Get a load of this! Cars parked inches apart! This is the way parking is all over Europe’s cities. Space is at a premium so no parking spot is too small…
In Budapest the view from my friend, E’s, balcony up and down the street in provided ample example of the tight parking…
This type of parking is prevalent everywhere we went in Europe and cars whiz down narrow alley streets and between cars on narrow streets with inches to spare. We came to the conclusion that they are much better drivers than we are in North America.
Often they park halfway onto the sidewalks, or facing the wrong direction between cars…
This was one of the smaller trucks that came barreling down the street, just inches away from parked cars and rear-view mirrors. I expected the side of a car to be scraped off at any second…
Trams are fun to take in Budapest. This one ran down the main street of Terez Krt. to the mall and grand old Railway station in one direction or to the multiple streets busy corner of the Oktogon and Andrassy Ut. in the other direction in less than 5 minutes…
Watching this guy maneuver out of his parking spot was like watching a worm try to shed its skin… unbelievable….
Scarcity of parking is nothing new in Europe, but if you’re driving, which we do highly recommend, don’t stay in big cities, or at least don’t stay downtown, and try small towns – the parking will be much easier and the accommodation cheaper too. In fact, in many hotels in the cities, there is no option whatsoever for parking downtown.
As if the parking problems are not bad enough, narrow streets are also common. There were times we thought we would lose a side mirror for sure…
We’ve also mentioned before how difficult it is to get an automatic rental car in Europe. Standard transmissions are, well, “the standard”. Your best bet to find an automatic is at the airports, not in city centres.
Our view of the street at night in Budapest… kind of pretty….
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