Front view of Parliament.
Southern aspect of Parliament.
The flag has a hole in the middle, marking the spot where the coat-of-arms was torn off during the Revolution in 1956 against the Communists.
8 June 2003
Three tourists-in-training, Tibor, Judit and myself, set out from Szeged Palyudvar (station) one fine (hot) day to Budapest for an intensive day trip. We took the 7.20am train, and reached Nyugati Station in Pest at around 10.00am.
The first stop was the Parliament building, reportedly the most beautiful piece of architecture in Budapest. It houses the national treasure, the Crown of St. Stephen. Though there were guided tours available, we didn't go in since the security checks were formidable and there were too many people trying to get in.
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parliament-front Front view of Parliament. |
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parliament-side Southern aspect of Parliament. |
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parliament-flag The flag has a hole in the middle, marking the spot where the coat-of-arms was torn off during the Revolution in 1956 against the Communists. |
The Danube separates the hilly and residential Buda on the west from the more industrial Pest on the east. It forks out into two branches to the north, which recombine further up. Unfortunately we arrived at a time of day when the sun was glaring above, instead of when the light would perhaps have been more interesting. Nevertheless, it was still a pretty sight.
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danube-buda View of Castle Hill in Buda from Pest across the Danube. The highest tower in the picture is part of Matthias Church. The structure to the left of it is the Fisherman's Bastion. |
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danube-chain View of the Chain Bridge from Pest. |
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royal-danube1 View of Pest and the Danube from Castle Hill. You can just see the other branch of the river, perhaps more visible in the next photo. |
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royal-danube2 View of Pest and the Danube from another vantage point on Castle Hill and including the Chain Bridge. |
The Royal Palace lies within the walled area of Castle Hill in Buda. My Lonely Planet guide informs me that it has been "burned, bombed, razed, rebuilt and redesigned at least a half-dozen times over the past seven centuries".
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front Front of the Royal Palace, which houses the National Gallery. |
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corvinus Corvinus Gate, named after King Matthias Corvinus, the "good king". |
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fountain Fountain with Corvinus Gate in background. |
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back Rear of Royal Palace. |
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statue Statue of Eugene of Savoy in the Royal gardens. |
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gate Giant archway leading to the Library and History Museum. |
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museum The Budapest History Museum. The most memorable exhibit to my mind was a huge half-destroyed lion statue which was once part of the Chain Bridge, which was bombed during the retreat of the Germans in WWII. The Bridge has new lions now. |
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gallery The National Gallery, rear view. |
As we walked from the Royal Palace and approached Szentharomszag Ter (Trinity Square), we realised the sheer number of tourists (and tourist entrance fees) in the area.
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chariot For a small sum of money you can ride around town in a quaint horse-driven carriage. |
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statue Statue of the Trinity on Szentharomszag Ter. |
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matt Statue of King Matthias next to Matthias Church, so named because the king was married here. |
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view View from Fisherman's Bastion. The Fisherman's Bastion is so named because of the fishermen charged by the King to defend these borders in the Middle Ages. |
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under Underneath the Bastion. |
More photos to come.
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academy The Academy of Science in Pest. |