Goodbye Budapest

After visiting St. Stephen's church a walk leads to the Budapest's Champs-Elysees, Andrasy avenue.
Spacious, big, beautiful street, where you can see many famous buildings of Budapest including the Opera House, but also infamous House of Terror of which I do not want to think, just to mention it and that is enough.

On the very end of the avenue there's magnificent Heroes' Square.



Heroes' Square

Budapest's Heroes' Square stands in honor and memory of the great leaders in Hungary's history. Heroes' Square is one of the most-visited attractions in Budapest. Opened in 1896 Heroes' Square is one of the world's oldest monuments and has been declared a World Heritage Site. Heroes' Square is in a way entrance to the beautiful, spacious city park. The square received its current name in 1932, three years after the completion of the Millennium Monument. Since its creation Heroes' Square has been the site of numerous special events. At the center of Heroes' Square stands the Millennium Monument, designed in 1894 by Albert Schickedanz and completed thirtyfive years later. The column is topped with a statue of the archangel Gabriel. Behind the column is a semicircular colonnade with statues of famous men who made their mark on Hungarian history. Around the base of the monument are a number of equestrian statues honoring the seven chieftains of the Hungarian tribes who, led by Arpad, conquered the area now known as Hungary. There're two museums on the square, Museum of fine art wit collection of Europian art and Palace of art mainly used to host temporary exhsibitions.


Budapest's eye

And at the end I have to mantion one interesting fact or novelty, all those who were in Budapest before July 2014, didn't experience driving on the wheel of Budapest or as I call it Budapest eye. It's not as monumental as London eye but it's nice an interesting and you should try.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vaci street

 

I almost forgot to mantion Vaci street one of the main pedestian and the most famous street of Budapest. It contains many restaurants and shops, it is Budapest's shopping zone. 

 

Goodbye Budapest!

City park

 

Budapest II

Here I am again, I have to finish my story of Budapest, well, I was a little sick, a little lazy, and I see it's been over a month since my last post ..... hm .....
Here you go, what I most like in Budapest are Chain Bridge, the Houses of Parliament, St. Stephen's Church and spacious great avenue Andrasy which leads to the magnificent Heroes' Square.

Chain Bridge

The Chain Bridge is one of Budapest's most famous landmarks. The magnificent suspension bridge was built in the nineteenth century across the river Danube to connect Pest with Buda.
Construction of the Chain Bridge started in 1842 under the supervision of the Scottish engineer Adam Clark. This Bridge is 375 meter long and 16 meter wide and was opened on November 20th 1849. At the time the suspension bridge was the longest in Europe and a with just two towers supporting the spans with giant iron chains. The chains gave the bridge its name. The beautiful bridge towers are decorated with the Hungarian coat of arms. Imposing stone lions, the work of sculptor Janos Marschalko, guard the bridge on either side. According to legend, the sculptor threw himself in the river when, during the bridge's opening ceremony, a spectator proclaimed that the lions had no tongues. In reality the lions do have tongues and the sculptor lived on for several more decades.

The bridge is also a symbol of independence and was the site of demonstrations during the turbulent time of the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1989, when people demonstrated on the bridge.
The Chain Bridge survived an attempt by the Austrians to destroy it in 1848, during the War of Independence. In 1945 however, near the end of World War II, the bridge was blown up by the Germans in an attempt to halt the progress of the Red Army. The bridge was one of the first structures to be rebuilt after the war, and it reopened in 1949. The current bridge is an exact copy of the original.

House of Parliament

Hungary's Parliament Building is situated at Pest's riverbank. Built at a time when Hungary was still under Austrian influence, the magnificent structure is a symbol of Hungary's independence. After the Austro-Hungarian Compromise in 1867, in which a dual monarchy was created, Hungary received more independence and the country wrote its own constitution. It also initiated the construction of a parliament building. A competition for this project was officially launched by Emperor Franz Joseph and prime minister Kalman Tisza. The first thing you'll notice is the amazing similarity to British Parliament, and than you find out a fact that its desinger, Imre Steindl, was inspired by the Houses of Parliament in London.

