Myth: You need a travel agent to visit Europe

Despite what many people think, nowadays it is quite easy to book your own travel to Europe.

Where do you begin?  

Step: 1:  If you don't have a passport get a passport.  Or if your passport is within a year of expiring renew your passport.  On a side note related to paperwork only 2 European countries require Americans to have visas: Belarus and Russia.  

Step 2: (Optional but recommended, in particular if cost is a factor): Do some research on Europe and European cities and how much each one will cost.  I personally like Price of Travel which lists price comparisons for 56 cities ( http://www.priceoftravel.com/2427/europe-3-star-traveler-index/).  But compare those prices with the costs of plane tickets.  Also do a little research on what each city has to offer.  Finally pick your city.  

Step 3 (or 4): Buy plane tickets.  It is really no harder to buy tickets for Europe than it is for the United States.  

Step 4 (or 3): Book a hotel.  Do some research before you book any hotel.  Tripadvisor has good info, but if you book through Tripadvisor you will likely pay more than if you book the hotel directly.  For a few cities in Europe where at certain times hotel space can be limited (for example Oslo) book the hotel first to make sure you have a hotel.  

Step 5: Gather information.  I recommend investing in guide books you pay for rather than just using information on the internet.  While I've found wikitravel pages can be helpful, almost every wikitravel page had information that I found was incorrect when at my destination.  When it comes to travel info you get what you pay for.  But when you are paying for travel books beware of books that are to short as these books may have been written by someone who just copied info from the internet.  

What books do I recommend?  Well, I'm biased so of course I like my own Kaufman Green Guide series (Links included at the bottom of this page).  But I also like Rick Steve's books and have found there are many good inexpensive independent e-books.

What information should you gather?  It's easy to get caught up in the exciting part of travel and forget some of the most practical.  How will you get from the airport to your hotel (and perhaps what are the cheapest ways to do so)?  What is the general layout of the city?  Are certain attractions closed on certain days?  Are there tickets you should buy in advance (for example it works well to buy tickets in advance to the Parliament in Budapest).  

Happy Travels!

                                         

Book Review: The Five-Year Party

I've decided to put to use my love of reading by reviewing the books I read (for better or for worse).

Today we review: The Five-Year Party By Craig Brandon (subtitled How colleges have given up on educating your child and what you can do about it).


                                                                          

Rating: 6 out of 10

Pros: Makes good points.  Presents good specific facts.  Has a passion for improving our education system.
Cons: Rinse, lathers and repeats the same points over and over.  This book could easily be 100 instead of 200 pages.  Also, seems to hold a belief at 18-23 year olds are children which drives me a little bit crazy (not a lot crazy, just a little bit).

Craig Brandon's book the five year party comes both from his experience teaching at a sub-par university and research about other sub-par schools.  He discusses how colleges have gone from being run by experts in education to experts in business.  How student loan and credit card companies (aka large banks) are allowed to ruin the lives of students.  How crime on colleges often goes unreported and how universities cover up crime and how university cities might be some of the most dangerous places in the United States.  How schools spoil students in order to keep the students parents handing the school money.   And perhaps ,as the title of the books says, the schools try to keep students at the schools longer to keep extracting more money from the parents.

I found the book interesting and some of the stuff in the book surprised me, but I can't say anything in the book shocked me; after all I went to UVA.    




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Online Update to Kaufman Green Guide Budapest due to Sunday Closing Law

Recently a new law was passed which will impact what is open in Budapest.  The law requires certain businesses to be closed on Sundays.  Below is the impact on different types of businesses.

Grocery stores: Unless they are family run only or less than 200 square meters, will likely be required to be closed.  However, there is an exemption for stores that sell baked good and dairy products from 5am to noon.  

    

Retail Stores (such as clothing stores): Unless they are family run only or less than 200 square meters, will be required to be closed, except during Advent.  

Museums: Are exempted and will still be open on Sunday.  But also be aware there is a project going on to renovate and even move some museums to City Park so museums in Kaufman Green Guide Budapest may be closed during your trip.  

Thermal Baths: Are exempted and will still be open on Sunday.  

Pharmacies: Exempted.

