It was early May, and I was ready to escape Berlin and take another ridiculously long and cheap bus ride in the dead of night (departure was 2 a.m.) to another new and exciting city... this time, my destination was Budapest, Hungary! I went not only since everyone who goes comes back with good reviews, but also because I was able to meet up with my USC friend Catherine, who was studying abroad there, each night to enjoy the nightlife.
I had my trusty Rick Steves guidebook, of course. From Rick, I learned everything important there is to know about Hungary and its capital city on the Danube. This very unique nation is populated almost completely by Magyars, who came over from central Asia and settled down here over thousand years ago. Their golden age came in the late 1800s, when Hungary and Austria ruled together over the massive, powerful Austro-Hungarian empire. Then came a major defeat with World War I, and Hungary lost half of its population and two thirds of its territory. But, despite the destruction of WWII and the cruel reign of the Soviets that lasted until 1989, the capital city is still full of impressive and ornate buildings built during the late 19th century, when Hungary was at its zenith of power, size, and influence. The city is like a giant, grand exercise in nostalgia.
The Magyars (Hungarians) are also unique because they speak one of the toughest languages out there. Its difficulty is compounded by the fact that it has no close linguistic relatives today! Needless to say, I did not pick up much Hungarian.
Anyway, enough of that. On to the photos!
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| I started out on the west side of the river, the Buda side. This photo was taken from the Pest side of the river looking towards the Royal Palace on the Buda side, where I planned to spend the afternoon. In case it's not immediately clear to you, Buda + Pest = Budapest |
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| Later I would walk all the way to the top of that hill, Gellért Hill, where a 150-year-old fortress, the Liberation Monument, and, most importantly, breathtaking views awaited me |
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| Here I am in Buda. This is Trinity Square. Just left of center is the Old Town Hall, built in 1710 when Buda and Pest first merged |
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Here's our first example of a cool structure built in the late 1800s. The Fisherman's Bastion is a neat-looking terrace built in 1896 to celebrate the 1,000-year anniversary of the Magyars coming over from Asia to modern-day Hungary. Each pointy dome represents a Magyar tribe. The guy on the horse is St. István, the Hungarian king who converted to Catholicism and forcefully converted his people along with him. If they didn't convert, he would behead them... except in the case of his own uncle. Instead, he cut his uncle up into four pieces and sent each piece on its own parade through a different part of the country. How saintly of him
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| You can walk along the Bastion itself for an incredible view over the Pest |
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| The pointy Hungarian Parliament building |
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| There really isn't much to do in Buda except admire the views of the city and take pictures. But hey - that's what I do best. The local joke is the only reason you go to Buda is to look back at Pest |
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| Matthias Church |
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| The hill I was on, Castle Hill, is considered to be the last foothill of the Alps. Beyond that Parliament building, it's all flat plains until Asia |
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| Buda, the Danube, Margaret Island, and Pest |
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| I love a good panorama! |
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| Matthias Church in full |
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| Not much happening in Buda away from the Royal Palace and Fisherman's Bastion |
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| I'm standing in what was once a church, destroyed in WWII |
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| Their flag is just like an upside-down Italian flag |
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| A reconstructed 13-century Dominican cloister buried in a Hilton Hotel. Rick Steves knows about the most random sights... |
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| The Holy Trinity Column, on the left, was built in 1710 to celebrate the end of the plague |
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| Holy Trinity Column and Matthias Church |
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| Matthias Church was founded 800 years ago, but it was renovated in the late 1800s (there's that golden age of Hungary again) |
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| Farther along Castle Hill, I saw the Royal Palace for the first time. It looks nice, and there has been a palace here since the 1300s, but the current building itself isn't really that old. The palace was destroyed a bunch of times, most recently in WWII, and what's left is sort of a rebuild that combines several previous versions of the palace (except for that big dome, which never even existed in any version before WWII). These days, museums instead of monarchs fill its halls |
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| The ruins in the foreground belong to a medieval monastery and church. All of Castle Hill, by the way, is on the UNESCO World Heritage List |
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| Buda, behind Castle Hill |
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| View over Pest |
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| Looking back north over the rest of Buda |
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| The big bridge is Chain Bridge, the city's oldest (1849), most famous, and most beautiful (especially at night) bridge. It was destroyed in WWII, though, so had to be rebuilt from scratch |
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| A statue of Eugene of Savoy stands in front of the Royal Palace |
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| The crazy-looking, pointy Parliament building again |
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| Back to the Royal Palace - the King Matthias Fountain shows its namesake on a hunting expedition |
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| Legend has it that the beautiful woman on the right fell in love with King Matthias when he was hunting incognito. When she realized that he was really the king and that she could thus never be with him, she killed herself. No happy ending there |
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| A courtyard and art museum |
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| Palace Courtyard |
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| The raven represents the beloved King Matthias. Supposedly, when he was living in Prague, the Hungarians decided Matthias should be the next Hungarian king and sent for him using a raven with a ring in its beak |
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| Palace Courtyard |
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| A neat bazaar building |
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| Elisabeth Bridge, named for an Austrian empress |
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| I had walked for a long while to get here, but I made it - the top of Gellért Hill! I shacked out up here for a few hours to get lots of shots as the sun set over the city. This is the Liberation Monument, which celebrates the Soviet liberation of Hungary from the Nazis |
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| Wow! And I had thought the views over Pest couldn't get any better! |
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| Buda, Chain Bridge, and Parliament |
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| Buda and the Royal Palace |
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| Another cool panorama, I'm on a roll. Buda on the left, Pest on the right |
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| Dusk! My favorite time to shoot! I'm immensely proud of this awesome photo. Check out the tower of the Matthias Church behind the Royal Palace on the left, and then turn your attention to the tastefully lit Chain Bridge and its reflection in the Danube. Way in the back right is the Parliament building again |
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| Night fell, but sunset and dusk pictures of the view weren't enough for me. I stuck around and kept photographing. I wound up being on that hill for three hours in total. Worth it! |
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| This is a college building, according to Catherine, and she coincidentally had classes here |
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| One of Budapest's famous old trams |
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| And yet another panorama |
Well, that was more than enough picture-taking for one afternoon. I was done with Buda, and that left Pest for the next two days - check that out in the next two posts!
