We travelled from Prague to Budapest via Bratislava, in Slovakia. Since we spent a day docked in Bratislava on our Uniworld river cruise, we will defer those descriptions and pictures until after our tours of Budapest and Vienna.
We also visited Budapest on both tours and I have chosen to combine all of the pictures and descriptions of Budapest and to present them in this section.
We found Budapest (the name given the combined cities of Buda and Pest) to be a truly wonderful and beautiful city and we thoroughly enjoyed the three days we spent in and around the city.
The flag of Hungary
Hungary's EU license plate and an older, pre-EU, plate
Beautiful Hungarian Parliament building
Hungarian Parliament building
Hungarian Parliament building
Statue of Ronald Reagan in Freedom Square - in honor of his role in ending communism
Ethnography Museum - which we toured on one of our free days
Ethnography Museum - facade detail
Castle Hill is a limestone plateau sitting high above the Danube. It contains Budapest's most important medieval monuments and museums and is a Unesco World Heritage Site. From the area called the Fisherman's Bastion you get grand views of the river and the city.
More sgraffito
Medieval window frame
Matthias Church whose spire dominates Castle Hill
Matthias Church - wonderful roof tile
Matthias Church - nice raven
Matthias Church - interior (most of it was being renovated)
Statue of St. Stephen I, the first king of Hungary
Monastery (13th c.) and Jesuit college (16th c.) ruins in the courtyard of the Hilton Hotel
Fisherman's Bastion
Fisherman's Bastion
View of Parliament from Fisherman's Bastion
View of St. Stephen's Basilica from Fisherman's Bastion
St. Anne's Church from Fishermans' Bastion
Reformed Church - seen from the Danube
Reformed Church seen from Fisherman's Bastion - note the beautiful tile roof
The Chain Bridge from Fisherman's Bastion
City of Pest from Fisherman's Bastion
Roman ruins on Castle Hill
Roman ruins on Castle Hill
Old Roman aqueduct on Castle Hill
Museum of Music History - currently devoted to the life and compositions of Franz Liszt
Down the subway escalator - the subway was very easy to use and provided an excellent way to get around the city
Another difficult language
Hungarian State Opera House
Buda Castle - now a museum - on Castle Hill
Heroes' Square
Millennium Monument
We twice went to Heroes' Square and both times it poured rain.
Heroes' Square
Millennium Monument
Palace of Art - at Heroes' Square
Palace of Art - facade
Palace of Art - side wall detail
Dohany Street Synagogue
Corner facade of building containing our hotel
Communist era housing
"The Whale" - CET building intended as a cultural center - as yet unfinished
Western Railway Station - built by the Eiffel Company
Western Railway Station - houses a McDonald's
McDonald's interior
Western Railway Station