Restaurants: Exempted, but some restaurants are closed on the weekend or on Sunday already.   

Airport (and train/bus depots): Exempted.  

Newsstands: Exempted.  

Great Market Hall: Was already closed on Sundays, except the Aldi's in the basement.  With the new law it would appear Aldi's will no longer be allowed to be open on Sundays.  

West End Mall: Likely most stores would not be allowed to be open on Sundays, except during Advent.  

                                                                 

Why you might want to pass on the Dublin Pass

Website: https://www.dublinpass.com/dublin-attractions/

There is the option of purchasing something called the Dublin Pass to get free entry and discounts to some attractions and other places (e.g. restaurants), as well as being allowed to “skip the line”.  I wanted to present this for those who are interested, but I personally think it’s a bad deal at 71 euros for a three day pass(what they claim is their most popular option) and other options that I don't think are great deals either.  

Here’s why I don’t feel think that the Dublin pass is a good deal for most tourists. 

• First off, they claim you can enter thirty three attractions free with the Dublin Pass, yet they include numerous free museums in the list.  At the time I wrote the Kaufman Green Guide Dublin it was 32 attractions so since they have added one attraction.  Also while they used to not list certain attractions are free, now they are listing the regular price.   

• Secondly, looking at the listed attractions and offers those we took advantage of only cost us about half of the price they are charging.  

• Finally, as far as skipping the lines, I found lines to be pretty much short or nonexistent, at least during the off season.   

                                                                         

Book Review: High and Mighty: The Dangerous Rise of the SUV

       
I've decided to put to use my love of reading by reviewing the books I read (for better or for worse).

Today we review: High and Mighty: The Dangerous Rise of the SUV by Keith Bradsher.


                                                                 



Rating: 9 out of 10.

Pros: Insults SUV drivers who put our safety in danger.  Lots of research and lots of good statistics.

Cons: Could insult SUV drivers more and more harshly for all the people that they have and will kill.  Book is a little dated as it was written in the early 00's and could use an update.

If you are looking for statistics that selfish SUV drivers on the internet constantly demand you quote to them look no further than Keith Bradsher's "High and Mighty".  Bradsher begins the book by describing the history of how SUVs came to be and how car companies brainwashed so many brain dead idiots into buying them.

He then goes on to describe who these SUV drivers are.  He points out by even the car companies own research they are usually highly insecure about many things in their lives (e.g. their parenting abilities and their marriages).  He points out that SUV drivers are often very reptilian people who are very fearful and anxious.

He then goes on to describe many of the dangers that SUVs pose.  One chapter that I found especially telling is the chapter on how SUVs are a huge danger to pedestrians.  He also points out this is not only or even mainly because of their size, but because of their flat frontal design.

He also goes on to make suggestions about what to do about the problem of SUVs.  He also points out that another problem is there are few environmentalists who are experts on the automobile industry and that this is a problem.  But to me his suggestions could have gone much further.

The book does include an update at the end, but the update needs at update as it seems to have been written shortly after the book.  Even without an update and being a little dated I still find this book a must read, especially for anyone who actually cares about vision zero (yes actually, as opposed to those who pretend to care).


                                            

Is the Hungarian Parliament a must see?

The Hungarian Parliament is an impressive architectural amazement.  Hungary in the late 1800's had lots of wealth and beyond that 1896 represented the 1000 year anniversary of Hungary.  So Hungary set off to build a Parliament that resembled and exceeded the Parliament in London.

I have often heard that touring Parliament is a must do.  Here is my take on this.  I highly recommend at least marveling at the Hungarian Parliament from the outside.

Paying for a tour to is more of a nice to do, but not a must do.  Well at least in my opinion, I know of other travel writers who would disagree!

Pros of going on a tour: Parliament is also spectacular on the inside.  You get to see the crown jewels from Saint Steven I.

Cons of going on a tour:  Touring Parliament is one of the most expensive things you will do per minute in inexpensive Budapest.  The tour mainly just gives you basic info and doesn't involve asking questions.  The tour also rushes you through.  In addition to a tour guide, the tour also comes free with a security guard.  Honestly, to me the tour felt as much about making sure you didn't go where you weren't supposed to, as about providing an exciting tour.  Also, the crown jewels are likely only partially or not authentic.  You have to revolve your day around getting to your tour at a certain time.

