St. Stephen’s Basilica

One of the major sites in Budapest, St. Stephen’s Basilica, is a massive, imposing, and quite beautiful church. Planned in the 19th century as a neo-classical building, by the time it was completed, its style had changed to more of a Renaissance style building. Supposedly, the mummified right hand of St. Stephen’, Hungary’s first king, is on display in one of the chapels but worship services on Sunday prevented me from seeing it. Perhaps, just as well…did I really need to see that?





Interior of St. Stephen's Basilica, Budapest.





Worship service is underway.



Views of Budapest from the bell tower of St. Stephen's Basilica.

Well, it was a good run

Germany is out of World Cup...their journey to the finals was stopped last night with a 2-0 loss to Italy. Should be a somber day throughout Germany.

Hungary’s Parliament

Orszaghaz, or Hungary’s Parliament, sits along the Danube; its architecture is neo-Gothic. This is the second time I have seen the exterior, and I can say that it has undergone quite a cleaning. Sadly, the first time the Budman and I were in Budapest, we were unable to tour the interior as parliament was in session.





Its interiors are quite ornate, with gilded gold leaf everywhere (they told me how much, but I can’t remember. Bottom line: it’s a lot), gargantuan cathedral ceilings, frescoed walls, intricate stained glass windows, and majestic stairways (12 miles of them in the building.







Highlight of the tour was seeing the nation’s Holy Crown made for Hungary’s first king, St. Stephen, in the year 1000. Today, the jewelled crown rests on a velvet pillow, along with the orb, sceptre, and sword. No photos were allowed.

Here is the most fabulous staircase of them all.





Parliament chamber, where the business of the nation is conducted. Hungary has only one house in its Parliament.

Happy 4th of July

There will be no July 4th fireworks, parades, or cookouts today for us, as it's "business as usual" for the Budman and I. There was an opportunity to attend the US consulate in Dusseldorf's "Garden Party" over the weekend, but that just did not really interest me. We passed....

So, we are with you all in spirit today. Happy B-day, America!

Heroes’ Square

At the end of Budapest’s grandest boulevard, Andrassy ut, are two of its nicest museums in Budapest (or so I've been told as I did not have time to visit them) and Heroes' Square. In the center of this square stands the 120-foot bronze Millennium Monument, begun in 1896 to commemorate the 1000th anniversary of the Magyar Conquest. Statues of the founders of the Magyar nation occupy the base of the monument, while Hungary’s greatest rulers and princes stand between the columns on either side.



SB and Jonathan in Heroes’ Square.







Hungary’s Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.



Statues and reliefs along the arched walls of the square.

A girl has to go shopping

No reasonable tour of any city can be complete without a few shopping pit stops. At least that is my view on the matter. So, bright and early Saturday morning brought us to the central market of Budapest, a three-story building known as Vasarcsarnok.

OK, so the ground floor was really only for “atmosphere”. I’m was not going to be buying fruit or vegetables, bread, flowers, salami, or paprika. Yet, the upper floors afforded the shopper opportunities for purchasing some rather nice folk embroideries. Yes, another tablecloth and a few Christmas ornaments were purchased (I didn’t really need them, but they were just so pretty I couldn’t help myself), as well as some birthday and Christmas gifts....

Vasarcsarnok - Central Market Hall, Budapest.



Hungarian linens in Vasarcsarnok - Central Market Hall, Budapest.





Flowers in the Vasarcsarnok - Central Market Hall, Budapest.



Later in the afternoon, I ventured off for some 1:1 shopping time along the Vaci Utca, Budapest’s pedestrian-only promenade. I had hoped to pick up some more of the lovely crystal similar to what I had bought in '97. Yet, in every store I inquired, the cost to ship the stems (12 or so) was twice the cost of the crystal itself. What was even more doubly hard to believe is that the cost to ship to an EU country, like Germany, was more expensive than shipping the items to the US. I was not prepared to haul 12+ stems of crystal through Hungarian and German airports (guess I didn't want it badly enough, huh?). Needless to say, I may just have to revisit Budapest or even Prague to pick those up in the future, but at least I’ll be prepared to be my own packmule at that time.

Fishermen's Bastion

Most of the main sites on the Buda side of the Danube fall in the area known as "Castle Hill". Matthias Church is here, and adjoins Fishermen's Bastion. From this vantage point, a wonderful view of the Danube River and the Hungarian Parliament building are afforded.

Fishermen's Bastion is essentially a large "porch" that overlooks the Pest side as well as the river below. It was built at the turn of the 20th century as a lookout tower to protect the once thriving fishing settlement in the area.











Statue and reliefs in the wall of Fisherman's Bastion, Budapest.





View of Hungarian Parliament and the Danube River from Fisherman's Bastion by evening.



View of the Hungarian Parliament and the Danube River from Fisherman's Bastion on a sunny morning.



Statue in the square at Fishermen’s Bastion.

Matyas Templom

My first stop in Budapest was to Matyas Templom, or Matthias Church, for a choral concert. A truly reverent setting for some wonderful choral anthems.

For some reason, I could not remember having seen this church on my first visit but I feel certain I must have seen it. Somehow, I simply did not remember the ornate neo-Gothic architecture, the colored tile roof, or the wonderful handpainted interior. FAB-U-LOUS!









This church dates back to the 13th century, having been built as a mosque. Matthias church was sadly destroyed on a number of occasions with the last major reconstruction being in the 19th century, giving us the architecture we see today. The church was also bombed quite heavily during WWII. Only the south porch survives from the original structure.





Hapsburg emperors were even crowned kings of Hungary here. Interior of Matthias Church.