Keyswench After BLUE MAX ADVENTURES: 2013-7-13 - Budapest

First, a note. Several Blogs ago, I mentioned my confusion & said I didn't know the difference between a Castle & a Palace. Silly me to think no one was reading...however, my ever-astute friends, Pete & June Suller, did read the blog & decided to help me out. They sent me the following information: Thanks again Pete & June.
"A castle is a fortified building or series of buildings designed to withstand enemy attacks and ...

Castles first appeared in history between the 9th and 10th century in the Middle East and Europe. They were built as a symbol of power among the surrounding land, as well as a place where nobility can be protected from threatening attacks. Palaces are more prominent across the world and date back further than castles to the times of the Greeks and Romans. Created to house royalty and dignitaries, palaces were designed for elaborate and extravagant living, not to withstand any form of warfare."

7/13/13 Sunny & hot - low 80's. We seemed to be docked in the heart of the busy city. These are some of the sights taken from the Aegir docked next to the Chain Bridge.

Chain bridge

"The Chain Bridge is a suspension bridge that spans the River Danube between Buda and Pest, the west and east side of Budapest, the capital of Hungary... It opened in 1849, thus became the first bridge in the Hungarian capital. At the time, its center span of 202 m was one of the largest in the world. The pairs of lions at each of the abutments were added in 1852. It is popular culture in Hungary to point out that the lions in fact have no tongues."

Beautiful architecture - Buda side

Hungarian National Gallery - Buda side

"The Hungarian National Gallery is the largest public collection documenting and presenting the rise and development of the fine arts in Hungary. It has operated as an independent institution since 1957. The Hungarian National Gallery moved to its present location, the former Royal Palace of Buda, in 1975."

I used my zoom lens to get the Matthias Church on Castle Hill on the Buda side (the large building to the right is a Hilton Hotel)

We were up early (for us, that is) as we were joining a city tour of Budapest at 9am. The city was packed with people from all over the world - hundreds of tour buses parked any where they could get a spot along the small streets. We visited Hero's square.

"Hősök tere (meaning "Heroes' Square" in Hungarian) is one of the major squares of Budapest, Hungary, rich with historic and political connotations. Its iconic statue complex, the Millennium Memorial, was completed in 1900, the same year the square was named "Heroes' Square". It lies at the end of Andrássy Avenue (with which it comprises part of an extensive World Heritage site), next to City Park."

See the tall column above? below is a close up of the top & explanation:

"The top of the column depicts Archangel Gabriel, who holds the Hungarian Holy Crown and the apostolic double cross in his hands"

The statues of the basement of the column depict the 7 Hungarian chieftains led by prince Árpád

Man with a Snake - the symbol of War

St. Stephen

The bus took us to the Buda side to visit Castle Hill...finding most of the city's old streets & medieval buildings, including the neo-Gothic Matthias Church with its colorful tiled roof & interior of lovely murals.

Matthias Church - you can see the Hilton Hotel to the left

This raven with a gold ring is located at the top of a steeple (see above picture)

A little note about the tiles-they are callsed "Zsoinay tiles. In 1853, the Zsolnay Porcelain Manufactory was established in Pecs, Hungary by Miklos Zsolnay. The company's tiles, stoneware & porcelain were so innovative they were featured at World's Fairs in Vienna (1873) & Paris (1878). The company also introduced an extrordinarily durable ceramic known as pyroganite, highly suitable for roof tiles in 1886...these are the tiles seen on the Matthias Church..."

We had free time to wander around this magnificant area. Hungarian currency is still a forint (Ft); example, 1 forint equals 0.0045 USD or 0.0034 euros. Exchanging money was mind-boggling & then you see signs like this: YIKES!!!

I believe this is equal to $50 USD - YIKES!!

We needed a break from the heat so we went to the Hilton bar - after all, it was 5 o'clock somewhere. Beautiful hotel with a great view.

Outside the Hilton

Kewl mailbox

Wayne looks really excited doesn't he ??

The bus continued the tour around the city...taking pictures from a moving vehicle was quite a feat.

"For six weeks only, one of the world's largest mobile Ferris wheels comes to Budapest. After a week of assembly work, the giant wheel located in Erzsébet tér will be open to the public ... It promises to offer fantastic views over Budapest day and night. Standing 65 meters (197 ft) tall, the wheel with its 42 cars is Europe's largest mobile Ferris wheel. It has a capacity of 332 people and at night it will light up the evening sky with over 10,000 colored lights."