If you take a tour, I would make sure you book in advance online.

I'd skip the gift shop, unless you have very limited time in Hungary, as the gift shop is quite overpriced.  You can get souvenirs for much less elsewhere (one good place is the Great Market Hall).
                                                     
                                              

Update to Are Montgomery County Police Unfairly Targeting Pedestrians

I wanted to do an update on this story for which I now have data.  That being said the data does not change my mind about my initial statement that Montgomery County Police are unfairly targeting pedestrians.  I still believe pedestrians are being unfairly targeted.  In fact, if anything the data points in the direction of pedestrians being unfairly targeted.

If there is anything positive to say I do appreciate Montgomery County Police getting back to me and in good news during February 2015 there have been 91 citations issued to jaydrivers.

But this number is less than the number of citations issued to pedestrians in February 2015 which was 102.  \

This makes even less sense as even according to the data they sent only in 40 to 45 percent of cases is the pedestrian believed to be at fault.  This number in itself is likely inflated as we live in a "blame the pedestrian" culture.

Beyond this, pedestrians are not a danger to drivers, drivers are a danger to pedestrians.  Going after pedestrians, who often violate the law for their own safety even drivers are not properly held accountable, is clearly unfairly targeting pedestrians.                            
                           
                                 

Ted Cruz: Using Catchy Slogans to Hide a Dangerous Agenda

Ted Cruz (2016 Presidential Candidate) may have some good slogans.  I think a lot of people (including myself) would like to see the IRS abolished.  And I don't agree with taxing people who can't afford or don't want health insurance.  As a Jew, of course I am concerned about Israel.

But what lies beneath these slogan of Ted Cruz is quite scary.  

Ted the Hateful Homophob

It seems that Ted Cruz is trying to play to Jews, like myself, but I can see right through him (and hope other Jews will to).  It is quite clear to me, even from Ted Cruz's own website that he is horrifically homophobic and has gone out of his way to discriminate against the gay community creating legislation that would sadly stop two people who love each other from getting married. 

What does this have to do with Judaism. During the Holocaust not only were Jews murdered and imprisoned so were homosexuals (and many other groups of people to).  The discrimination did not start with murdering people either, it started with passing laws that impacted Jews...including laws about marriage. 

I refuse to support a candidate who will do to others, what was done to my people.  Nor do I trust someone who has such hate for innocent people just wanting to live their lives happily and with the same basic rights all of us should enjoy.    

Ted and the Banks

Given the amount of the money that has already been stolen from American citizens and given to banks Ted Cruz's relationship with banks in particular Goldman Sachs is quite disturbing.  According to the Center for Responsive Politics Goldman Sachs is Ted's number 4 contributor.  But it gets worse...they have also been his wives employer and probably will be in the future (she is taking a break to help Ted run is campaign).

What good will America be if it's underwater?

I'm guessing this won't come as a surprise but according to the Center for Responsive Politics, Ted Cruz also takes a lot of money from big oil and basically even according to his own website wants to allow everyone to pollute as much as they want to.  Not that any recent president we have had, has done a good job on preventing global warming, but this is down right scary.  With 2014 being the warmest year on record this is even scarier (and by the way snow doesn't come from nowhere it comes from melting ice), as when it comes to saving our planet we may be quickly approaching an end game that we likely won't be able to recover from (nor will the rest of the world).  

  

                                            

Quick Guide: How to get to Central Dublin from the airport (sans taxi)

Getting to central Dublin from the airport is easy even without a taxi.  While train service does not reach the Dublin Airport, there are several options to get downtown by bus.

• The cheapest (and the slowest option) is the 41 and 16 A buses.  These are public city buses that make a number of stops along the way.  As of 2014 cost was 2.40 euro
• 747 bus: This bus costs over twice as much as the 41 and 16 A buses, but will take you directly to the center of the city where it makes 12 stops which includes a stop which services both of Dublin's light rail systems.   As of 2014 cost was 6 euro (3 euro for children).
• Air Coach: This bus costs slight more than the 747.  It services some areas the 747 doesn't.  Prices vary.  
• Airport Hooper: Prices are comparable to the Air Coach.  This bus is good if you are staying somewhere west of the center of Dublin.  Prices vary.  

