The month was May, and I woke up in a tiny hostel in the Hungarian capital of Budapest. Day two of my trip began with free breakfast at the hostel (always a highlight) and then a visit to St. István’s Basilica, Budapest's largest church. In my previous post, I mentioned that St. István was Hungary's first Catholic king and harbored a penchant for gruesome violence wholly unbefitting of a saint. But hey, at least his church looks cool.
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| Construction started in the mid-1800s but took five decades in all. The church is still tied with the Parliament for the title of tallest building in town |
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| Now for the REAL reason I visited the church - here lies St. István's mummified right hand! Apparently it's regarded as a national treasure. The fist disappeared after WWII but eventually turned up in Bosnia. Somehow I keep running into weird old body parts like this... this wasn't the first or even the second mummified hand I had seen during the course of the program - it was my third. Nor would it be the last. If you want to include mummified hands still attached to mummies that I saw since July 2014, then my mummified hand count was at 9 at that point |
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| Inside of the great big dome |
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| I forked over some Hungarian Forints and headed up the outside of the dome to catch another sweeping view of the city |
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| Royal Palace on the left on the other side of the river; Matthias Church on the right, back in the hills |
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| Parliament |
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| The colorfully tiled roof belongs to the Postal Savings Bank (built in the late 1800s, like nearly every other grandiose building in Budapest) |
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| The rest of Pest |
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| The church from the outside |
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| A market hall called Hold Utca |
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| Inside the hall |
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| A fine Art Nouveau building called Bedő-Ház, built in 1903 |
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| Ronald Reagan, though respected in Hungary for his role in the Cold War, was only memorialized here in 2011 because the then-Prime Minister wanted to distract some international observers who were criticizing his anti-democratic reforms. He proceeded to invite the U.S. Secretary of State to the statue's unveiling... thereby displaying his lack of understanding of American politics, as the Secretary's name was Hillary Clinton |
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| The front of the Hungarian Parliament and Kossuth Square |
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| It was built during the late 1800s, when Hungary's power and influence was at its peak |
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| Kossuth Square and a museum that was once home to the Supreme Court of Hungary |
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| What a beautiful Hungarian day |
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| The Shoes on the Danube are a heartbreaking tribute to the Jews who were killed when the Nazis' puppet government came to power in 1944. Although many Jews were sent to concentration camps, others were forced to strip, told to face the river, and were shot right here. As they fell, their bodies splashed into the Danube |
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| The evocative monument consists of 60 pairs of bronze shoes |
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| The nice view of the Danube, Matthias Church, and Buda makes for a less depressing photo |
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| The Royal Palace |
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| Another look at the Parliament building. It is absolutely enormous, and its striking size reflects how Budapest (as part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire) ruled much of Eastern Europe when the structure was built. Now that Hungary is much smaller, the building seems oversized - but still impressive. Actually, it doesn't just seem oversized, because it really is - only 1/8 of its interior is actually used by Parliament |
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| Changing of the guard |
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| I had secured tickets for a free tour of the interior of Parliament. I'm glad I did it - if you thought the outside was neat, check out this superfluous opulence on the inside |
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| The main hall. EVERYTHING is just slathered with gold |
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| The round room behind those arches in the foreground is the room directly beneath the big dome. It houses the Hungarian crown, which is supposedly the same one that István once wore. Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to take pictures of it. Since such rules haven't exactly stopped me in the past, maybe I would have gone for a furtive photo - if it weren't for the tall, armed soldier standing sternly right next to the display case |
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| More gold |
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| This chamber used to be for the House of Lords. Well, there are no more Lords anymore, so it stands empty as the identical House of Commons hosts the actual Parliament. That's good news for us tourists, since we can see this room and take photos even if the legislature is in session |
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| This was actually the runner-up design for the Parliament building |
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| This flag originates from the bloody 1956 Uprising, when protesters removed the communist seal the Soviets had added to the Hungarian flag |
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| The 1956 revolution is a cherished and revered chapter in Hungarian history. The anti-Soviet demonstrations and revolt were inspired by Stalin's death and the workers' strike in Poznan, Poland, which I recently wrote about. On two separate occasions, Soviet troops and communist police forces fired into peaceful demonstrators gathered here on Kossuth Square. During the second occurrence, 70 protesters died. Guerrilla fighting and a Soviet army occupation followed. Over 2,500 Hungarians eventually died and 15,000 were arrested |
