Friday, January 18, 2008

POWER AND ART

/GOODBYE BUDAPEST - APRIL 2006


"PARLIAMENT - After the Austro-Hungarian Compromise in 1867, in which a dual monarchy was created, Hungary wrote its own constitution. The Parliament was built between 1895 and 1902 and it is said that it was at the time the largest parliamentary building in the world (268 meters long and 123 meters wide). The Seat of Democracy is hosted in a building that is one of the most impressive in Budapest, and surely my favourite!"



"MAIN STAIRCASE - The Parliament building includes more than 20 km of staircases. The main staircase is absolutely stunning"


"DOME - The elegant dome has a height of 96 meters. Actually, 96 seems to be a very important figure in this building; it's said to be related to the millennium commemorations of 1896"


"GOLD - The decorations needed about 40 kg 22-23 karat gold"


"CROWN - When Stephen became King of Hungary on Christmas Day in the year 1000, Pope Sylvester II made him the gift of a crown. During World War II, the crown was taken out of Hungary and was later transferred to the United States Gold Reserve at Ft. Knox, Kentucky. In 1978 President Jimmy Carter decided to return the Crown and so the original Holy Crown is now at the Parliament building, together with the orb, the sceptre and a Renaissance sword"


"LIGHTS AND VITRALS"



"SESSION HALL - An incredibly beautiful gilded room"


"ART DECO - The night club Parisiana (1908-1909) by Béla Lajta has an incredible history. Its name was changed to Crystal Pallace in 1910, Dance Pallace in 1912, Variety Theatre in 1919, Blaha Lujza Theatre in 1921, Studio of the National Theatre in 1925, and later Studio Theatre and Andrássy Theatre. The façade was refurbished in the early 1950s, and the name was changed to Jókai Theatre. In 1962 the façade frieze was demolished and the building was named Thalia Theatre, Bartók Theatre in 1971, Budapest Children's Theatre in 1974, Arany János Theatre from the eighties. The reconstruction of the building was made by the mid-eighties and its greatest achievement is that the old face of the Béla Lajta building was resurrected. It's now the New Theatre"


"THE OPERA HOUSE was designed by Miklós Ybl (1878-1884) in Renaissance style and Ferenc Erkel conducted the inaugural concert in 1884"


"MAIN STAIRCASE - The Opera House was reopened after reconstruction in 1984, the year of its centenary"



"LIGHTS"


"OPERA ROOM - The ceiling of the horseshoe-shaped three storey auditorium is decorated with the paintings of Károly Lotz"


"OUR BOX, next to the Presidential..."


"BALLET"

***

Alice and Marie were kind enough to give me the "You make my day" award. It’s even kinder, as it’s known that my intervention in blogosphere is not daily. Thank you both for the award!



It seems that the award rules say: "Give the award to 10 people whose blogs bring you happiness and inspiration and make you feel happy about blogland. Let them know by posting a comment on their blog so they can pass it on. Beware you may get the award several times."
So I'll pass the "You make my day" to:

Ash, Backpakker, Celine, Chris, Irina, Isabella, Ming, Peter, Shionge, Sally and to all others that make my day, whenever I manage to have a blog-visiting day...

42 comments:

Tinsie said...

OMG these photos are fantastic! I *must* go to Budapest one day :-)

isa said...

The Opera House is stunning! I hate to repeat myself, but it reminds me of the Opera Garnier in Paris (although the later was built in the neo-baroque style). Still, the inside staircases are almost identical!
What kind of performance did you attend? Looks like a modern ballet...

PS Thank you for the award, Gil - you make my day too :-)

Ming the Merciless said...

When I saw the gold crown photo, the sentence above it said it was made with 40 kg of 22-23 carat gold. I was like, WOW must be a heavy crown. :-) Then I realized you were referring to the decorated dome in the photo above.

To respond to your comment about lobster and french fries, you should come to NYC and try Alain Ducasse's beef and foie gras burger. Now, that is a SIN.

Ming the Merciless said...