The question also often comes up "what bus do you take when visiting Dublin".  I take the 747 and like the 747.  To be honest, I haven't tried the other buses, but I think maybe I will next time I visit Dublin.

One other bus tip.  Make sure you know where the stop is located for getting back on the bus when you depart prior to needing to get to the airport.  Finding the correct bus stop isn't simply.  Also check and make sure the bus stop is for the bus you want.  Not that I say this from experience or anything like that. Seriously someone should have taken a video of the two crazy Americans running around trying to find their bus stop and put it on youtube.  Yeah, okay that was us.

                                                         

What's a forint?

Although a member of the European Union, Hungary does not use the euro.  Rather, Hungary's money system is the forint.

The forint is what I call a high number system.  There are no decimals.  

Currently (as of March 20th, 2015)

• One dollar equals 280 forints
• One euro equals 303 forints
• One pound equals 418 forints

But the forint has become weaker, especially when compared to the dollar.  Even a few months ago when we made our trip to Budapest one dollar was closer to 250 forint.  

It helps me to think of it this way: 1 forint is more like one penny than it is like one euro or dollar.  Similar to the euro and pound (and unlike the dollar) 100 forint and 200 forint are coins.  

Regardless while you might be spending a lot of forints, you likely won't be spending to much money, as Hungary is very affordable.  Budapest is one of the least expensive major cities in Europe.  

                                                              

Underwater Bar in Budapest

Not sure what you are looking at?  The people look really fuzzy?  Not sure if the fuzziness is an illusion or you had too much to drink?  That is because you are looking at the people through water.  In this cool bar in Budapest the ceiling is actually glass and water.

Budapest has a happening nightlife.  This would be considered a fancier bar by Budapest standards.  Many bars in Budapest are Ruin Pubs.  Ruin Pubs use the old and transform it into something new.  For example, using a bathtub or old cars to create seating.

Not sure where to go.  A number of companies offer tours related to booze.  You can even go on a free tour where instead of paying your guide upfront you tip based on how much you liked the tour!  The tour even includes a few free samples!


                                                       

Want to visit Europe: 3 great countries that cost less than 2,500 for 2 people

Yesterday (and many other days), I was having a conversation with someone about the cost of going to Europe. The reality is visiting Europe is not nearly as expensive as some people think it is, especially if you are in the know about where to go.

Here are 3 exciting countries that a couple can visit for under $2,500. The assumptions being:

• Traveling from the east coast of the United States.  
• 3 star hotel located by public transit a few stops out of the center of the city.  
• One week stay
• Some flexibility in when you travel
• Use public transit, walking, and/or cycling
• Avoiding eating and drinking at tourist traps
• Including attractions, but not high end attractions such as cruises

So get ready to explore Europe!

Hungary

Budapest , Hungary's capital, is a fabulous city which offers almost everything you can think of.  Budapest also boasts a great public transit system; in fact Budapest's subway was the first in continental Europe.  Also great hospitality!

How to stay below $2,500: Look for cheap airfare.  I've seen tickets for as little as in the 600's.  Best deals are generally in the winter.  Once you have found cheap airfare you have pretty much won the game-Budapest is one of the least expensive major cities in Europe.  Stay at a local hotel: many of which will only cost about 50 US dollars per night. Leave the main touristy drags, eat on side streets instead and look for cafeteria style restaurants.

                                                                    

Ireland

Ireland is scenic, interesting, and the hospitality is great!  Ireland is my favorite place that I have been to!  If you visit you may discover it is your favorite place too!  

How to stay below $2500: Go in winter-contrary to popular belief Ireland is actually warmer than much of the Northeast and even Mid-Atlantic in the winter.  But this belief that Ireland is cold in the winter causes many tourist to avoid going to Ireland in the winter allowing for cheap airfare and discounted hotels.  Plus Ireland is one of the cheapest countries to fly to.  Stay at local hotels or bed and breakfasts to save money.  Avoid anything super touristy-you have a lot of options in Ireland.  In Dublin, Temple Bar will rack you up a bill and leave you without an authentic pub experience.  Instead look for an authentic pub outside of Temple Bar and eat outside of Temple Bar.  

