-lrb- cnn -rrb- -- `` budapest '' rolls off the tongue pretty easily , and the hungarian capital itself feels as if it 's been around for a long time . but budapest is a relatively recent construct -- the result of an 1873 merger between two distinct cities : buda on the western bank of the danube and pest on the bank opposite . -lrb- rollingstone.com -rrb- -- when sam beam stepped into the spotlight on iron and wine 's 2002 debut , he was a novelty act . that acoustic guitar , that soothingly sweet tenor voice , that flowing mountain-man beard ? pop music had n't seen anything like it since the heyday of cat stevens . but beam 's songs -- sincere folk churners full of backwoods beauty and subtle psychedelia -- had a weird magic all their own . since then , indie rock has been overrun by extravagantly bearded , achingly earnest balladeers , but beam started running away from the pack on 2007 's `` the shepherd 's dog , '' which juiced limpid melodies with dashes of appalachian folk and west african rock . gallery : keep up with rock 's hottest photos in random notes . now , on `` kiss each other clean , '' beam has gone pop -- at least the kind of pop you might have heard on a free-form radio station occupied by a band of hippie visionaries in 1971 . beam 's lovely voice anchors melodies of crystalline clarity and unshakable catchiness . but the music wo n't stay still , moving from stormy psychedelic rock -lrb- `` rabbit will run '' -rrb- to white-guy funk -lrb- `` big burned hand '' -rrb- to what sounds like a beach boys version of a country-western ballad -lrb- `` half moon '' -rrb- . beam 's tunes pull you merrily along , but his songs do n't shy from the big issues , tackling war , politics and sex . on `` me and lazarus , '' beam seems to poke fun at his own minor celebrity : `` never made the local news/guess i had nowhere else to go . '' do n't believe it : beam 's headed someplace , and it 's worth following . copyright © 2010 rolling stone . the result , budapest , sounds so much more natural than other twin cities -- minneapolis/st . paul or dallas/fort worth -- it 's difficult to imagine that the alternative `` pestbuda '' was floated seriously at the time . although they 've been populated for centuries , pest and buda have developed so separately that the first bridge spanning the danube , the imposing chain bridge , was n't built until 1849 . their distinctiveness continues to this day . view from the hills . built on a series of hills , buda is the site of a grand hapsburg palace and has a detached , imperial air of settled wealth . in contrast , populous pest -- as flat as a prairie -- is busy , buzzing and bourgeois , with an assortment of bars , cafés and gourmet restaurants . buda offers sweeping panoramas . most visitors are content with the view across to pest from the fisherman 's bastion on castle hill and ignore the less accessible gellért hill just to the south . more : 11 things to know before visiting hungary . yet here the ramparts of the old citadella fortress -lrb- citadella sétány 1 ; +36 1 279-1963 ; free entry -rrb- provide equally stunning vistas over the danube . it 's in the hiking network of the buda hills , where city residents come to picnic and ramble through the woods . during weekdays , you can walk for hours without seeing another human being . kids ' railway . hills hide the children 's railway -lrb- szechenyi-hegyi gyermekvasut ; +36 1 397 5394 ; $ 5.40 adult , $ 2.70 child ; closed monday -rrb- a narrow-gauge line operated entirely by 10-to-14 year olds as ticket sellers , announcers and conductors -- only the drivers are adults . the line runs for 45 minutes through 11 kilometers of forest landscape with seven stops in-between . when night falls , buda goes to sleep and pest wakes up . whether you prefer the opulence of the opera house , one of europe 's finest , or the conviviality of the city 's legendary ruin pubs , you want to be on the pest side of the