nods, then turns away. Most believe that he has taken a vow of silence and no longer bother him.<br/><br/><strong>PEST</strong><br/>Constructed on a layer of rubble and stone lying close to the river's edge, most of Pest's buildings are mae of wood. Showing the Hungarian eye for fine decoration, many wealthy merchants have commissioned woodcrafters to adorn their houses with fine carvings - most are of flowers and vines, but others echo prechristian imagery. Al the streets of Pest circle outward from the central marketplace. The main street crosses from the port alongside the river, through the market and on to th east, where exits through the main gate. Beyond the gate lie only endless plains.<br/><br/>-<strong>Cattle Market</strong><br/>Just inside the main gate is Pest's cattle market, a dusty square where cattle, sheep, and horses are bought and sold. Usually referred to as 'that wretched hive of scum and villainy', the market is famous for the number (and skill) of the thieves that congregate about the market like flies.<br/><br/>-<strong>The Parish Church</strong><br/>Lying in the lowest spot in Pest, the Romanesque church known as The Chapel of the Virgin is newly built atop the ruins of a far older Roman structure. One watch-tower serves as a makeshift bell-tower.<br/><br/>-<strong>Royal Market</strong><br/>Pest has grown up around mercantile interests. Nowhere is this more evident than in the Royal Market, the central square of the town. All roads lead into the market, which is surrounded by the lawmakers' hall, the custom house-treasury building; and the Gold Boar and the White Stag - two inns catering to travellers. Germans frequent the Boar while Hungarians favour the Stag. The central market is filled with bright colours, lots of noise, and just about any trade item available in Eastern Europe. Everything from practical blacksmithing to bootmaking to delciate goldsmithing can be found at a price. Wine-sellers, fortune tellers, and moneylenders rub shoulders with mercenaries, slaves, and farmers. Hungary's main slave market is held here once a week.<br/>Goods from the West dominate most of the market, but otwo areas contain strikingly different wares. One section is run by Jews and features rare herbs, vellum, honey, beeswax candles, medicinal elixirs, and wares from Byzantium. The other area is manned by merchants from Pest's small Muslim community, who sell fine fabrics, rare scents, and exotic weaponry.