                                                                 

Iceland

Iceland is a beautiful place that is becoming more popular each year.  In fact, the number of tourists which come each year currently greatly exceeds the population of Iceland.  

How to stay below $2500: It is easy to find cheap flights to Iceland.  If you go to Icelandic Air's website you can see individual dates and select dates with the lowest fares around the time you want to travel.  

There are likely also other countries  you could visit for under $2,500 much of this based on finding a cheap airfare.  These would include countries such as Bulgaria, Romania, Poland, Serbia, and Croatia (to name a few).  

Delicious Vegan Food in Budapest

Budapest has some fabulous vegan food.  One of my favorite things I ate the whole time I was in Budapest was this 3 layered thing above from Vega City..

Budapest has many vegan restaurants and these vegan restaurants rarely disappoint.  Most are cafeteria style.  This makes the restaurants a quick and nice break from sight-seeing.

Food in Budapest tends to be either international or a fusion of Hungarian and International.  You can see that in the dish above.  Paprika is a frequent and common ingredient that the Hungary specializes in and the quality of it in Hungary is amazing. 

While Budapest has many vegan restaurants and vegetarian restaurants with vegan options, Hungarian food can be tricky because a lot of traditional Hungarian food contains animal products.  Lard is used more frequently than it is used in other European countries, the United States, Canada, etc. 

It is also worth noting, restaurants in Budapest, particularly those outside of touristy areas often do not have frequent hours as those from the United States might be used to.   Always check the hours before going to a restaurant in Hungary. 

For more information on vegan food and everything else Budapest please see our book Kaufman Green Guide: Budapest.  We also have numerous other Budapest posts on our blog including a Quick Vegan Guide: Budapest.

                                    

Book review: The Five People You Meet in Heaven

                                                                         

Rating: 7 out of 10

Pros: Quick read and hard to put down.  Stories can be touching.  Interesting concept of blending fact and fiction.

Cons: Felt like one of those books that is supposed to be about society, but in reality is more about the individual.  Also logic doesn't work: I can't figure out how each person would have five people waiting for them in Heaven, but only be waiting for one person.  I know this is picky but I still can't get over this.  Blending fact and fiction often creates blurred lines and I would have liked to have had a better understanding of which was which.

Recently I read Mitch Albom's "The Five People You Meet in Heaven".  The book is an interesting (and sometimes confusing) blend of fact and fiction.  We are told it is the story of Mitch's uncle who died in a horrible accident while working maintenance at an Amusement Park.  At the time of the accident we also find there was a young girl involved-whom his uncle may or may not have saved.  From there the book goes semi-fictional talking about the five people he meets in heaven, who in turn teach him lessons and tell him things he didn't know while he was alive.  Meanwhile he tries to find out if he saved the little girl.  Without giving away plot or endings I found myself losing sympathy for the main character which I don't think was supposed to happen.  I found some interesting lessons in the book, but none that I found to be life changing, let alone world changing                  
                             
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Wedding Chapel at Mall of America

Sometimes I think Mall of America has just about everything.  One of the stranger things is a wedding Chapel called the Chapel of Love.   I wondered if this is like getting married in Vegas where people just show up and get married.

Turns out no you actually have to book the chapel in advance and have a license.  This is Minnesota not Nevada.  But weddings really do occur there.  They also sell all kinds of wedding related items.

                                                         

Creating a Vegan Seder Plate

   Passover is just around the corner.  Here is how you can create a vegan seder plate.  The seder plate consists of the following.    