river after dark . pest has been a hotbed of hungarian national pride to counter the austrian hapsburg court reigning from castle hill . buda may have the palace , but pest houses the hungarian parliament -lrb- 1-3 kossuth tér ; +36 1 441 4000 ; daily tours in english april-october , $ 7.80 eu citizens , $ 3.90 others -rrb- , a dazzling neo-gothic building whose superlative interior is more than a match for its exterior . spa wars . pest is as practical and business-oriented as buda is aloof and superior . buda has thermal spas , such as the gellért or rudas baths , built by the old ruling elites . pest has an open-air people 's pool : the neo-baroque széchenyi baths complex where you can still find old men playing chess , half immersed in the water . -lrb- see spasbudapest.com for complete spa information . -rrb- . pest 's bustle is best reflected in its most well-known shopping artery : váci utca . it suffered during the communist era but the street has regained its ritzy reputation . more : 8 must-see budapest buildings . fittingly , buda has the wolf 's meadow cemetery , where famous hungarians such as classical composer béla bartók and conductor georg solti are buried in extravagant tombs . pest , on the other hand , has the vitality and life force associated with the fiery magyar temperament -- nowhere more evident than in the former city 's culinary culture . café cultured . in vörösmarty square you can find one of europe 's monuments to confectionary brilliance : the café founded by emil gerbeaud -lrb- café gerbeaud , 7-8 vörösmarty tér , +36 1 429 9000 -rrb- in 1885 , complete with over-elaborate ceilings and chandeliers . not far away , the renovated art nouveau decor of the gerlóczy café -lrb- gerlóczy u. 1 ; +36 1 501 4000 -rrb- gives traditional hungarian dishes a modern makeover . further out , at the edges of the seventh district , the fin-de-siècle elegance of new york café -lrb- part of the hotel boscolo budapest ; 9-11 erzsébet körút , +36 1 886 6167 -rrb- has to be seen to be believed . some tourists do just that -- constantly snapping diners from the gallery above . `` visit buda but stay in pest '' is the advice every budapest visitor is given . but in fact the once-separate cities have such distinct characters you should spend as much time exploring each . it 's the only way to do them justice . cnn travel 's series often carry sponsorship originating from the countries and regions we profile . however , cnn retains full editorial control over all of its reports . read the policy .
separated by the danube , pest and buda became one city in 1873 . budapest was almost called `` pestbuda '' hilly buda has great views ; pest is flat but buzzing . even the thermal spas on each side have a different vibe .
catchiness . but the music wo n't stay still , moving from stormy psychedelic rock -lrb- `` rabbit will run '' -rrb- to white-guy funk -lrb- `` big burned hand '' -rrb- to what sounds like a beach boys version of a country-western ballad -lrb- `` half moon '' -rrb- . beam 's tunes pull you merrily along , but his songs do n't shy from the big issues , tackling war , politics and sex . on `` me and lazarus , '' beam seems to poke fun at his own minor celebrity : `` never made the local news/guess i had nowhere else to go . '' do n't believe it : beam 's headed someplace , and it 's worth following . copyright © 2010 rolling stone . the result , budapest , sounds so much more natural than other twin cities -- minneapolis/st . paul or dallas/fort worth -- it 's difficult to imagine that the alternative `` pestbuda '' was floated seriously at the time . although they 've been populated for centuries , pest and buda have developed so separately that the first bridge spanning the danube , the imposing chain bridge , was n't built until 1849 . their distinctiveness continues to this day . view from the hills . built on a series of hills , buda is the site of a grand hapsburg palace and has a