I will stay out of the Budapest remarks as they are covered above.
I will second Phanuthiers reccommondation for Bratislava, it is very nice.
The small towns he may be refering to, could be Szetendre and Esztergom. Both are on the Danube upstream of Budapest. They are on a section of the river called the Danube bend, where the river turns south to flow to Budapest.
We took a boat ride on the Danube from Budapest to Esztergom. I would like to tell you how nice Esztergom cathedral and town center were, however that little sidetrip led to a day of drinking and debauchery. We never did see the church, but I did get cursed by a crazy old gypsy witch (with running commentary by a Hungarian friend).
Certes if I returned to Budapest, I would complete that boat trip with additional stops at Szetendre and Visegrad.
Prague is one of my favorite cities to visit, top 3 maybe. As to what to see, well there is alot. Like Venice, I would suggest you just wander the old town for a few hours. Eventually with a little map checking you will come across most sites. The statue of Jan Hus, clock tower, bridge over the Vlata (? going entirely from memory).
After some pleasant wandering, maybe make the effort to climb up to the castle hill. The Jewish quarter/cemetary. Opera hall. Wencelas Square.
Now I don't know if you have time to hit Bratislava, but if you did; try to tour Devin also. It is really close, and well worth it. It is a habitation site overlooking the Danube and the ??? rivers.(Morava?). There are castle ruins there but also evidence of habitation stretching back thousands of years.
Vlad, if you are in need of books or maps I can lend them to you. Have city maps of Budapest, Prague and Bratislava. Maps of former Czechoslovakia, has most of Hungary on it. Books on those three cities also. No books on Wien, only Austria in general. Just thought if you only have a short time, you may not want to spend alot on these items.
As to Eger or Pecs, probably too far if time is at a premium. Eger was the site of an amazing seige defense against the Ottoman Turks. It is to Hungarians what the Alamo is to Texans/Americans. While it may have disappointed some (see above), just having read the history makes a visit worthwhile to me.
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