Because the room was so hot, we slept with the window open which concerned Suzanne about what would get in
and indeed a bird got it. We then complained a second time about our air conditioning (or lack of) and were transferred to another room which is delightfully cool.
Having moved our possessions, we prepared for the walk uphill by recording a Swiss license plate
and then going up one hill after another
and another
and more steps (I figure we went up about 500 steps today)
until we got a good view of the city below
and saw the story
of this statue
and the man on horseback who though French helped defeat the Ottomans
and this allowed me to capture a large wall mural
and hear about its painter
as we saw the eagle who founded the country by leading the Magyar people out of central Asia and having them settle here
which quite impressed Unesco
but the view below impressed everyone
as did the castle grounds
not to mention the fountain
and the flowers
as we caught the equestrian statue
and a view below
that was enhanced by Suzanne's presence.
There was another statue
and then this statue of the king hunting with his scribe at the left and his lover at the right. When she discovered who he was, she realized she could never have him and killed herself -- a common theme in Hungarian tales.
Knowing this, we went into the art museum where there were many such tales,
but we focused on church icons being unsure if it was allowed to photograph in the museum at all
and then we emerged through courtyards
and past a lion
and about the national museum
and then found a way down by taking a pay elevator (a new concept for me) which was unfortunate because it took us down 5 stories and then we had to walk back up the 5 stories (and more) to get to where we wanted to be
but fortunately once there we were able to take the obligatory phone booth picture
and then we saw Matthias Church
and its remarkable roof in the distance
and so we had our direction as we walked towards the church
and the statue before it
and the amazing structures
and St. Istvan who as king brought the country to Catholicism.
After another picture of the roof
we went inside and recorded the details of the church
and its floor
and the altar
sometimes in blur
sometimes not
and then the pillars
and statues
which seemed to amuse Suzanne
as I made my way around the various parts of the church
before we made our way outside and noted the steps we would have to descend
and the views we'd have while doing so.
To fortify ourselves, we went to a cafe down the street and along with Suzanne's lemonade
we had the pastry that was the specialty of the house
and the one that is the traditional Hungarian pastry
and admired the napkin
before we saw the status
that has the shiny underbelly (or so the guidebooks gently say) because students rub there (or one particular part) for good luck on their exams.
After a last picture of the church roof
we could delay no more except to take this self portrait
and then work our way down
and down
catching another license plate on the way
until we made it to the Metro station
and with some effort (the machine wouldn't take bills and I hadn't enough change) got our tickets
and emerged at the Parliament
where we crossed the trolley tracks
and made our way to the status of Kossuth, a Hungarian pseudo hero (they'd have more heroes if they didn't keep losing wars) and his troups (to the left) and the family of a soldier (to the right) who hope he will take care of their son.
and then this memorial to 1956.
After a complicated negotiation, we got tickets for the tour (in English) in 1.5 hours and so headed off to take this picture of the runner up design for the Parliament which became the supreme court building for a while
and looked back at parliament
before recording the sad tale in this grave to the heroes who were killed in 1956 as Russian troups shot to kill from the roof of parliament
and the tale of their bravery
with a heroic figure in the background
and the flag not cooperating -- had it unfurled you could see the hole where the Russian symbol had been added to the Hungarian flag (but stay tuned).
Suzanne rested and I walked on the this poetry by Jozsef Attila
who wrote poetry about sitting by the Danube and then killed himself at age 32 and so is immortalized by this statue of himself sitting by the Danube.
Further down, I saw the Holocaust exhibit of the shoes of some of those killed in the ghetto
and then returned via this statue
before I made my way to this statue of Imre Nagy who tried to broker a deal in 1956 to keep everyone happy and so stood in the middle of the bridge; unfortunately it didn't work.
Next I found this obelisk that records the Russian victory over the Nazis but the Russians are so hater here that it has to be protected by a fence
and then wonder of wonders who should appear but Ronald Reagan
and so I posed with him
as did these folks
who were kind enough to take my picture with the gipper.
