LONDON TRAVEL AGENTS are now marketing
“Latin Dance holidays” to Cuba. Large tour groups fly
to Havana or Santiago de Chile, live with Cuban fami
lies for two weeks, and high-speed it through salsa and
Spanish courses. (Dancing is a great way to meet an
islander and feel just a little bit Cuban.)
Stay a few months, and not only will both your hips
nouveau architecture, public spas, world-class universi
ties, and you’re in Budapest. Often called “the Paris of
the East,” Budapest is arguably the most affordable and
inspiring place in Europe to write your magnum opus,
compose your sonata, or paint your masterpiece.
You can find an affordable apartment in the city
simply by stepping off the train when you arrive.
Driving through town, you’ll see the buildings, foun
tains, and spas decorated with the whimsical animals,
^fter a few months in Cuba, both your hips
and your Spanish r's will roll with ease.
and your Spanish r’s roll more sensuously, you’ll see
how Fidel Castro (“El Commandante”) has trans
formed the mambo capital of the 1950s into the only
enduring communist state. See, for example, that the
1940s-vintage American cars are running on Russian
made engines; that the people celebrating wildly in
clubs are sometimes there to forget electricity rations;
that the amazing concentration of top-flight bands is
due in part to the government National Arts Schools,
which begin testing and tracking musicians at age six.
Your quest for the source of salsa music and dancing,
the secrets of communism, and perfect Spanish put you
at some risk: 10 years in prison and a $60,000 fine for
violating the United States’ Trading with the Enemy Act.
Of course, that just adds to the excitement of dancing
with the enemy. And in fact, of the 65,000 Americans
who visited Cuba last year, only about one-fifth did so
legally, and no one has ever faced charges.
ROBERT VAN
Budapest, Hungary
WHY NOW: More bohemian than Prague.
HOW TO SPIN IT: "I'm working on the great
American novel.”
INTERNET STARTUPS, flashy coffeehouses, the lowest
rate of unemployment in decades—sounds like Seattle,
Boston, or San Francisco. Add blocks of fanciful art
www.experience.com
curlicues, and organic shapes characteristic of the free
spirited art nouveau movement.
If you write, enroll at the esteemed Central European
University or simply work in your neighborhood cof
feehouse. Budapest’s cafes—those meeting places at the
core of life for bohemian travelers—recall Heming
way’s favorite haunts. Artists, businesspeople, and stu
dents linger for hours amid restored fin de siecle decor
at places like Central or Gerbeaud. Espresso is served
on a silver tray with a glass of carbonated water, a
saucer of foamed milk, a monogrammed dark choco
late, and a biscuit on the side.
Not to say that three months in Budapest is all sugar
and cream. The Hungarian language is said to be as dif
ficult to learn as Japanese, older Hungarians can seem
rude, and the weather can be gray. All the more reason
to get to work on that great American novel. O
Eric Hansen is an assistant editor at Outside magazine.
r
HOT FACTS
BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA
Cost for three months (camping): ~$1,200
When to go: Summer
Guidebook: British Columbia Handbook, 5th ed.
(Moon Travel Handbooks, 2000)
For more info: http://travel.bc.ca/camping.html
HAVANA, CUBA
Cost for three months: ~$1,500
When to go: Anytime
Guidebook: Cuba Handbook, 1st ed. (Moon Travel
Handbooks, 1997)
For more info: http://travel.state.gov/cuba.html
BUDAPEST, HUNGARY
Cost for three months: ~$1,800
When to go: Spring or fall
Guidebook: Budapest: A Critical Guide (available at
http://internetto.hu/light or in Budapest bookstores)
For more info: www.budapestinfo.hu/en