Monday, December 31, 2007

STROLLING IN BUDA

BUDAPEST - APRIL 2006

***

CASTLE HILL

Having left the Fishermen's Bastion, we started a stroll in the old streets of the Castle Hill, namely Fortuna - up to the Vienna Gate - Országház and Uri, before heading to Café Miró for a break!


"MATTHIAS CHURCH - The West façade of Matthias Church is amazing: starting with the turreted Bela Tower on the left, we have a huge Gothic Rosette in the middle part to finish with the impressive Matthias Bell Tower to the south"


"TOWER BELL -This is a ruin of the Dominican Church of S. Nicholas and is integrated in the Hilton Hotel"


"THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES of Hungary celebrated the 250th anniversary of its foundation in 2006. The majolica tile roof of the main building at Becsi kapu ter looked similar to St. Stephens Cathedral in Vienna"


"MARIA MAGDOLNA TOWER is the only that remains from the 13th century church of the former Buda garrison, destroyed in World War II. It was restored later (1997) and is open to the public as a lookout tower"


"TELEPHONE MUSEUM - Budapest has a museum, centred around a switchboard that still works today, to document the history of the telephone since 1881, when the first telephone centre in Hungary was established"





"BEAUTIFUL HOUSES - Some beautiful and rich houses can be found in and around Uri utca (Gentlemen's street). One of the most beautiful of them houses nowadays the German Embassy to Hungary"


"MATTHIAS CHURCH seen from the street leading to Café Miró"

***

GELLERT HILL

Next day, we started the stroll at Gellert Hill!


"GELLERT HILL - From the Danube, Gellért Hill seems to be a huge cliff; however, it is only 140 metres steeply above the level of the river. Due to its location, up to the end of the nineteenth century this was the limit of the town of Buda, it offers a matchless view of the city"


"BUDA CASTLE, as seen from Gellert Hill"


"PEST, as seen from Gellert Hill"


"MONUMENT - There is an interesting story about this 14m-high female figure holding the palm of victory at the top of Gellért Hill. It was erected in 1947 to mark the liberation of the capital from the Nazis by Soviet troops (and thus named Liberation Monument). However, there is one tale related to the female figure: it’s said that ironically it was originally intended as a monument to Dictator Horthy's son, who was killed in a plane crash in 1942 on the Russian front. The Soviets, so the story goes, discovered the statue and used it. Anyhow, after the 1989/1990 political changes, the city council decided to keep the monument (without the Soviet soldier on its basis) and changed its name to Freedom Monument"



"ST. GELLÉRT - Gerard Sagredo was a bishop of Italian origin in Hungary, who was martyred in the 11th century. According to the legend the place where the statue is located is the spot from where pagans pushed the bishop, sealed in a barrel, down into the Danube. He was canonized in 1083"


"GELLÉRT HILL CAVE (on the left of the picture) is part of a network of caves within Gellért Hill and it's believed that Saint Ivan, a hermit who lived there, used the thermal water of a muddy lake next the cave to heal the sick. It is likely that the same water fed the pools of the baths now known as Gellért Baths"

33 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is my last 2007 post at Blogtrotter, so I wish you all a very Happy, Healthy, Peaceful and Successful 2008!
As far as blogging is concerned, the Revival 70 & 80s is now Under the Rain in Ireland, and the Revival 90s on the way to Boca Raton!
Enjoy!

Anonymous said...

happy new year gmg!

Lilli & Nevada said...

Happy New Year to you.
Your journey is so interesting, the buildings and the history fascinating
I would like to add you to my blog roll

Oswegan said...

Nice Travelogue.

Happy New Year.

~Oswegan

Dawning One said...

happy blogtrotting 2008!
keep up the blogging photos, they are so interesting

alicesg said...

Thank you for another set of nice photos. I have a lot to catching up with your postings...hahaha...Happy New Year.

Peter said...

Have been neglecting the blogging for a couple of days. I'm now back and spent some nice time learning about Buda and Pest. Never been there, planned but never done. These posts certainly refreshed my wishes to go there!
Thanks, gmg, for all your interesting posts and for your visits to my blog in 2007!
All my best and sincere wishes for 2008 to you, your wife, your daughter...!

Sunkyoung said...

Since I visited Budapest very cold and cloudy winter days exactly 4 years ago, the colours on my photos are totally different from yours. But it's definitely glad to see the look again on your photos.

Thank you so much for your wish and I too wish you a great and happy new year!

Isabel said...

All the best for 2008!

S-V-H said...

A very nice stroll again in old Budapest with your pictures, Gil!

HAPPY NEW YEAR to you!

Oman said...

Wishing you happiness and prosperity in 2008. Happy New Year gmg.

GOD BLESS. 2007 Was great.

Lakshmi said...

Lovely travelogue with pictures, especially the Gellert Hill Cave. Wish you a very happy new year .

My Unfinished Life said...

really lovely pics!!..and the descriptions alongwith them are very lucid!!.....

Lara said...

Happy New Year, with many other wonderful travels around the world!

Dick said...

Happy New Year to you and your family. Your blog is very interesting.

leo said...

gil- i really like the colorful houses. Happy 2008 to you! Keep taking beautiful pics!

alice said...

"Bonne année, bonne santé, le paradis à la vie de votre vie", comme disent les Bretons!