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| Imre Nagy was the communist leader of Hungary for two years in the 1950s before his moderate stances led to his demotion. When the 1956 protests began, the demonstrators remembered his mild rule and called on him, hoping he could reform the Hungarian Communist government from the inside. At first, he only asked the protesters for peace and patience, but he soon began echoing their demands for free elections, the abolition of the secret police, the withdrawal of Soviet troops, and Hungary's secession from the Warsaw Pact. After the Soviets crushed the rebellion, he was arrested and executed |
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| Today, his statue keeps a watchful eye on Parliament |
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| Kossuth Square and Parliament |
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| The Soviet War Memorial on Liberty Square. It commemorates the victory of the Soviets over the Nazis in Hungary. Since it sports a hammer and sickle, most Hungarians are not found of the structure. Coincidentally, I was there on the 70th anniversary of the end of WWII, so there had been a ceremony earlier (hence the wreaths) |
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| Just one tour wasn't enough that day. I ran over to the Hungarian State Opera House to take a spin through its splendid halls |
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| It was, unsurprisingly, built in the late 1800s. It became one of the most prestigious musical venues in Europe |
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| Inside the great auditorium itself |
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| The ceiling painting is entitled "The Glorification of Music" |
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| Everything is made of wood to provide for better acoustics |
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| This was one of the rooms for the aristocratic members of the audience to lounge around in before and after the show as well as during intermissions. The aristocrats had their own separate stairs and rooms to keep them away from the dirty commoners |
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| Every so often you see reminders that Budapest is still an up-and-coming city that is a bit rough around the edges. Here, visible from the balcony of the Opera House, is the wonderful Drechsler Palace. Like any good building in Budapest, it was built in the late 1800s - but it's been vacant for over ten years, as its boarded-up windows and blocked-off entrance attest. Sound like a good addition to your real estate portfolio? Sorry, but it has already been purchased and will be turned into a hotel in the very near future |
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| The opera's grandest staircase |
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| For a small surcharge, we were treated to a short opera performance by this guy (he sang songs from Carmen) |
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| Zrínyi utca |
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| One of four stone lions placed around Chain Bridge in 1852. They miraculously survived WWII |
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| That covers the northern half of Pest. Now to see the highlights in the south, starting with Vörösmarty Square in the Pest town center |
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| Vörösmarty himself, in statue form (he was a Romantic poet) |
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| Váci Utca is one of the oldest streets of Pest. These days, it's the only place in the entire city that, to me, feels like a crowded tourist trap. The entire rest of the city feels refreshingly genuine, though, and that was my favorite part about Budapest |
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| Pesti Vigadó, a big Neo-Romantic concert hall built in the 1880s |
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| Royal Palace |
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| This was the very first McDonald's to open behind the Iron Curtain. This area of Budapest, particularly Váci Utca, was the most Westernized in all of the Eastern bloc |
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| A pretty building on Váci Utca from the late 1800s, originally built as a townhouse for an aristocrat |
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| Further off the beaten path, I wandered into a vacant shopping arcade called the Párisi Udvar (Parisian courtyard), built in the early 1900s. The tenants have moved out of both the gallery and the building in general, but the arcade's once neglected but grand mosaics and woodwork seem to have been restored. As this exciting city continues to develop, maybe the gallery will soon be bustling once again |
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| The facade of the Párisi Udvar |
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| Budapest is still a city in transition. The entire area I was in that afternoon was full of many grand facades that were either dirty, crumbling, or adorning a completley vacant building. This structure is one of two identical apartment blocks called the Klotild Palaces. It doesn't look that dirty, but it needs some work - its twin across the street is now a hotel and looks immaculate. See the very noticeable difference in Google maps |
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| Just as the Párisi Udvar gallery was concealed by a grand facade, most of Pest's buildings hide a courtyard away from the street |
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| The Baroque-style University Church |
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| The Great Market Hall, built during the heart of Budapest's golden age in 1896. Check out those crazy Zsolnay tiles on the roof. It had just closed when I got there, unfortunately... |
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| But that didn't stop me from convincing the guard to let me hop in and take a quick picture. A few Forints won him over (just kidding) |
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| The city has a pretty good metro system. In fact, this particular line, Line 1, has been operating since 1896, making it the second oldest underground railway in the world and the oldest on the European mainland. It is even on the UNESCO World Heritage List |
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| After meeting my friend Catherine for dinner and some drinks, I did some serious walking to get the other side of the river and nab this awesome, late-night shot of the Parliament building (I snapped this at about 12:30 am - that's dedication, people) |