In August of this year, I am going to Transylvania with a church group. This will be my second trip to Torockoszentgyorgy, a small village in the Carpathians - unique experience, worth a posting all to itself.

We leave from Budapest, and I plan to arrive there a couple of days early. I have a hotel reservation already, and a good idea of things to do and places to see.

After we return to Budapest on August 19, I am staying in Europe until the 26th of September. Right now, I plan to spend most of the month of September in Paris, studying French and enjoying life, but this leaves me with a chunk of unallocated time (approximately August 20 - 31) in high tourist season.

My search is for interesting, perhaps off-beat, circuitous ways from Budapest to Paris. Previously I have taken the train from Budapest to Vienna, then flown to France. This time I'm also thinking of train trips, wondering (for example) about going from Hungary to Slovenia, spending some time there before working my way back to Paris.

Another idea is to go by way of Switzerland, concentrating on small places. I've been taking note of Zine postings on Switzerland, and plan to check the archives.

All suggestions welcome. I'd be interested in hearing about your favorite hostels or low-priced hotels, too.

Thanks - I know I can look forward to some wonderful tips from this group.

Julie in Seattle