Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Budapest

About 8 weeks ago, I was at a conference in Budapest, Hungary. Each day, there was a two-hour time frame for lunch and one evening there was a group activity. These small windows allowed me to get out for walks and see a bit of this charming city (cities? Buda and Pesht).

My first walkabout was along the Danube river. It was there that I crossed over on an impressive iron bridge.


Crossing from one side to the other, I stumbled onto the Cave Church in Gellert hill, that I had glimpsed on the taxi ride to the hotel.



I did not get a chance to go into this structure, but it's mere construction into the hillside was fascinating.

On day two, I went a different direction and visited the opera house. Unfortunately, it was closed. I must continually remind myself to check times before trying to work a visit into a small time window. Nonetheless, I found the St. Stephens Basilica, which was quite lovely. Interestingly, having read Dan Brown's Angels and Demons, I was chuckling when I found the obelisk just outside the church.



The inside of the church was beautiful and I thoroughly enjoyed a quick walk through.



Crossing a beautiful park (which was schizophrenic ... beautiful by day, homeless and drug infested at night), I meandered toward parliament. On the way, there was a last vestige of the cold war (the engraving that said something about the Soviet Union and the star on top were dead give aways) ...



Parliament was a very impressive building:



On day three, I went to the castle at lunch. Quite impressive, but not like other castles I have visited; perhaps the Heidelberg castle in Germany or, more appropriately, the one in Schwetzigen, Germany.



The old city nearby offered beautiful views across the Danube.


You may notice the church steeple in the mid-ground. All across the city the steeples were elaborately tiled ...


That evening, my last before leaving to return home, I visited the Duna Palota to watch Hungarian folk dancers.



Of course, no trip to Europe would be complete without the street guy ...


Budapest was interesting from another standpoint. All I heard all week was English. It must be a popular tourist spot because it was amazing hearing the Swedes, Italians, French (yes French), German, and other visitors all ordering at restaurants in English (as well as out on the street).

Finally, there is the European custom of wearing one's scarf around the neck ...


These guys are clearly European. I often want to ask them if they wear their socks tied around their ankles.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

They don't build things like the used to, eh? I don't know if you were able to see any modern Hungarian architecture, but I was shocked at the contrast between the historical areas of Prague and the new modern areas. In 200 years, historical Prague will still stand while the modern places will be in ruins. I suppose that is OK though, it allows the developers to make a living over and over again.

I talked with a backpacker at a laundromat in Berlin and she said of all of the places she had stopped by--and there were a lot--she liked Hungary the best. It isn't one of those places that comes into mind at first, but after seeing the Czech Republic and then Paris, I'm starting to think that Central and Eastern Europe are the way to go for affordable and rewarding vacations. Sure, the traditional food isn't as good as what you might find in Spain, Italy or France, but it is still good and you can find an Italian place anywhere in the world now.