Style

McDonalds is known throughout the world for its big signs and very cheap-looking décor, so I always find it fascinating when it's not the case. This McD near the Western Train Station in Budapest was very stylish on the outside as it was located in this old building. Tomorrow I'll show you what the inside looked like.

A King or a Kaiser?

The Western Railway Station (Nyugati pályaudvan) in Budapest features not only an old-style set of platforms but also an underground shopping mall, a metro station and a nearby gigantic shopping mall. Sometimes the signs here do clash as these two different does; it's not the Kaiser's (the Emperor's) Burger King.

Huh?!?

When visiting another country you regularly come across something that you don't quite understand. This mass of candlelights was one of these moments. Situated just outside one of the main train stations in Budapest, the Western Station (Nyugati palyaudvar), there had obviously been some kind of celebration or commemoration the night before. With no signs to explain it we could only guess.

Falling Down

One of the many statues in Budapest, and a very unorthodox one as well. The Hungarians obviously like these sometimes strange statues as they are put up everywhere you look. This one is on the stairs leading down from the Fisherman's Bastion and depicts a man falling down. It's a monument to honour Peter Mansfeld, a Hungarian freedom fighter of the 1956 uprising who was executed by the authorities in 1959 at the age of only 18.

A View to Parliament

As told before the view from Castle Hill in Budapest is a fine one. Here it's possibly to see the parliament in all its glory.

The Mathias Church (Mátyás templom) is the most prominent church on Budapest Castle Hill. Its Rococo spire stands tall above the hill while the church itself is a mix of Romanesque and Gothic styles. The first church was built in 1015, re-built in the 14th century and heavily restored in the 19th century.

Getting Up That Hill

Castle Hill in Budapest is no mean feat to climb if you're on foot. To get there more easily you can take one of the buses or for a different experience the Castle Hill Funicular. The Funicular is a funicular railway linking the Chain Bridge to Buda Castle. It was built in 1870 as the second such transport system in Europe.

More Buda Castle

At Buda Castle in Budapest most of the statues and niches are lit at night, making this building stand out in grandness. The statue in the western forecourt is the Hortobágy horse wrangler taming a wild horse. It was originally in front of the riding school, but was moved here in 1983.

Light it Up, Please

In Budapest they seem to honour the idea that a building should not only look nice in full daylight but also at night, so most of the impressive buildings are lit at night. The Royal Palace or Buda Castle here on Castle Hill is one of those buildings that isn in the spotlight. The statue in front is of Prince Eugene of Savoy and was put here in 1900 as a temporary solution, until a statue of King Franz Joseph was completed. That never happened so Prince Eugene stayed. Prince Eugene (1663 - 1736) was known as one of the greatest military commanders in modern European history, having served three emperors and fighting Ottoman, French, Spanish, Polish and Italian armies.

The Fisherman's Bastion

The Fisherman's Bastion on Castle Hill in Budapest is a terrace in neo-Gothic and neo-Romanesque style built in 1895 - 1902. Though it looks impressive and is one of the best known landmarks of Budapest, it's more looks than function. The name comes from the fishermen that were charged with defending this stretch of wall in the Middle Ages. The bastion is most impressive at night where you can enjoy the city lights of Budapest.

A King

Just by the Fisherman's Bastion on Castle Hill in Budapest is this statue of King Stephen the I. He was the first king of Hungary (1000 - 1038) and is considered both to be the founder of the Kingdom of Hungary and the one that established Christianity in the region. He also greatly expanded the Hungarian control of the Carpathian Basin.

A View Through a Gate

The other prominent hill in Budapest is the Castle Hill on the Buda side. This is where the old city is with the Royal Palace, the old houses and the small streets, all much sought by the tourists. And the hill offers some very fine views over the Danube and Pest.

A Soviet Monument

The monument on Gellert Hill in Budapest is a very typical Soviet era monument. The style of the statues can be seen on all the monuments they raised in the Eastern Europe during their reign there. And this one is no exception.

Gellert Hill - Gellért-hegy

On top of Gellert Hill (Gellért-hegy) in Budapest is a the Liberty Statue (Szabadság Szobor in Hungarian), a monument erected by the Red Army to commemorate the end of WWII. Gellert Hill is named after Bishop Gellert who was killed here by pagans in 1046. They stuffed him in a barrel and rolled him down the hill.

A Castle of Many Styles

Inside the City Park in Budapest is a castle or rather a couple of castles glued together. Vajdahunyad Castle, or Vajdahunyad-vár is a part copy of a castle in Transylvania, Romania, but it also have four different architectural styles: Romanic, Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque. It was built in cardboard and wood for an exhibition in 1896 but was so popular that it was later rebuilt in brick and stone. The photo show one of the statues inside of the politician Károlyi Sándor.