detached , imperial air of settled wealth . in contrast , populous pest -- as flat as a prairie -- is busy , buzzing and bourgeois , with an assortment of bars , cafés and gourmet restaurants . buda offers sweeping panoramas . most visitors are content with the view across to pest from the fisherman 's bastion on castle hill and ignore the less accessible gellért hill just to the south . more : 11 things to know before visiting hungary . yet here the ramparts of the old citadella fortress -lrb- citadella sétány 1 ; +36 1 279-1963 ; free entry -rrb- provide equally stunning vistas over the danube . it 's in the hiking network of the buda hills , where city residents come to picnic and ramble through the woods . during weekdays , you can walk for hours without seeing another human being . kids ' railway . hills hide the children 's railway -lrb- szechenyi-hegyi gyermekvasut ; +36 1 397 5394 ; $ 5.40 adult , $ 2.70 child ; closed monday -rrb- a narrow-gauge line operated entirely by 10-to-14 year olds as ticket sellers , announcers and conductors -- only the drivers are adults . the line runs for 45 minutes through 11 kilometers of forest landscape with seven stops in-between . when night falls , buda goes to sleep and pest wakes up . whether you prefer the opulence of the opera house , one of europe 's finest , or the conviviality of the city 's legendary ruin pubs , you want to be on the pest side of the river after dark . pest has been a hotbed of hungarian national pride to counter the austrian hapsburg court reigning from castle hill . buda may have the palace , but pest houses the hungarian parliament -lrb- 1-3 kossuth tér ; +36 1 441 4000 ; daily tours in english april-october , $ 7.80 eu citizens , $ 3.90 others -rrb- , a dazzling neo-gothic building whose superlative interior is more than a match for its exterior . spa wars . pest is as practical and business-oriented as buda is aloof and superior . buda has thermal spas , such as the gellért or rudas baths , built by the old ruling elites . pest has an open-air people 's pool : the neo-baroque széchenyi baths complex where you can still find old men playing chess , half immersed in the water . -lrb- see spasbudapest.com for complete spa information . -rrb- . pest 's bustle is best reflected in its most well-known shopping artery : váci utca . it suffered during the communist era but the street has regained its ritzy reputation . more : 8 must-see budapest buildings . fittingly , buda has the wolf 's meadow cemetery , where famous hungarians such as classical composer béla bartók and conductor georg solti are buried in extravagant tombs . pest , on the other hand , has the vitality and life force associated with the fiery magyar temperament -- nowhere more evident than in the former city 's culinary culture . café cultured . in vörösmarty square you can find one of europe 's monuments to confectionary brilliance : the café founded by emil gerbeaud -lrb- café gerbeaud , 7-8 vörösmarty tér , +36 1 429 9000 -rrb- in 1885 , complete with over-elaborate ceilings and chandeliers . not far away , the renovated art nouveau decor of the gerlóczy café -lrb- gerlóczy u. 1 ; +36 1 501 4000 -rrb- gives traditional hungarian dishes a modern makeover . further out , at the edges of the seventh district , the fin-de-siècle elegance of new york café -lrb- part of the hotel boscolo budapest ; 9-11 erzsébet körút , +36 1 886 6167 -rrb- has to be seen to be believed . some tourists do just that -- constantly snapping diners from the gallery above . `` visit buda but stay in pest '' is the advice every budapest visitor is given . but in fact the once-separate cities have such distinct characters you should spend as much time exploring each . it 's the only way to do them justice . cnn travel 's series often carry sponsorship originating from the countries and regions we profile . however , cnn retains full editorial control over all of its reports . read the policy .