The Building construction of the Parliament House started in 1885. and it was completed seventeen years later 1902. At that time it was the largest parliamentary building in the world with a length of 268 meters and a width of 118 meters. The impressive dome, visible from afar, reaches a height of 96 meters. The building's facade is magnificent, decorated with eighty-eight statues of Hungarian rulers, pointed arch arcades and numerous gargoyles, spires and Gothic ornaments.

 

 

 

St Stephen's Basilica

Basilica of St Stephen is Budapest's largest church. It is dedicated to St. Stephen, the first Christian king of Hungary. His right hand, the country's most important relic, is enshrined in one of the church's chapels. Construction of the basilica began in 1851. The first architect who worked on the design was Jozsef Hild, when he passed away, architect Miklos Ybl took over, adding his own touch to the basilica. After Miklis Ybl's death, in 1891. the layout of the interior of the basilica and the completion of the building was ultimately overseen by a third architect Jozsef Krausz.

The church was finally consecrated in 1905 and on December 8th.

Its center is crowned with a majestic dome, which reaches a height of 96 meters, exactly the height of the Parliament Building. The height refers to 896, the year of the settlement of the Magyar tribes in the Carpathian Basin, which led to the foundation of today's Hungary.
You can travel by elevator or walk up 302 steps to the terrace around the dome from where you can enjoy a panoramic view of Budapest. The wiev is fantastic, try!

 

 

 

There's a little bit more wait next post.......

Budapest I

Buda Castle

entrance to Buda Castle

Budapest is a very beautiful city but on second thought I can say that I prefer Buda the upper part of the city. This whole part of the city is beautiful, and the view of Pest from Buda is perfect.
Buda is kinda intimate. Everything is available, no traffic crowds, there're old buildings, castle, beautiful Matthias church, Fisherman's Bastion, everything is so good adapted to this area, I really have no need to go anywhere else while I am in Budapest. I could recommend several places that I enjoyed in and which I consider to be the most valuable; St. Matthias Church, Fishermans bastion and, you won't believe, in my opinion very valuable funicular which connects upper and lower parts of the city.

Buda castle

There is the imposing Buda Castle as well overlooks the city from its elevated position atop Castle Hill, rising forty eight meters above the Danube. The castle has had a tumultuous history that reflects the ups and downs of Hungary's fortunes.
But almost all castles are the same in a way, I need a break from them :).

The Matthias Church

The Matthias Church

The Matthias Church

The Matthias Church is one of Budapest's most important churches. Many of Hungary's kings were crowned here and the church there're important tombs and ecclesiastical treasures. Officially known as The Church of Our Lady Budapest's Matthias Church, like many of the city's ecclesiastical structures, has a long and complicated history.
Church was built in 1255 century along Trinity Square, in the heart of the Castle District, and was Buda's first parish church. However, the original church structure changed many times as it was constantly being renovated and refashioned in the popular architectural style of each era. The church takes its more common name from King Matthias, who ruled from 1458-90, well-known as a patron of the arts and enlightenment and revered for reconstructing the Hungarian state after years upon years of feudal anarchy.

In 1541, when the Turks captured Buda, The Church of Our Lady became a mosque.
The church was ravaged during the liberation of Budapest from the Turks in 1686. The story goes that during the bombardment of Budapest by a European alliance, a wall of the church collapsed, revealing a sculpture of the Madonna to the praying Turks. The new occupants, the Jesuits, made attempts to restore the church in the popular Baroque style of the era. Most consider the attempts a failure. Architect Schulek is credited with largely restoring St. Matthias Church to its original splendor in the late nineteenth century. Schulek, who also built the nearby Fisherman's Bastion, adhered to the original thirteenth-century plans for the church and also uncovered a number of original Gothic elements lost for centuries. He added magnificent diamond patterned roof tiles and gargoyles, which visitors can still admire today.
The reconstruction was completed in 1896.

Fisherman's Bastion

Fisherman's Bastion

Fisherman's Bastion

Fisherman's Bastion was built in 1905, mainly for decorative purposes. The bastion is located right behind the Matthias Church in the Castle District. It is one of the city's biggest tourist draws and functions as some sort of ornate viewing platform. The Fisherman's Bastion was built at the site of an old rampart that, during the Middle Ages, was defended by the guild of fishermen, who lived nearby in Vízívaros, at the foot of the hill. An old fish market also sat at this location during medieval times. The Bastion was designed by architect Frigyes Schulek and built between 1899 and 1905. The bastion is made up of seven towers - each one symbolizing one of the seven Magyar tribes that in 896 settled in the area now known as Hungary.
View from Fisherman's Bastion is one of the best in the city, a splendid view of the Danube river and over.