JO said...

Happy NEW YEAR 2008!

God Bless you and yours this year!

Great post as usual... I really enjoyed the pics of the castle-like church...

Ash said...

More lovely images. Truly fabulous.

Have a wonderful 2008 :)

Lalalalala said...

hi gmg, i see u've a healthy following already :)

thanks for yr comments on my blog, and have a wonderful 2008!

I've gotten back to SG already and am ready to start my new job! :D

Cergie said...

Bonsoir Gil, tu as été absent à un moment du monde du blog, et en ces périodes de fêtes cela a été mon tour
De plus, j'ai du monde qui va et qui vient à la maison, c'est le moment de profiter de ses enfants n'est ce pas, lorsqu'on ne les voit pas souvent ?

Budapest, ville mythique,
Le Danube,fleuve mythique
J'avais un ami d'origine hongroise et il m'a parlé des deux parties Buda et Pest
C'est extraordinaire que deux villes séparées se réunissent et ne fassent plus qu'une
D'après tes photos, la ville semble d'échelle humaine et la parcourir à pied doit y être très agréable

Je te souhaite une bonne et heureuse année à toi et à ta famille, toujours pleine de rencontres et de voyages

Anonymous said...

Beautiful photos in your blog. The place is amazing as well!
Happy New Year!

Alexander
Alex's World! - http://www.kakinan.com/alex

Dsole said...

Happy new year Bob!!
feliz año nuevo!

This is such a beautiful city! I was in Praha this new year's eve and it was really beautiful but it was plenty of tourists everywhere!!

Marie said...

The architecture is really extraordinary.

I envy you for being able to see so many wonderful places. If you know of a cheap flight company, please let me know its name :-))

Happy New Year to you.

Nikon said...

I love the Gellert Hill shots - it's a really fascinating spot!
Speaking of Hem, soon I hope, soon - he's fishing someplace warm & perhaps I'm jealous, I'm stumped :-)

Andrea Gerák said...

Hello Gil, happy New Year!

Wonderful post with all these pictures!!!

I am learning new things here about my country's capital... I am impressed.

Anonymous said...

Piika,
Pusa,
Oswegan,
Dawning One,
Thanks! Great 2008 for you too!

Lilli & Nevada
Thanks. Please feel free to add the link to your blog roll; my honour!

AliceSG,
Too much work awaits you in 2008… ;))

Peter,
Glad to see you back to blogosphere and thanks a lot for your wishes! Buda and Pest surely deserve your visit, namely now that it seems the «movida» is invading the city…

Sunkyoung,
Happy to see you back here! Budapest is a beautiful city, though sometimes the weather makes it a bit tough… ;)

Isabel,
Sue,
Lawstube
Backpakker,
Shooting Star,
Lara,
Dick,
Thanks!

Leo,
The castle hill stroll in Buda is a must; the buildings are quite impressive and most of them have been recently renovated!

Alice,
Merci!

Jo,
Ash,
Thanks!

Clarence
Hi there! Glad to know that your career keeps running up the hill: back in Singapore and with a new job! Have a great year!

Cergie,
Merci! Malheureusement je suis toujours un petit peu absent de la blogosphere, sauf les weekends et quand même… mais dés que j’ai un peu de temps ça me donne du plaisir de visiter et commenter les blogs que j’aime!
Tu as raison à propos de Budapest: une ville à l’échelle humaine et pour parcourir à pied – sauf les monts de Buda…;)

Alex,
Thanks!

Dsole,
Lucky girl! Prague is a lovely place and has the remembrances of Franz Kafka, but Budapest is probably more beautiful…

Marie,
Low cost airlines are just around the corner; even strait from Montpellier you have Ryanair! Fly Montpellier-Frankfurt-Budapest and you’re there. The January Sale (they say) has 2 million seats at € 10 (ten Euro, including all taxes and charges) one way… ;))

Paul,
You’re right about the Gellert Hill; a great spot with fabulous views!
So Hem will be catching in Caribe amongst «mi mojito en la Bodeguita, mi daiquiriri en la Floridita?» Great!

Andrea,
Great to see you here! I’m proud to read that you’re learning new things about your country’s capital here. like we say in Portuguese: «Santos da casa não fazem milagres…» (Saints at home don’t perform miracles…)! ;))

lv2scpbk said...

Love all the photos. That indoor pool looks great. I bet these buildings inside are spectacular in person.

Anonymous said...

Barbara,
Thanks! Not all houses have such an indoor pool, but I was lucky enough to have good friends there... ;))

Chuckeroon said...

Hallo again Trotter. Did you ever read the anecdote about Capaki the "fastest motorcycle in Hungary"?

Tks for another drop-in on R u T.

Anonymous said...

Chuckeroon,
I confess that Capaki, saw only a dance video in Epidauros, Greece at YouTube... ;))

Ming the Merciless said...

It amazes me how much traveling you do.

May I ask, if you travel for work and take a couple days off after that to do some sightseeing OR you just take A LOT of vacations. :-)

When I grow up or older, I want to be just like you. You are my idol!!

Anonymous said...

Ming,
Everything started when I hitch-hiked Europe in 1969! Then I did much travelling for professional reasons (and tried to take a couple of days off in new destinations), but also travelled a LOT on vacation... But, as the world is not that small, there is still so much to see... ;))