...which was less than two blocks from my hotel. BTW, I'm staying at Le Meridian Budapest, which is a wonderful five star hotel in an excellent location...it is my best hotel room thus far...very well appointed. I got an unbelievable rate on Expedia, which was equivalent to or less than any of the three star hotels I was thinking about. It seemed that whenever I searched for best rates on TripAdvisor, it was Expedia which popped up with the best rates. But more later, towards the end of my trip, about the different levels of accommodations I used for this trip and the different ways I accessed them.
About 15 or so people showed up for the free tour, so a good sized group...not to big, not too small...from Toronto, Manhattan, Paris, London, etc....our guide was Agnes, and she was great!
First for a few facts....there are about 10,000,000 people in Hungary, two million in Budapest. the main inhabitants are Magyars, who came from China...the Mongolia area. Their language is unique and very difficult...there are 44 letters in their alphabet (apparently, you can swear for five minutes without using the same word twice :-). (And even though they are members of the European Union, the preferred money is still their Forint). The country was established in the year 1000, with the crowning of its first king, Stephen I. He brought Catholicism to the country, and today about 65% of the country is still Catholic. The biggest Catholic church in Hungary, St. Stephens Basilica....
...was dedicated to him. This church was completed in 1905 after many years of construction. During construction, the dome collapsed, so they had to start all over. It sustained significant damage during WWII and was just restored in the 90's. This is the only building that was allowed to be built as tall as the Parliament Building (but not taller)....
...both of which are 96 metres tall. The parliament building is vast, 268 metres long, 123 metres wide, 691 rooms and 27 entrance gates. It is a dominant presence, located on the Pest side of the Danube River.
I should explain that Buda, which is hilly, is on one side of the Danube River (the second longest river in Europe), while Pest is flat and on the other side. Pest is about 1000 years old while Buda is over seven centuries old. (however, there were Roman settlements here before that, when this area was a part of the Roman Empire). The name Budapest for the combined cities only became effective in 1872.
Anyway, we saw more sites on the Pest side of the river....
Prince Charles liked this statue so much, which is located on the Danube promenade, that he had a replica made for Great Britain....it represents innocence....peace....no war....another monument where people rub its legs for good luck...
And this is what you will look like, the policeman on the right (not Agnes :-), if you eat too much Hungarian food...they do like their fat, salt, sugar, dumplings, etc...
And they also built some apartments during the Soviet era, sprinkled throughout the city, which housed multiple families per unit...these buildings are still occupied with their flimsy walls, poor heating and a/c, etc...
We stopped at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences to learn that Hungarians have received 15 Nobel prizes...many inventions by Hungarians including carburetors, Ballpoint pens, matches, turbines, etc.
Other famous Hungarians include Rubik (as in the cube), Liszt, Houdini, Tony Curtis, the Gabor sisters, to name a few.
It was time to head across the chain bridge to Buda...
...this cast iron suspension bridge, built in the mid-1800's, was the first permanent bridge to span the Danube between Buda and Pest, and is quite a beautiful sight. It was considered an engineering wonder when built, and was seen as a symbol of advancement, awakening and joining of east and west. When it sustained significant damage during WWII, it was important that it be restored to its original design (even though it was too narrow by today's standards), and reopened in the mid-1950's. Hungary, by the way, fought on the side of Germany in that war, and then afterwards was occupied by what was the Soviet Union. They only became a democracy in 1990, so most still refer to this as the post-Communist era as they still feel they are not yet a true, well developed democracy as of yet.
We can't leave the Pest side without me mentioning the Gresham Palace, which is at the bridge's gateway to Pest. No, it was not the palace of kings, but was built by the Gresham Life Assurance Company as an office building and residence for its executives....
...it is now a Four Seasons Hotel.
The building that dominates the Buda side of the river is the Royal Palace (more about it another time)..Seen here to the left of the bridge...
You can take the funicular up to the castle district....
...or you can walk, as we did, and enjoy the views at various levels...
Note St. Stephen's in the background...
...and the Parliament building here...
..and, guess who...at the very top...
Views of castle district...
Look like Disney? This is rumored to have been the inspiration of Walt for Disney World (also looks very much like the opening logo used for Disney movies). It is called the fishermen's bastion, to commemorate the fishermen in the area and was built in the early 1900's to fit in with its neighbor...
...the Matthias Church, built in the 14th century...
This car was a popular car in Hungary after the war maybe in the 50's...it was a sign of independence to own one...it was known as a "paper" car due to the way it was built...very flimsy. (I forgot the brand name?)...
View of Buda hills..it is more expensive to live on this side..
Our last stop before lunch was this statue of this horse...
...a part from which people also seek good luck in a certain area of their lives :-)
...so I was encouraged to climb up...
...and give it a try...
A wonderful tour now comes to an end. We grabbed a bite together at a cafeteria with our guides, and then it was time to bid farewell.
I learned many other tips on this tour, which I will they to sprinkle throughout my Budapest experience.
I had planned to go to a park and rest and catch up on my blog (I obviously got a few days behind these last couple of weeks), but I ended up being side-tracked....I'll tell you all that story in my next post...Day 63, to be continued...
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Location:Erzsébet tér,Budapest,Hungary
No comments:
Post a Comment