N.B.: Congratulations on the award. I think you deserve the "Traveler of the Year" award too.

Irina said...

Thank you, Gil, for the honour of getting your award.

And today's photos are so impressive! And I just loved a picture of the staircase in Opera House.

alice said...

Quelle splendeur cette ville! J'adorerais aller dans un "vrai" opéra comme celui-là...
Quant à ce petit award, il est très mérité!

Peter said...

I can understand why the Parliament building is your favourite! Amazing! ... and bravo for the quality of the photos!!
... and of course, sincere thanks for the award!

Anonymous said...

Beautiful photos.
Nice interior decorations.
Fantastic shots!

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

indicaspecies said...

Oh yes, you rightly deserve the Award. Congratulations Gil. :)

While sitting in the comfort of our chairs, you take so many of us bloggers around the world, and all that is because you share such beautiful posts and pictures, like you have in this post as well.

Gil, thank you very much for the honour of 'You Make My Day' Award.

celine :)
PS: I just posted Part II of my 2007 Travels. Please visit me again, and I'm sure you will enjoy this part as well. :)

lyliane six said...

Magnifiques photos d'intérieurs que de richesses, assister à un opéra dans ce lieu doit être magique.
Il faut que je vous décerne l'award du meilleur blog de voyages qui me fait rêver tous les jours.
Bonne fin de semaine à vous deux.

Anonymous said...

Greetings from Finland!
And now I have to say, that in your photos structures are a little bit more complicated and decorative than in my today`s post :)
Wonderful to see all this beautiful architecture.
Have a good weekend!

Noushy Syah said...

What an awesome decorated parliament!!! Beautiful pics and the interior decorations is amazing!

Have a gr8 w/end and keep smiling.

Nikon said...

Really incredible architecture, design and decoration, Gil.
Nice job with the indoor shots!

Shionge said...

You are sweet dear pal :D

Budapest...ah...this is the shortlisted place to visit prior to our America trip in NOvember...ah..if only we choose to visit Europe I think we would not have the accident but then again, it was meant to be isn't it?

Still, Budapest would be next on our list and I just love to see yr pictures here...thank you for sharing :D

Jo's-D-Eyes said...

Hi Gmg,
My congrats with your award!
I am rwally impressed by your photography of Budapest, what a great surroundings here!

OK here I am again , I have been busy with the (bad health) of my dog and more.... anyway I love you blog so I won't forget..

Have a great and creative weekend! I hope to see you also back on my blog, you're being welcome,
Greetings from JoAnn Photography

Stella Bella said...

Great to see this post!:) you know why?
Because we are going to Budapest in May! Got the tickets and everything ready! :D

Your photos are really good! Before I wasn't sure whether to visit The Parliament.. now I think I should after seeing your photos!

Do you remember how long the tour was ? some people said it was only 30 mins.

Lara said...

you got this award from me too, since you are on my blogrol and I pass it on to all of you :). the Budapest series is fantastic!

99 said...

Great pictures Gil! The Opera house looks tremendous. Thanks for commenting at my slow blog.
Chau!

Rune Eide said...

Your pictures, as your subjects, are monumental. I'm impressed at the amount of work you must have put into the composition of the photos and of the posting.

Thank you for a nice comment!

dot said...

Wow! Fantastic pictures! I like the dome in the Parliament building.

Chris said...

Ola!!

Thank you for the award. I am out of town (yet again!) and am going to post it on my site when I get home next week.

I tell you!! You make me want to hop a plane to Europe so badly!!

Isadora said...

Oh, you've done a beautiful job with lights on the inside shots. While I enjoy performances at the New Theater - I didn't really know its history - thank you for the lesson!!

You certainly deserved the award and thank you for pointing these out to me and of course, for visiting my blog.

Have a great week-end.

Anonymous said...

Wow...some lovely shots. I like the night shots & the lighting int he shots very much as also the words...very nice!

leo said...

the dome, the main staircase, the session hall - one word WOW!!! i love to visit budapest, hopefully one day. Thanx for the great photos.

Dick said...