catchiness . but the music wo n't stay still , moving from stormy psychedelic rock -lrb- `` rabbit will run '' -rrb- to white-guy funk -lrb- `` big burned hand '' -rrb- to what sounds like a beach boys version of a country-western ballad -lrb- `` half moon '' -rrb- . beam 's tunes pull you merrily along , but his songs do n't shy from the big issues , tackling war , politics and sex . on `` me and lazarus , '' beam seems to poke fun at his own minor celebrity : `` never made the local news/guess i had nowhere else to go . '' do n't believe it : beam 's headed someplace , and it 's worth following . copyright © 2010 rolling stone . the result , budapest , sounds so much more natural than other twin cities -- minneapolis/st . paul or dallas/fort worth -- it 's difficult to imagine that the alternative `` pestbuda '' was floated seriously at the time . although they 've been populated for centuries , pest and buda have developed so separately that the first bridge spanning the danube , the imposing chain bridge , was n't built until 1849 . their distinctiveness continues to this day . view from the hills . built on a series of hills , buda is the site of a grand hapsburg palace and has a detached , imperial air of settled wealth . in contrast , populous pest -- as flat as a prairie -- is busy , buzzing and bourgeois , with an assortment of bars , cafés and gourmet restaurants . buda offers sweeping panoramas . most visitors are content with the view across to pest from the fisherman 's bastion on castle hill and ignore the less accessible gellért hill just to the south . more : 11 things to know before visiting hungary . yet here the ramparts of the old citadella fortress -lrb- citadella sétány 1 ; +36 1 279-1963 ; free entry -rrb- provide equally stunning vistas over the danube . it 's in the hiking network of the buda hills , where city residents come to picnic and ramble through the woods . during weekdays , you can walk for hours without seeing another human being . kids ' railway . hills hide the children 's railway -lrb- szechenyi-hegyi gyermekvasut ; +36 1 397 5394 ; $ 5.40 adult , $ 2.70 child ; closed monday -rrb- a narrow-gauge line operated entirely by 10-to-14 year olds as ticket sellers , announcers and conductors -- only the drivers are adults . the line runs for 45 minutes through 11 kilometers of forest landscape with seven stops in-between . when night falls , buda goes to sleep and pest wakes up . whether you prefer the opulence of the opera house , one of europe 's finest , or the conviviality of the city 's legendary ruin pubs , you want to be on the pest side of the river after dark . pest has been a hotbed of hungarian national pride to counter the austrian hapsburg court reigning from castle hill . buda may have the palace , but pest houses the hungarian parliament -lrb- 1-3 kossuth tér ; +36 1 441 4000 ; daily tours in english april-october , $ 7.80 eu citizens , $ 3.90 others -rrb- , a dazzling neo-gothic building whose superlative interior is more than a match for its exterior . spa wars . pest is as practical and business-oriented as buda is aloof and superior . buda has thermal spas , such as the gellért or rudas baths , built by the old ruling elites . pest has an open-air people 's pool : the neo-baroque széchenyi baths complex where you can still find old men playing chess , half immersed in the water . -lrb- see spasbudapest.com for complete spa information . -rrb- . pest 's bustle is best reflected in its most well-known shopping artery : váci utca . it suffered during the communist era but the street has regained its ritzy reputation . more : 8 must-see budapest buildings . fittingly , buda has the wolf 's meadow cemetery , where famous hungarians such as classical composer béla bartók and conductor georg solti are buried in extravagant tombs . pest , on the other hand , has the vitality and life force associated with the fiery magyar temperament -- nowhere more evident than in the former city 's culinary culture . café cultured . in vörösmarty square you can find one of europe 's monuments to confectionary brilliance : the café founded by emil gerbeaud -lrb- café gerbeaud , 7-8 vörösmarty tér , +36 1 429 9000 -rrb- in 1885 , complete with over-elaborate ceilings and chandeliers . not far away , the renovated art nouveau decor of the gerlóczy café -lrb- gerlóczy u. 1 ; +36 1 501 4000 -rrb- gives traditional hungarian dishes a modern makeover . further out , at the edges of the seventh district , the fin-de-siècle elegance of new york café -lrb- part of the hotel boscolo budapest ; 9-11 erzsébet körút , +36 1 886 6167 -rrb- has to be seen to be believed . some tourists do just that -- constantly snapping diners from the gallery above . `` visit buda but stay in pest '' is the advice every budapest visitor is given . but in fact the once-separate cities have such distinct characters you should spend as much time exploring each . it 's the only way to do them justice . cnn travel 's series often carry sponsorship originating from the countries and regions we profile . however , cnn retains full editorial control over all of its reports . read the policy .
