Part 2 started off with Chris and I sending Giuseppe off at Budapest-Keleti train station... After our tearful farewell to our Italian brother, we headed off for our lunch and then embarked on the Budapest Free Walking Tour's Communism Walk. It was an incredibly blazing hot day and the sun was theoretically burning us up. For some reason though, I didn't feel the burning effect of the sun that much except for the fact that I got visibly roasted after that.
The Communism Walk was a real eye-opener. Wish I could tell the full story here, but it's a little too long a story that needs to be told by mouth instead. Went on our own stroll around the Parliament Building before going across the Danube to snap a shot of the photo seen here in the album cover. Was just in time to get this shot because this golden glow didn't last long!
Didn't have too much time on Day 3 in Budapest except to go to the Buda Castle to see it up close. Then it was back to Székesfehérvár before heading home to Graz...
After sending Giuseppe off, we decided to grab a photo with the eclectic-styled Budapest-Keleti railway station. Quite impressed by the station's architecture to be honest.
St Stephen's Basilica: one of the few stops along the Communism Walk. The Communist Regime meant that many churches were destroyed but they kept this. Well of course there was a hidden purpose behind that and that was to allow for them to keep track of the Hungarians... Doesn't the NSA do the same thing?
Found at Freedom Square, this is the Soviet Red Army Memorial. If the majority of Hungarians had their way, they would have taken it down or destroyed it, for that matter.
Here's some trivia: there's a statue of Ronald Reagen that stands behind this memorial while the building on the right in this photo is actually the US Embassy. A heck load of hidden meanings behind all this as you can probably tell.
The end of the Communism Walk gave us access to some unique leftovers from the Communist Regime. Still glittering and shiny, it seems.
Now, onto the biggest highlight of the day: The Hungarian Parliament Building. According to Chris, it looks way better than it did compared to 5 years ago. Much cleaner anyway. I guess they've done a whole lot to improve the city as a whole, at least for the sake of tourism.
Now that it's just down to the 2 of us, our mandatory duo shot! As you can see, I seemed to have been on the receiving end of some serious roasting by the blazing hot sun...
Then, there's a mandatory Mattachione shot! 4 Lions roaring away at the Lajos Kossuth Square in front of the main entrance! 2 Hungarian ones, 1 Dutch and 1 Singaporean. Exclusively for our Italian brother, Giuseppe! ;)
The Hungarian Museum of Ethnography soaking up the warmth of the sunset!
From the other side of the building this time... The Hungarian Parliament Building is supposedly one of the oldest legislative buildings in all of Europe. If you're looking for Budapest's icon online, you'd probably get this as one of your first few hits.
Along the road that runs parallel to both the Parliament and the Danube (Duna in Hungarian)
Took me quite a while to realize that the white spot there was actually the moon.
The Parliament Building remains the largest building in all of Hungary and is the seat of the National Assembly of Hungary.
So after dinner at a rather posh place, which was pretty good, we decided it was time to head back on the Metro. And when there's no one around, you take silly a picture of yourself on the Hungarian Metro :P
Day 3 of Budapest and it's time to head home to Graz. But first, we need to take a morning cup of coffee along the Danube and enjoy the view of the Parliament Building :)
Way too crowded with people at this time, so this one photo with the Buda Castle in the day would do it for me.
Here's the same Chain Bridge from Day 1, except it's in the day. What's with the Hungarians and lions? Maybe it's not them, but my affinity with lions is quite entertaining :D
Here we are, back at Székesfehérvár, to collect our car... Rhymes doesn't it?
En Route back to Graz and going past Balaton again. Having seen this at least 4 times during our Balaton tour, Chris and I agreed that we had to save this for Giuseppe.
Incredibly long drive back that was full of frustration. But we had so much fun going "La La La... Leggo" all the way. Just wished that the good times would never end but it had to eventually.
What better way for it to as well. The Trio's Hung(a)ry Road Trip is just the first. Next time round, we're either going for a Road Trip in Holland, Italy or Singapore. Why not all? :D
Cheers to my Italian and Dutch brothers! God bless you both!
No comments:
Post a Comment