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It was a great visit and we thoroughly enjoyed what we saw and experienced, although it wasn't all of what is on offer. We walked extensively despite the chilly weather and were fortunate to have had a location so close to the bridge and in easy walking distance of the most interesting parts of the city. Yep, good place to be commended!

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Another pleasant surprise was that a Christmas Market opened the day after we arrived, and was very close to our hotel. The quality of goods on sale was very good and we browsed many times, perhaps also attracted by the mulled wine on sale at strategic points. Food was local and prepared on an almost industrial scale, including chimney cake, cooked to order on a charcoal fire then covered with whatever additions you want, before being served still steaming. The downside of the weather was worth the benefit of the market!
Nearby was Gerbaud, famous local tea house, where we enjoyed coffee, hot chocolate (I had two!) and very (too) sweet cakes. Needed a mulled wine cleanser after that.

Oh, yes, the rastafarian dog - no idea what breed and had a rather dirty undercarriage!

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Walking around the city, we came across numerous bronze statues in the street, full of character and very good too.
And, these were in addition to the many sculptures and other statues, which seem to project more action and movement than is common.

All but one of the communist era statues have been removed to Statue Park on the outskirts of the city, although we didn't visit it. The communists were allowed to select one to remain in the city and they chose the one with the gold star on top, apparently for its position in view of the US Embassy!

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We took two organised tours, the first of which included a visit to a market to view local produce before enjoying a typical Hungarian meal with different wines - Hungarian Goulash Soup to start, Pork to follow, and a very sweet but pleasant dessert to finish. We learned about the local wines, particularly Tokayi, which we sampled a few times afterwards. Paprika features significantly in Hungarian food, which suited me fine!

Our second walking tour included a trip to Heroes' Square, a series of buildings with differing architecture and a hot springs bathing facility, although we had neither time nor kit to enjoy this, all a few Metro stops from the city centre. We ended up at the Royal Palace and Matthias Church on the Buda side again, and also paid a short visit to a Marzipan Museum - great complex model exhibits, but you still wonder why Marzipan!

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Budapest is steeped in history and, despite a bit of homework, we still found ourselves having to consult our Lonely Planet guidebook to clarify which era was relevant to something we were either looking at or talking about. Most recently, it had become part of the eastern block under communist rule from after WWII, until the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of communism in Hungary soon afterwards. Much of the city had been destroyed both in this and previous conflicts, but the architecture that exists today is both varied and striking, with almost no evidence of the drab designs of the communist period. Most rebuilding has been in the original styles. The people are friendly although the language is very unfamiliar, with ties to Finnish and Estonian. The Parliament building, one of the largest in the world but hardly occupied, has a commanding position on the river front.

St Stephens Basilica is also an imposing building, inside and out, and on one day the visibility was good enough to make a visit to the dome worthwhile to enjoy views across the city. The promise of seeing beyond the city wasn't quite fulfilled, but we did get an impression of what it would be like! Jean walked up, but I took the lift!

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November maybe wasn't the best time to visit as it was quite cold, foggy and occasionally wet, but it didn't stop Jean and me enjoying this great city straddling the Danube. We had a great view across the river to the Royal Palace and Matthias Church on hill on the Buda side, and were very close to Chain Bridge connecting Pest to it. The nightime view on our arrival was magnificent and clear, but the following day, when we ventured across the bridge for the first time it had become rather foggy after an initially bright start. Even so, the views were nonetheless worth it.

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After a hearty breakfast from our farm house host in his Harley-Davidson braces, we set off for home, some 240 miles south. The weather stayed mostly dry but we did hit a couple of spells of rain. Fuel, coffee and lunch stops dictated the journey and we got back mid afternoon, just after the rain started in earnest on the final stretch from the M5 to Church Lench.
After 1,200 miles, we really felt we had had a great time, the mixture of scenery, great company with John & Sue, and a superb rally experience. The rain has been mostly forgotten, but the experience gained in riding in it is hopefully not, and I look forward to heading north again next year for Thunder in the Glens!
PS The bike had to be jet-washed for the first time, being as dirty as it was. But, after the application of chrome cleaner, polish and leather dressing, it's looking great again just before its 1st birthday!

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Our last full day of riding was to be a mixture of good weather while we crossed the Scottish Borders on minor roads on our way to our last stop just north of the Border near Carlisle.
The rolling hills of the Borders was just magnificent, with meandering burns and heather adding to the picturesque views all around. John led this stage, having been over the area before on the more minor roads to find the best views. The weather stayed dry, although still blowing, and I found this one of the best days for scenery. However, it was not to last and the rain returned as we got closer to our destination, which was combined with increasingly poor road surfaces that required maximum concentration to not veer into pot-holes or debris of one or another kind on the road. We were glad to arrive at our guest house as the rain got heavier and heavier.