• A bitter herb, most commonly horseradish either in the raw form or from a jar sometimes mixed with beets. Good news: Already vegan!
• Charoset, which is a mixture of apples, nuts, and wine (or grape juice) which these days is usually made in a food processor. Make sure the wine you are using is vegan or use grape juice.  
• Karpas, which is a green vegetable, most often parsley. Already vegan!
• Z’roa which is a roasted goat or lamb bone.  Here is where it gets more challening.  Vegans can substitute a roasted beet or mushroom.  In fact, the Talmud actually mentions the roasted beet. 
• Beitzah-A hardboiled egg.  The egg is just a symbol of new life.  So vegans can substitute a fake egg, flower or seed.  Basically anything that symbolizes new life.  
• 
  

                                   

10 Reasons why you should visit Dublin(other than booze)

10. Walking.  Dublin is a great city to walk around and very pedestrian friendly.
9.  Shopping.  Dublin is full of lots of small shops.
8.  Lessons on freedom.  Of all the countries I have been to I would say the Irish seem to enjoy the highest level of freedom.  In fact, sometimes there are even protests in Dublin for the rights of those having difficulties in the US "justice" system.
7. Museums.  Dublin houses a nice collection and variety of museums.
6. Childhood.  It is so much fun seeing the children in Ireland singing or playing games on their way to field trips.
5. Chester Beatty Library.  Bet you didn't know Ireland houses an impressive collection of Asian and religious manuscripts.
4. Archaeology.  The geography of Ireland is great for preserving all kinds of things (even bodies).
3. The music.  Music is passed down in families in Ireland.  Musicians not only play great music, but like to entertain the crowds with humor and interesting stories.  
2. The beauty.  You will see the most amazing shades of green you did not even think really existed.
1. The people.  It's wonderful being around friendly, kind, and giving people such as those in Ireland.  In Ireland you will experience wonderful hospitality.

                                                         

Quick Vegan Guide: Budapest

Budapest is both heaven and hell for vegans.  But with some knowledge it is easily heaven.  

Meat and meat by products are often present in food in Hungary.  Not only is a lot of meat served, lard is often used.  That is a problem if you are just following others around or sticking to the most touristy areas.  

But if you do a little research and look a little closer you will soon come to realize that Budapest is vegan heaven.  There are numerous vegan restaurants, many only blocks away from major tourist attractions, but usually hidden and off the main streets.  Not to mention off the main streets food in Budapest is quite inexpensive.  

• While visiting the Buda side of Budapest head into the real neighborhoods of Buda to discover the cafeteria style Edeni Vegan with its friendly staff and tasty food.  
• While visiting attractions on Andrássy út or if you are looking for a nice freshly prepared candle lit romantic lunch or dinner head over to Kozmosz Etterem (on the same street as the Liszt Museum and very near the House of Terror).
• While visiting the Hungarian National Museum cross the street to get to the popular cafeteria style vegan restaurant Vega City.    
• While visiting attractions in Pest head a little bit north (walking or take the M3) to the tasty cafeteria style Ganga Vega.  You will also find plenty of places with hummus in Pest.  

These are only a few of the vegan restaurant options.  There are also a number of vegetarian restaurants as well.  New vegan and vegetarian restaurants open all the time in Budapest (and sadly some close too).  

To get snacks and food for breakfast (when many restaurants are not open), I recommend heading over to the Great Market Hall.  At the Great Market Hall numerous merchants sell fresh fruit, vegetables, pickles, and all kinds of other items.  There is also an Aldi's in the basement of the Great Market Hall.  There are also numerous grocery stores and food markets.  However, packaged food can be a challenge for those who only speak English as ingredients are rarely listed in English.  Most ingredients seemed to be listed in Hungarian, but sometimes (such as at Aldi's) you also see ingredients listed in German or Russian.  

As such, for vegans I would not recommend going with a tourist group.  Same even goes for vegetarians, those who are kosher, or those who are halel.  Budapest is easy to get around and a low-crime city.  Going on your own (or with a group that specifically meets your dietary needs) will allow you to get the food you need.  

                                            

St. Patrick's kidnapping 1500 years ago..and we are still kidnapping today

St. Patrick's day might be fun today and we perhaps today associate St. Patrick with fun.  But the reality is that St. Patrick was just a man and his life was hard.  But his life was not unlike the lives of many animals today.

At age 16 St. Patrick has kidnapped from his home in Britain and taken to Ireland by pirates from Ireland.  Travel back in the 400's wasn't so easy as it was today.  Being kidnapped meant being suddenly snatched away from his family.

Sadly over 1500 years later we are still kidnapping.  The farmer steals the baby calf away from its mother so that humans can have milk.  Animals are captured in the wild and taken away from their families for either food or amusement.  Breeders of dogs, cats and other pets give away the children of animals in exchange for money-children that are not theirs to give away.