This inspired me to go back and find Suzanne on her shady park bench and try again to capture the flame which didn't work
and then we sat and waited and so I took pictures of buildings
and flowers
and tickets
until my battery died
and then got lucky enough to catch the flag with the hole in it
and the flame
before we had to queue up for our tour and were grateful that we had our tickets.
We went into the building
and climbed the amazing staircase (because 1896 was a key year for the country, there are 96 steps to the chambers and the height of the dome is 96 meters).
Once there I recorded walls
and ceilings
and the model of the complex
and stairs
ceilings
and structures
until I learned that this model had been made by a husband and wife using toothpicks and had taken 2 years to construct. This was inspiring.
We saw the architect
as we made our way up to a large room with impressive features
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and then made our way to the key jewels which had been stored at Fort Know for 30+ years during WW2 and communist times
and admired the stillness of the guards
as I photographed away at jewels
and guards
and the ceiling itself
and the many statues of common people designed to let legislators remember why they are there
even as the tour guide
explained how good the rug was by giving its knot count
but the common people were still there reminding us
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until we entered the chamber and saw where the upper house met (it no longer exists and the space is now used for conferences)
and the relevant artwork
and the coats of arms of the various pieces that make up Hungary
and the amusing cigar holders. I learned a new phrase ``that talk was worth a Havana'' for a talk so good that you don't regret that you cigar burnt down while you were listening.
We were led out
and saw various structures in the parking lot
before resuming our walk and heading to St. Istvan church
and its square
and then a block further, I met this nice man who represented a policeman from Austria-Hungary times
and we headed to Dio for dinner
where I started with schnapps
and Suzanne had beer
and then bread was served
along with our salads -- mine with goat cheese
and Suzanne's with bass
and then more bread
more schnapps and some wine
as my risotto
and Suzanne's paprikash arrived.
After dinner, Suzanne posed with my friend
we recorded the distance to the Danube (lots of walking today and much of it vertical up or down)
and walked past this building where the facade showed some signs of cleaning and some signs of soot, a difference we've come to understand
and headed back to the Central pastry shop where things looked good
and the cake tasted good until it start to rain and lightning and we had to find our way home. Fortunately the wait staff was very helpful and found us a cab.
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and indeed a bird got it. We then complained a second time about our air conditioning (or lack of) and were transferred to another room which is delightfully cool.
Having moved our possessions, we prepared for the walk uphill by recording a Swiss license plate
and then going up one hill after another
and another
and more steps (I figure we went up about 500 steps today)
until we got a good view of the city below
and saw the story
of this statue
and the man on horseback who though French helped defeat the Ottomans
and this allowed me to capture a large wall mural
and hear about its painter
as we saw the eagle who founded the country by leading the Magyar people out of central Asia and having them settle here
which quite impressed Unesco
but the view below impressed everyone
as did the castle grounds
not to mention the fountain
and the flowers
as we caught the equestrian statue
and a view below
that was enhanced by Suzanne's presence.
There was another statue
and then this statue of the king hunting with his scribe at the left and his lover at the right. When she discovered who he was, she realized she could never have him and killed herself -- a common theme in Hungarian tales.
Knowing this, we went into the art museum where there were many such tales,
but we focused on church icons being unsure if it was allowed to photograph in the museum at all
and then we emerged through courtyards
and past a lion
and about the national museum
and then found a way down by taking a pay elevator (a new concept for me) which was unfortunate because it took us down 5 stories and then we had to walk back up the 5 stories (and more) to get to where we wanted to be
but fortunately once there we were able to take the obligatory phone booth picture
and then we saw Matthias Church
and its remarkable roof in the distance
and so we had our direction as we walked towards the church
and the statue before it
and the amazing structures
and St. Istvan who as king brought the country to Catholicism.
After another picture of the roof
we went inside and recorded the details of the church
and its floor
and the altar
sometimes in blur
sometimes not
and then the pillars
and statues
which seemed to amuse Suzanne
as I made my way around the various parts of the church