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I led the first leg of the ride home to Burleigh Castle, near Kinross. The castle itself is pretty run down but belongs to Lord Balfour of Burleigh, and I suspect, but cannot prove, that the Burleigh surname of my ancestors was taken from this estate when they worked there before emigrating to Enniskillen in Northern Ireland as part of the Ulster Plantation around 1605. We couldn't get in because the person who has the key was not at home nearby.

After a few pictures and then lunch in town, we headed south over the Forth Road Bridge into more rain and wind before stopping at a hotel to the west of Edinburgh on the first stop of the homeward journey.

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The bikes all assembled in the various streets of the resort, with the local Dunedin Chapter Marshals and the police taking charge of making sure that it proceded in an orderly fashion.

The route left Aviemore and ended in Grantown on Spey, in the heartland of Speyside malt whisky! It was about 60 miles long and the 2,500 bikes that took part made up a 12 mile column, which the police ensured was not broken by closing off all the junctions we passed. People everywhere cheered and waved as the column took 30 minutes to pass them, and there was a widespread and enthusiastic welcome to the event - mind you, it does contribute over £1 million to the economy in one weekend! But, the people of Grantown on Spey are particularly welcoming, with their Chamber of Commerce organising the closure of the main road so all the bikes can park, and laying on stands and tents with refreshments with a Taste of Scotland, some of which are geared at raising money for charities.

The route took us up into the highlands and around Lochindorb, where the road was very close to the water's edge and some worried that if the wind suddenly stopped, while they were leaning against it, they would have ridden into the water - it was blustery! But, the scenery was amazing and the view of the column of bikes into the distance was quite outstanding.

Overall, the organisation of the ride out epitomised the attention to detail for the whole of the Rally, with both Harley-Davidson in attendance to show off the 2010 new models, plus Harley Owner Group officials.

On Sunday we enjoyed a ride on back roads to Newtownmore, where John's grandparents lived, and Kingussie nearby. We passed, but didn't join, the BBQ organised for the Rally at Kingussie on the way back.

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The Rally was extremely well organised. Unlike other Harley or HOG organised rallies, this one is open to other riders and members of the public and it is only the entertainment that is closed to those who have registered for the event. Most riders stay at one of the hotels in the resort itself or nearby, but some travel in from further away to enjoy the mass ride out on Saturday. 1,750 had pre-registered before the event, but that number grew to 2,800 by the time the event was in full swing.
There was entertainment that included Clannadonia, a Scottish Tribal drumming group, who played around the resort during the day and at the start of the mass ride out, plus live music and a great stage show, Route 66, for the final night. Clannadonia gave an inspiring stage performance on Saturday night,
We had seen Route 66, sponsored by Harley-Davidson, in Tewkesbury earlier in the year as part of their nationwide tour, but were more than happy to see it again - a high energy, mostly 60's music-based show of high quality and very apt for a Harley rally!
The highlight event was, without doubt, the mass ride out on Saturday and the weather was dry, albeit extremely windy at times.

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The Commando Memorial commemorates the establishment of an elite group of soldiers, by order of Winston Churchill in 1940, initially all volunteers, who trained nearby at Achnacarry. Only those who completed the course were allowed to wear the Green Beret, having achieved the highest standards of military training, self-discipline, physical endurance, initiative, bravery and courage whilst under their simple motto "United We Conquer", many being awarded Victoria Crosses. Although no training takes place locally now, the Memorial is a place of tribute to those who continue to lose their lives in modern warfare, in Iraq and Afghanistan today.

Leaving the Memorial, we then enjoyed a mostly dry, but windy, ride to Aviemore and the Rally itself.

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We rode northwards from the Loch, skirting the side of it, slowly round twisting bends in the wet, until we arrived at Black Mount, where we stopped for a coffee in a layby and took some pictures.

The weather was getting colder and the rain was beginning to start as we left the higher ground and entered Glencoe. In some respects the darker skies gave a different and dramatic ambience to the Glen, with clouds hanging over the mountains either side, but the wind was blowing us about quite a lot and the temperature dipped below 10 degrees to discourage us from lingering, in addition to the road being quite narrow with few stopping places. As we left the Glen and approached Fort William, the rain abated and we were able to enjoy lunch in the dry there, plus pick up a Nokia charger for Jean (my fault, I forgot to pack hers) and an iPod charger (my fault, I assumed that a USB one would work without actually trying it). So, some brownie points recovered, we left for the Commando Memorial nearby.