                                           

Book Review: How to be Vegan

I've decided to put to use my love of reading by reviewing the books I read (for better or for worse).

Today we review "How To Be Vegan" by Elizabeth Castoria.


Rating: 7 out of 10.  Uneven as some parts of the book are top notch and some parts not so much.
                                                                     
Pros: Fun charts, easy reading, some good info, provides the basic info the majority of people would need to become a vegan.

Cons: Way overgeneralized travel chapter.  Pointless manners chapter.  Wastes time stating the obvious.

"How To Be Vegan" starts out strong in the first three chapters.  These chapters are easy to follow.  Castoria does a great job teaching people how to eat a good diet, listing foods and products that are vegan and yet at the same time common, and providing more information on where to obtain vegan foods and products.

While I knew a good deal of what was in the first three chapters, I felt like even with my knowledge I learned plenty from these chapters.

As someone who writes whole green travel books, the information provided in chapter 4, which is about travel, did not impress me.  Information was way overgeneralized: for example listing "vegan" dishes.  Let me give you an example to try to clarify.  Under the Eastern Europe section dishes such as pierogis are listed as animal free-the problem is that if you went somewhere such as Hungary where lard is used often it is unlikely that unless you go to a vegan or vegetarian restaurant you are going to end up with truly animal free food.  Unless I missed something while I was in Paris, listing Paris as a top 5 vegan dining destination in the world also has me scratching my head.

The manners section dealt with how to handle situations.  The problem is the solutions offered don't work in real life, nor will they stop a bully in real life.  Sometimes if someone is bullying you about your food choices you just have to stand up to them.  As for some of the other so-called annoying scenarios I'm not bothered by someone asking where vegans get their protein: I just assume they have had limited nutritional information  and are legitimately curious.

Things get better again in chapter 6, which supplies recipes to which I say a 7 out of 10 is about accurate.  There are a nice variety of recipes from simple to fancier to suit all types of cooking styles, interests and abilities.  There were some recipes that made me say I want to try that.  But being the owner of many vegan and vegetarian cook books I have felt more excited about a recipe collection than the one in this book.


                                    

Kaufman Green Guide Budapest is out

                                                                 

Budapest is becoming a more popular tourist spot every day!  With Budapest's interesting history, fabulous thermal baths and beautiful buildings it is no wonder why. 

In the Kaufman Green Guide: Budapest, I teach you how to visit Budapest as a Green Tourist. 

Chapter 1 introduces you to Budapest and answers some of the questions you might have such as "Will I be able to find vegan food?" or "Should I visit Budapest in the winter?". 

In chapter 2, I discuss getting to Budapest.  This includes how to cheaply get to the center of the city by public transit, passenger rights, and options for getting to Budapest.  And much more! 

In chapter 3, we discuss vegan and vegetarian food.  Budapest is a great city for vegans and vegetarians if you know where to go.  I also include restaurant reviews and listings.  Specific food items are also discussed including alcoholic beverages. 

In chapter 4 we discuss the numerous public transit options Budapest has to offer-everything from trains to buses to boats.  There is also info on other eco-friendly ways to get around such as walking and cycling. 

In chapter 5, we discuss a little bit of everything you might need or want to know.  Some of the sections in this chapter include history, the Holocaust, packing, crime and safety, music, and weather. 

In chapter 6, I review numerous attractions.  I also list vegan and vegetarian food options nearby each.  Some of the attractions reviewed include Buda Castle, Dohany Street Synagogue and Jewish Museum, Christmas Markets, Parliament, House of Terror, Holocaust Memorial Center and much more.    

Chapter 7 focuses on tours, especially the Free Walking Tours.  I review several tours and explain how the process of "Free Tours" work and discuss such things as how much to tip, etc. 

Chapter 8 is dedicated to Budapest's fabulous thermal baths. 

Chapter 9 is dedicated to Budapest's inexpensive and talented performing arts scene.  A review of the Hungarian National Opera is included.

Photography and charts are also included.

You can read the first chapter for free on amazon.  The whole e book is currently $4.49.