Castle Hill Funicular

entrance to funicular from Pest

funicular

Siklo is a funicular with wooden carriages with a history that goes back to the nineteenth century.
Construction started in 1868 and officially opened in early March, 1870. At that time it was  the second funicular in Europe. Steam engines powered the wooden carriages more than fifty meters up the hill. In World War II, a bombardment destroyed the stations and carriages. For a long time it looked like that was the end of Budapest's funicular. Fortunately the Sikló was restored in the 1980. and  reopened in June 1986.

view from funicular

The original carriages have been replaced by beautiful replicas and modern glass stations were built at the foot and top of the funicular, now powered by an electric winch. There are two different tracks leading up the hill and back.
Wonderful!

entrance to funicular from Buda

To be continued.....

Budapest

I'm kind of confused about feelings to Budapest, I've almost forgot that I was there before I was in London and Prague, and it's only four months ago. Budapest  certainly doesn't deserve that.
The fourth time in Budapest and I still don't have right attitude to this city. It's beautiful, that's not questionable, I am thrilled with it's bridges, squares, particularly with the older part of the city Buda, but still there's a kind of a mess in my head. OMG  I'm stuck with Budapest. Well, let's start with the facts, maybe that will open my mind.

Budapest  is the capital and the largest city of Hungary, as one of the largest cities in the European Union. It is the Hungarian political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation center. Budapest has 1.74 million inhabitants.
Budapest became a single city with its unification of Buda or Obuda on the west bank of the river Danube with Pest on the east bank of Danube on 17 November 1873. The history of Budapest began with Aquincum, originally a Celtic settlement that became the Roman capital of Pannonia Inferior. Hungarians arrived in the territory in the 9th century.
Their first settlement was pillaged by the Mongols in 1241–42. The re-established town became one of the centers of Renaissance humanist culture by the 15th century. Following the Battle of Mohacs and nearly 150 years of Ottoman rule, the region entered a new age of prosperity in the 18th and 19th centuries, and Budapest became a global city after its unification in 1873. It also became the second capital of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, a great power that dissolved in 1918, following World War I.

This was in short about the history of Budapest, and I think that's enough. I took it all from Wikipedia. Long live Wikipedia!








To be continued.....

My Hungarian Goulash

Recently I was in Hungary and my wish was to have a good, original hot Hungarian goulash.
However, as everywhere all became money and commerce so famous Hungarian goulash is no longer what it was, or what I thought it was.
That's why I decided to buy a spicy red paprika, and I mean very spicy, and make the atmosphere of a real Hungarian cuisine at my home.
Actually I've never knew a true recipe for goulash; I was looking for it on the Internet, in cookbooks that I got home .... everywhere was different written. So I decided to take from all a little bit and make a "my" goulash mix.

I used:
30 dkg of beef
1 large onion
3 dcl mashed tomatoes
3 dcl red wine
vegetable cube
2 tablespoons sweet paprika
hot paprika (carefully-according to your taste)
parsley, garlic, salt, pepper

Meat and onion fry in oil together, then add all the ingredients as it is written: mashed tomatoes, wine, vegetable cube sweet paprika, hot paprika, salt, pepper, garlic.
Altogether cook over low heat, the longer the better,  at least one hour.
Serve the other day. Yummy, delicious. You can serve it with boiled potatoes, which is my favorite choice, but I say again, it may be something else according to your wishes.
Imagine me eating spicy goulash, u, a, is there a bit of  bread, quick, give me... u, a, spicy....spicy!

Bon appetite!

Szamoz Gourmet Palace

Entrance

A few pictures are not enough to conjure up experience of sweet delicacies that are offered at this restaurant. We accidentally discovered it and returned back for more each day, twice a day. Since we practically lived off sweets, this time we didn't try  the famous Hungarian goulash; "sweet sin" OMG who needs goulash.
The service and staff are excellent. Prices are very reasonable.
It was a hot summer weather even though it was October and we were sitting outside, but when I went to the rest room I saw the interior of the cafe, beautiful, clean, neat... really  gentlemanly.

                   I recommend!