Monday, January 22, 2007
We passed this church on our way to get some lunch. It is the oldest building in Pest. It is the Inner City Parish Church. It is closed to visitors. We shopped around Vaci street and the old train station that is now a market hall. After lunch it was off to the airport and back to Germany. Budapest, Hungary - check that block.
Another view from the bottom of the hill. This vast monument was established on the spot where Bishop Gellert was supposedly murdered in the 11th century. According to the tale, the bishop was thrown into the Danube in a barrel, by a mob opposed to Christianity. It looks just as impressive at night when it is illuminated by floodlights.
Monday, November 13, 2006
We had a few hours left in Budapest before our flight home so we squeezed in a little more sightseeing. This is a shot of the kids up on Gellert Hill. Behind them is a statue of St. Gellert - the Patron Saint of the city.
We finished up in the cellar and walked along Fishermen's Bastion again. The city really looks to pretty all lit up. We had a great Italian dinner this night across the river at a place called Mona Lisa's. Yum!
Next we visited the Hungarian House of Wines. We simply paid our admission, then they give you a glass and a map of the cellar! It was really fun. Scott and I tried a few different wines and met another couple from Moscow that sampled some wines with us. It was really fun - they just let you wander the cellar and sample at your leisure.
This is all that is left of the Church of St. Mary Magdalene. Now in ruins, this church was built in the mid-13th century. During the Middle Ages, Hungarian Christians worshipped here since the Chruch of Our Lady was only for use by the town's German population.
It was just so amazing inside. It was unlike any other Gothic church we have visited.
We were amazed when we entered the church and looked at the walls, ceiling - everywhere! It is painted with lavish tapestry-like geometrical and floral patterns.
Back to go inside the Church of Our Lady. It looked stunning in the sunshine!
The kids liked the Lions Gate that guards the palace courtyard. From here we grabbed some lunch and glass of Hungarian beer.
This is the Hungarian Royal Palace. It was built in the 18th century and nearly destroyed during WWII. During the rebuilding, archeologists discovered remains of a 15th century palace.
From the Labyrinth we walked over to the castle. On the way, we passed some sort of changing of the guard ceremony.
It was really fun exploring the caves underneath Castle Hill.
We just kept exploring the caves. We read that during WWII the people of Budapest hid down in the caves to avoid the bombings - and it is rumored that the mail was even delivered down here.
Thursday, January 18, 2007
We paid our admission, got a "map" they handed us a little lantern(the one in Scott's hand) and we were off! Let me tell you - some parts the ONLY light was from that little lamp!
After enjoying the views of the city, we walked around the Castle District. We strolled down Lord's Street - once the homes of aristocrats and merchants, the houses on this street have medieval foundations. In the picture, we are standing in front of No. 9 Lord's Street -the entrance to city Labyrinth. We were able to go down, down, down to explore a section of the expansive complex of cellars, dungeons, springs and caves that run underneath all of Castle Hill.
Another view of Fishermen's Bastion and the kids -
Here's another shot of it. The light rain just stopped as we reached the top of this hill.
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
This is called the Fishermen's Bastion and was added to Castle Hill for purely aesthetic reasons. It offers great views of the Pest side of the city.
Check out the tiles on the roof! We noticed several buildings in Budapest with elaborate tile roofs.
Sunday, November 12, 2006
Last night we dinner at a great Hungarian restaurant - Carne di Hall. Forgot to mention that while we were walking around town yesterday, we stopped in a wine store and the owner was as friendly as could be! He explained all the different Hungarian wines, and since it was the Feast of St. Martin, offered Scott and I some glasses of wine. The legend says that if you don't drink wine on St. Martin's day - you will go the entire year without. You are also supposed to eat duck or else you will be very poor - Scott had goose that night so we got that covered too! Anyway, we walked up Castle HIll today and behind us is St. Matyas Church - the Church of Our Lady.
The last picture was the Chain Bridge and this is of Buda's Castle Hill.
We strolled around a little more before heading back to the hotel to get ready for dinner. It looks really late but it was only around 5:30. The whole city lights up at night.
Here's a picture of the entire Basillica.
We walked inside just as a wedding was finishing. Pretty neat!
This is the inside! The original dome collapsed in 1868 and this one replaced it upon completion in 1905. It was beautiful.
Here is some of the stairwell leading up - cool, isn't it?
This is the view from outside of the dome of St. Stephan's Basillica. We had a great time climbing up and the view was worth it!
While we were walking around Liberty Square we found a statue of an American General - Harry Hill Bandholtz. He led the allied forces that thwarted the Romanian troops looting the Hungarian National Museum. This was a cool find.
After a fabulous lunch at a little Italian place called Via Luna we walked over to the Parliment. Unfortunately, with the recent protests that had taken place in Budapest, we could not get any closer than this fence. They built the Parliament from 1884-1902 and based the design on London's Parliament. Even though we couldn't go inside it was still really impressive to look at from the outside.
Behind us is the Gresham Palace built in 1907. It looked really cool and is one of the city's most distinctive piece of architecture. Now the building is a Four Seasons Hotel.
Saturday, November 11, 2006
This morning we took a WizzAir flight from Germany to Budapest, Hungary!!! It was a quick flight and we checked into our hotel - the Hotel Victoria - right on the River Danube! Behind Scott and the kids is Hungary's Parliment.