Beautiful place, a miracle how they made such buildings. Thanks for visiting.

Anonymous said...

Wonderful 'inside'-photos, great buildings there.
Yes, the 'man' on the roof top has gone. I must admit I've never seen him. It must have been a special exhibition. I'm glad that you took the photo and I can see it now.

joey said...

The 'arm chair' tourist checking in ...breathtaking tour ... love 'the gold', especially 'the dome'.

Joy said...

You are making it certain that I visit Budapest by all these wonderful photos!

Have a good Monday!

Thanks for visiting Norwich Daily Photo and your kind comments. Drop by again!

This coming Saturday is the best show for you to listen - because the programme will be in English and my guest is an Australian guy who will talk about his travels, too! So go to http://www.futureradio.co.uk on 26 January at 3pm UK time and click on LISTEN ONLINE!

joy
A Pinay In England
Your Love Coach
The Goddess In You

Ash said...

Thank you so much for giving me the award. You've made my day :)

Cergie said...

Encore un Stephen !
(Mon fils s'appelle Etienne et ce prénom qui se dit Esteban en espagnol est moins répandu qu'il ne l'était autrefois. Que de cathédrales portent ce nom dans le monde) n'est ce pas lui qui est saint et dont la main traîne quelque part ?
Cet escalier, cet opéra, Budapest plus que Paris il me semble vit encore sous le poids de l'histoire !


Félicitation pour cet award, mérité à l'aulne de tes grandes connaissances mises au service du monde du blog.

Olivier said...

felicitation pour ton Award.
L'opera est magnifique, cela devait etre une superbe soirée

Lakshmi said...

thank you so much..your posts never cease to amaze me ..you will find a similar message in my post as well :)

lyliane six said...

Le parlement me fait penser un peu à celui d'Angleterre. Je vois qu'il fait très bon déjà au Portugal, c'est le printemps. Bonne semaine, chargée je pense pour vous deux.

Anonymous said...

Hi everybody! Sorry for being a bit late on replying your comments, but this week was even worse than usual. And for the next one it isn’t foreseeable any changes for the better… But, if everything will run smoothly, I’ll take a break (and fly some miles) during the first fortnight in February. With a little bit of luck…

Tinsie,
Thanks for your comment here. You surely "must" go to Budapest; but don’t forget Lisbon 2008, NYT recommends…

Isabella,
The Opera is quite similar to the Vienna Opera House, absolutely magnificent. And the performance was actually modern ballet. Good catch!
Your award was absolutely deserved!

Ming,
Yeah, 40kg on a crown would make it a bit heavy to carry… ;)
Beef and foie-gras burger, ok. But lobster and French fries, no! ;))
"Former Traveller of Past Years Award" would be more adequate… ;)))

Irina,
My pleasure to pas you the award!

Alice,
Merci! Si Budapest est un peu lointain, tu peux toujours essayer l’Opéra Garnier, que fait le bonheur d’Isabella…

Peter,
Your award was absolutely deserved!
You see the Parliament; it’s an incredible building. Outside and inside…

Alexander,
Thanks!

Celine,
Your award was entirely justified; you make our days in the blogosphere any time you post your lovely pictures and we’ve time to sit and enjoy them!
Delhi, Agra, Jaipur? Would it be possible that I manage to take a week off and visit your motherland for the first time? We’ll see…

Lyliane,
Excuse-moi le retard et l’absence de ton blog; J’essayerais d’y revenir ce week-end!
Meilleur blog de voyages, ça ne sera pas vrai, mais est très sympa… Merci! ;)
Le parlement est peut-être encore plus impressionnant que celui d'Angleterre et c’est vrai que le printemps est déjà là; 19º centigrades, l’après-midi…
Mais la semaine est beaucoup plus que chargée…

Leena,
Thanks! Loved to see your structures…

Noushy Syah,
That Parliament makes me feel quite joyful! But it’s hard to keep smiling when you hardly have time to look around!

