Budapest


Budapest is a very big and very nice city. It is in the centre of Hungary (not Romania), on the Danube River, and was formed a long time ago when the towns of Buda (on the West bank) and Pest (on the East bank) joined to form Budapest.

In many ways it reminds me of Bucharest: busy, bustling, warm temperatures, buildings needing a lick of paint. Old architecture vs. communist architecture clashes here as they do in Bucharest, although it is much less obvious. Don't get me wrong, it's a very pretty city.

We arrived at Keleti train station, then went on to find accomodation in the suburbs where it is cheaper (we planned ahead, knew where to go), about £12 a night each (about €17 or $20). Talking about money, Budapest is very expensive. Not a surprise since its such a popular tourist destination.

We visited the city for a few days, seeying the Statue Park, a small park with a collection of old communist statues that were collected from around the city when communism fell and congregated here. A Nice park. What I really liked was the Castle District in Buda. Very old and very nice buildings, and very nice view of the whole city from up there too. We visited many places, such as the Heroes Square, walked up to the Fishermans Bastion, saw the Parliament building (from the outside - long story), and walked a lot through the centre.



Remember to hover the mouse cursor over the photo for a description.
The Hungarian Parliament building. Its design was influenced by the British House of Commons architecture.
The Chain Bridge. The chain is made of huge links that are really narrow and stacked closesly together like a sandwich. Mmmmm saaandwich. *dribbles*
This arcade was amazing. The attention to detail is impressive. The photo doesn't do it justice.
A palace, probably royal, don't know. I've got a film of it too. It's very pretty.
Bridge sculpture with Parliament building in the background. The guy on the bridge is a sculpture too and is PART of the bridge. Some guys were getting married. My favorite photo taken in Budapest.
Propaganda Statues in the Communist Statue Park.
More Communist Statues. They all mean something, sorry I can't recall what it was.
This one was massive.
Two tour boats, the one in front is Romanian: Steaua Deltei - The Star of the Delta, referring to the Danube Delta in Romania. I wonder if it does cruises there, it's quite far from Budapest, about 1000km (625 miles) on the Danube. The one at the back is Bulgarian.
The steps lead up to the Fisherman's Bastion (where the statue is). In the past fishermen used to volunteer to watch over the Danube from there for invading fleets.
A view of Budapest and the Danube looking North from the top of the hill above Fisherman's Bastion. The Danube flows Southwards in Budapest.
A view of Pest from the same location.
Hero's Square.
1956 memorial just outside the Parliament building. In 1956 Hungary went through a bloody anti-Communist revolution where many people died. The Commies won. :-( Hungary has been free of Communism since 1989.
An open air art show using billboards. Slightly anti-EU methinks, but a clever picture.
The same artshow. Quite a funny picture. Get it? No? Then look closer. Hint: Where was the flag made? Get it now? Finally! :-þ Again slightly anti-EU. There were other billboards, even ones not concerning the EU, but I like these ones the most hehehe. By the way I'm pro-EU.


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