-lrb- cnn -- `` budapest '' rolls pretty, the hungarian capital itself feels as 's around but budapest a relatively recent construct -- the result two distinct cities : buda on the danube pest on bank opposite. -lrb- rollingstone.com -- when sam beam stepped iron wine 's 2002 debut, a novelty act that acoustic guitar, that soothingly sweet tenor voice flowing mountain-man beard? pop music had n't seen anything cat stevens. but beam 's songs -- sincere folk churners full backwoods beauty subtle had a weird magic all. since then, indie rock overrun extravagantly bearded, achingly earnest balladeers but beam started running away the pack 2007 `` the shepherd 's dog juiced limpid melodies dashes appalachian folk west african rock gallery : keep rock 's hottest photos random notes. now, on `` kiss each clean, '' beam has gone pop -- at kind occupied hippie visionaries in 1971 beam 's lovely voice anchors melodies crystalline clarity unshakable catchiness. but the music wo n't stay still, moving from stormy psychedelic rock -lrb- `` rabbit will run '' to white-guy funk `` big burned hand '' to what sounds a beach boys version country- `` half moon. beam 's tunes pull merrily, his songs do n't shy from the big issues, tackling war sex on `` me and lazarus, '' beam seems poke his own minor celebrity : never made local/guess i had nowhere. '' do n't believe : beam 's headed someplace, worth following. copyright © 2010 rolling stone. the result, budapest sounds so natural other twin cities -- minneapolis/. paul or dallas/fort worth -- it 's difficult the alternative `` pestbuda floated seriously. although 've populated, pest and buda developed so separately the first bridge spanning the danube, the imposing chain bridge n't their distinctiveness continues. view from the hills. built hills, buda is the site a grand hapsburg palace has a detached, imperial air of settled wealth in contrast, populous pest -- as flat busy, buzzing bourgeois with an assortment bars buda offers sweeping panoramas. most visitors content across to pest from the fisherman 's bastion castle hill ignore the less accessible gellért hill just. more : 11 things before visiting hungary. yet here the ramparts the old citadella fortress -lrb- citadella sétány 1 ; +36 1 279-1963 free entry -rrb- provide equally stunning vistas over the danube. it 's in the hiking network the buda hills, city residents come picnic ramble through during weekdays, walk for. kids ' railway. hills hide the children 's railway -lrb- szechenyi-hegyi gyermekvasut ; +36 1 397 5394 ; $ 5.40 adult, closed monday -rrb- a narrow-gauge line operated entirely as ticket sellers, announcers conductors -- only the drivers adults the line runs for through 11 kilometers forest landscape seven stops-. when night, buda goes pest wakes. whether prefer the opulence the opera house, one europe, the city 's legendary ruin pubs want the pest side after pest has hungarian national pride to counter the austrian hapsburg court reigning castle hill. buda may the palace, pest houses the hungarian parliament -lrb- 1- kossuth tér ; +36 1 441 4000 ; daily tours in english april-october, $ 7.80 eu citizens others, a dazzling neo-gothic building whose superlative interior more a match. spa wars. pest is as practical business buda aloof superior. buda has thermal spas, such the gellért rudas baths built the old ruling elites pest has an open-air people 's pool : the neo-baroque széchenyi baths complex where still find old men playing, half immersed -lrb- see spasbudapest.com complete spa information. -rrb-. pest 's bustle best reflected its most well-known shopping artery : váci utca. it suffered during the street has regained. more : 8 must budapest buildings. fittingly, buda has the wolf 's meadow cemetery where famous hungarians classical composer béla bartók conductor georg solti extravagant tombs pest, on the vitality and life force associated the fiery magyar temperament -- nowhere the former city 's culinary culture café cultured. in vörösmarty square you one europe 's monuments confectionary brilliance : the café founded emil gerbeaud -lrb- café gerbeaud,, +36 429 9000 in 1885 complete over-elaborate ceilings not far, the renovated art nouveau decor the gerlóczy café -lrb- u. 1 ; +36 1 501 4000 -rrb- gives traditional hungarian dishes further out, at the edges the seventh district fin- elegance new york café -lrb- part boscolo budapest ; 9-11 erzsébet körút +36 6167 has to some tourists do -- constantly snapping diners from above. `` visit buda but stay pest '' is every budapest visitor. but in the once-separate cities such distinct characters you should spend exploring. it 's them justice. cnn travel 's series often carry sponsorship originating the countries and we profile. however, cnn retains read the policy.
