Shawn Pogatchnik

Germany introduced temporary border controls Sunday to stem the tide of thousands of refugees streaming across its frontier, a message to its European partners that it needs more help with an influx that is straining its ability to cope.

For weeks while they traveled a punitive road, Europe cast a cold eye on their unwelcome progress. On Saturday, for the first time since fleeing their troubled homelands, they could set foot in their promised land — and it came with a German face so friendly that it brought some newcomers to tears of joy.

Hundreds of refugees who have been stuck for days at Budapest's Keleti train station gathered their belongings and began marching out of the city, vowing to make it to Austria on foot after Hungarian authorities blocked them from boarding Western-bound trains.