20-07-2011
Drizzling in the morning so we did a scenic tram ride along the river. So many interesting things to see, yay.
Next was the cue for the Parliament building , it is one of the most magnificent Parliament buildings I have seen. Guided tour inside, there was a miniature of the building made by matchsticks ( would never have guessed), a gift from a Hungarian family ,a wall of their house had to be broken for this is to be brought out intact. The Royal jewels were on display, as well as the biggest carpet Europe. What really impressed me was the artificial marble, to try and use material only from Hungary they came up with this. Other than being warmer to touch than marble there seemed to be no other obvious difference, to make it a variety of things were used including horse hair!
Walked along Imre Nagy's statue on a bridge, to Ronald Reagan's statue at the Freedom square. Reached St. Stephen's cathedral, the dome is visible throughout the city. His right hand is on display and is paraded around the city once a year.
The afternoon was spent at Gellert hill. The citadel provides great views of the city, built initially as a fortress to protect the Austrian rule over Hungary. It now contains a hotel as well as a bunker with wax figures depicting the uses of the rooms. Pictures in there tell a sad story of World War II and the years following it. The Statue of Liberty on the hill is a celebration of the end of the war.
Climbed down the hill to to the Rock temple, sadly closed this week for renovations. Passed some thermal baths,there are quite a few around the city. Strolled across the Danube over one of the many bridges, back into Pest. There are so many beautiful buildings around, makes it an absolute pleasure strolling around the city. Last bit of the day was spent around the bustling Vasi Utca.
A slight misunderstanding about where we meeting for dinner had us waiting around but we all found each other,eventually.
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