catchiness . but the music wo n't stay still , moving from stormy psychedelic rock -lrb- `` rabbit will run '' -rrb- to white-guy funk -lrb- `` big burned hand '' -rrb- to what sounds like a beach boys version of a country-western ballad -lrb- `` half moon '' -rrb- . beam 's tunes pull you merrily along , but his songs do n't shy from the big issues , tackling war , politics and sex . on `` me and lazarus , '' beam seems to poke fun at his own minor celebrity : `` never made the local news/guess i had nowhere else to go . '' do n't believe it : beam 's headed someplace , and it 's worth following . copyright © 2010 rolling stone . the result , budapest , sounds so much more natural than other twin cities -- minneapolis/st . paul or dallas/fort worth -- it 's difficult to imagine that the alternative `` pestbuda '' was floated seriously at the time . although they 've been populated for centuries , pest and buda have developed so separately that the first bridge spanning the danube , the imposing chain bridge , was n't built until 1849 . their distinctiveness continues to this day . view from the hills . built on a series of hills , buda is the site of a grand hapsburg palace and has a detached , imperial air of settled wealth . in contrast , populous pest -- as flat as a prairie -- is busy , buzzing and bourgeois , with an assortment of bars , cafés and gourmet restaurants . buda offers sweeping panoramas . most visitors are content with the view across to pest from the fisherman 's bastion on castle hill and ignore the less accessible gellért hill just to the south . more : 11 things to know before visiting hungary . yet here the ramparts of the old citadella fortress -lrb- citadella sétány 1 ; +36 1 279-1963 ; free entry -rrb- provide equally stunning vistas over the danube . it 's in the hiking network of the buda hills , where city residents come to picnic and ramble through the woods . during weekdays , you can walk for hours without seeing another human being . kids ' railway . hills hide the children 's railway -lrb- szechenyi-hegyi gyermekvasut ; +36 1 397 5394 ; $ 5.40 adult , $ 2.70 child ; closed monday -rrb- a narrow-gauge line operated entirely by 10-to-14 year olds as ticket sellers , announcers and conductors -- only the drivers are adults . the line runs for 45 minutes through 11 kilometers of forest landscape with seven stops in-between . when night falls , buda goes to sleep and pest wakes up . whether you prefer the opulence of the opera house , one of europe 's finest , or the conviviality of the city 's legendary ruin pubs , you want to be on the pest side of the river after dark . pest has been europe 's monuments to confectionary brilliance : the café founded by emil gerbeaud -lrb- café gerbeaud , 7-8 vörösmarty tér , +36 1 429 9000 -rrb- in 1885 , complete with over-elaborate ceilings and chandeliers . not far away , the renovated art nouveau decor of the gerlóczy café -lrb- gerlóczy u. 1 ; +36 1 501 4000 -rrb- gives traditional hungarian dishes a modern makeover . further out , at the edges of the seventh district , the fin-de-siècle elegance of new york café -lrb- part of the hotel boscolo budapest ; 9-11 erzsébet körút , +36 1 886 6167 -rrb- has to be seen to be believed . some tourists do just that -- constantly snapping diners from the gallery above . `` visit buda but stay in pest '' is the advice every budapest visitor is given . but in fact the once-separate cities have such distinct characters you should spend as much time exploring each . it 's the only way to do them justice . cnn travel 's series often carry sponsorship originating from the countries and regions we profile . however , cnn retains full editorial control over all of its reports . read the policy .
 The text appears to be a collection of travel-related writings, possibly from a blog or travelogue. It describes various experiences and observations made while traveling through Europe, including visits to cities like Budapest, Prague, and Vienna. The writing is descriptive and introspective, with the author reflecting on their own emotions and reactions to the places they visit. There are also mentions of historical events, cultural differences, and personal growth.