Buda Photos

Budapest is a revelation -- such a beautiful city!  For those who don't know, Buda and Pest were two separate cities on the banks of the Danube.  The two cities united in 1873, and the rest is history. Here's some of too many photos of our first afternoon.  

The sun goes down early -- the first day was a mixture of sun and sun hiding behind the clouds.  There were wisps of fog as well.  

Royal coat of arms.  Elements date back to the

 Middle Ages, but this was reinstated in 1990.

I would not have been allowed to take

this photo during the Cold War.

Oh, by the way, we've adopted a

rescue dog.  We get her when

we get back to the States.

Buda castle.

That's the famous Hungarian Parliament

building off in the distance.  In case you 

don't know, that's a snowman in

foreground!

Lot of lion sculptures in Europe.

Matthias Church near the Castle.

A UNESCO World Heritage sight

it was unfortunately closed.

Apparently the raven with the ring symbolizes a story of when King Matthias took off his ring and a raven grabbed it and flew off with it. King Matthias then chased down the raven and slew it in order to get his ring back.  I guess he liked the the ring.

Cool lion

This beautiful fountain is not

even considered one of the top

ten in Budapest!

Shot through the heart, and you're

to blame, you give love a bad name.

Sorry, I will never tire

of beautiful roof tiles.

Never.

A postbox.  

Speaking of cool roof tiles, this is

the top of the national archives.

The church of St. Mary Magdalene.

A T-34 tank from the 1960s.

Fisherman's Bastion.  Also high on 

the hill above Buda, this UNESCO

sight was finished in 1902.  

Looking across the Danube at the ethereal

Parliament on the Pest side.

Honestly, this is one of my favorite

pictures from the first day.  Dishonestly?

It's still one of my favorite pictures.

You've no doubt recognized this

as another set of cool roof tiles.

Stunningly beautiful, with an amazing vibe.

Okay, one more picture of Parliament.