Paul,
Thanks! It’s incredible, but this time the indoor pictures worked…

Shionge,
Sorry for not having visited your blog during the week… Hope you’re feeling much better now!
We never know what would have happened if; it’s Unbearable Lightness of Being…
Budapest in your list? OK! But don’t forget Lisbon…

JoAnn,
Thanks. Hope everything is running smoothly now…

Stella Bella,
Great to see you back here!
Nice coincidence that you’re on the way to Budapest; and May is a quite nice month, hopefully with no floods at all. Don’t miss the Parliament; the tour is short, maybe 45 minutes, but the building is quite impressive. Go early, buy the tickets for a booked time (tours every hour in English, and with different intervals in other languages, if I remember well), and enjoy!

Lara,
Thanks! I’m honoured to be on your blogrol and love to see your pictures! One day, I’ll update my links also!

99,
Who will be the new E. F. Schumacher to write the next "Slow is Beautiful" book?

Runee,
Thanks. It’s rewarding to read your comments; could say that they also make my day!

Dot,
Good taste. That Dome is absolutely stunning!

Chris,
Ola! Yours was a truly deserved award! Hope you’re back safe…
Hop the plane; first stop Lisbon, to re-visit…

Isadora,
Thanks. The story of the New Theatre is quite amazing…

Kalyan,
Thanks! This time the indoor and night shots were bearable… ;))

Leo,
Dick,
You see why I love that building…

April,
Thanks!
The Man on the Roof was surely a temporary exhibition… But the Ludwig Museum in Cologne is a permanent delight!

Joey,
"Arm chair tourist"! Great definition for us touring around the blogosphere…

Joy,
I’ll try to make it tomorrow!

Ash,
You also make my day any time I have the chance to see your unique, truly unique, posts! ;)

Cergie,
Merci!
D’après Wikipedia, Saint Étienne a été le premier martyr de la chrétienté et apparaît comme étant à l’origine du culte des saints. Il y en a des multiples églises dédiés à Saint Etienne. La basilique de Budapest, toutefois, doit son nom pas a Saint Étienne, le premier martyr, mais à Etienne, le premier roi hongrois. On y garde la plus importante relique Hongroise: la Sainte Dextre, ça veut dire la main momifié d’Étienne…

Olivier,
Merci! Superbe soirée, c’est vrai…

Backpakker,
Thanks!

My Unfinished Life said...

wonderful pics!!!!!....loved the prliament..it is so grand...gold hues inside it look so regal...loved the holy crown.....

indicaspecies said...

Wow! I'm sure you would want to grab the opportunity. Delhi Agra Jaipur is one of the most popular destinations, and I hope you enjoy it. All the best Gil. :)

Nihal said...

Great article about Buda! The Turks occupied Buda in 1541 and they were to remain there for 150 years, during which time the city deteriorated. In 1686 Buda Castle was finally recaptured, marking the end of Ottoman rule:( Should be fantastic to see Hungary's Ottoman past and invansion;)

Anonymous said...

Shooting Star,
You definitely have a good taste; it's a wonderful building!

Celine,
It's done!

Nihal,
The history of the Ottoman Empire is surely quite interesting...

Nóri said...

I just now recognized your posts about Budapest and I really enjoy to see my lovely city through your eyes. :)

Anonymous said...

Nori,
Thanks for your comment. Budapest is one of my favourites, since my first time in 1978. Pictures may be seen here.
Enjoy!

hpy said...

I see that you have travelled a lot, and I guess that you still do. Me too, I've heard of you especially by Lyliane whom I think you met in Lissabon during one of her frequent travels.
The above Opera house reminds me of the ancien Opera House in Helsinki, although it's a little higher, I think.
You travel for pleasure, but also for work, I gather. Isn't it good to combine something that can be two pleasures this way.
Thank you for your travel to my little world and for your kind words about it. And welcome on another voyage one of these days.

Anonymous said...

HPY,
Thanks. I actually met Lyliane in Lisbon; that bwas a nice evening we had here!
I used to travel a lot professionally and also on vacation; now I travel mostly on vacation, the problem is that I seldom have it... ;)
My pleasure to land at HPY!