Saturday, September 10, 2011

A Walk Through the Castle District of Budapest

Yeah, yeah, I've been gone a long time. Sorry. Although Budapest is a lovely city, it's still an adjustment to get settled down in the new apartment, new job, new bosses and colleagues. I haven't been posting and I haven't yet started writing again. I owe a good buddy a crit of his large book, and I'm only three chapters in so far. I'd like to get that done by December, if possible.

On August 20 there was a big holiday here in Hungary. The embassy community celebrated it at the compound of the US Marines, which is a gorgeous place in the castle district, which you can see in the pictures below. I wish I had my camera with me that night, because the fireworks over the Parliament were spectacular.

Before I get to the photos I took today, I thought I'd throw out a couple that I liked from over the summer. Here is my younger son Alex with our cockatiel Gosha just before leaving Baku.
Another shot I liked is this picture of Multnomah Falls in Oregon.

So, today was a wine festival in the castle district of Budapest, and my wife enjoys wine and decided to go. I'm not a drinker, so I brought my camera and walked around the district with my two sons. I liked a lot of the photos, but I don't want to overwhelm you, so I'll just give you a taste.
Above is my older son Anton near one of the oddly-shaped buildings within the castle.

This is a view from the castle wall down to the Danube and the Hungarian Parliament building. When I go to work in the morning I cross the river in the metro and get out just at that building, then walk a block south (to the right) to get to the embassy.
Here is the big cathedral. It looks smaller in the photo than it does in real life (you can click any photo to enlarge). It's covered in amazing designs. Below is an example of some inset statues.

And finally a shot of Hungary's favorite St. Istvan.

I probably won't blog a lot for the moment, partly because I feel a bit overwhelmed with all the new things going on, and partly because I need to get the creative juices flowing again at some point before I feel ready to jump back into this game. I do keep track of your blogs, even if I only comment when something grabs my fancy.

17 comments:

  1. Central Europe has some fantastic, almost fantasy-like, buildings. Take as many photos as you can.

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  2. Thanks, Martin. I'm a little worried about the upload limit in Blogger, as I don't know what it is or how to clean out old photos without ruining old posts!

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  3. Hello Ted:
    We are pleased to read that at least you are beginning to get sorted in Budapest, it all does take time especially when there is work as well as home to be organised.

    You have shown some good photographs of Buda here and although there are some wonderful views to be had at Castle Hill for some reason,we rarely find ourselves on the Buda side of the river.

    The square where the American Embassy is situated looks so very different these days with all its renovations. You are fortunate to work in such an attractive part of town, but crossing the river is a nightmare!!

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  4. It's not so bad in the metro; it's just taking the bridges in rush hour that is bad! We've been doing a lot of walking, though I haven't had my camera with me for many of them. I ordered a new lense and hope to receive it soon and try it out. I think this may be my favorite city to live in so far, though Moscow was pretty nice, too.

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  5. Some great photos, Ted. Glad you're back. And I didn't know you had a son named Alex. You have good taste in names, sir!

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  6. Nice to 'see' you again! And the photos are amazing. What an interesting place to live!

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  7. Beautiful photos, Ted. That cathedral looks amazing. Good to see you back.

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  8. The castle district looks amazing. And the Oregon falls - wow. I love the inset statues in the cathedral too. My fiancee is hoping to go back to Budapest for a holiday - after these photos I'm inclined to agree, so long as she takes me :P

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  9. Jamie, I hope you do get to come here. If you can, I would highly recommend checking out Prague and Vienna, too, because they are so close and gorgeous. Prague is the most beautiful city I have ever seen, and I've seen many.

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  10. Totally awesome :) Good luck settling in Ted.

    ........dhole

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  11. Wow, I thought you dropped off the face of the Earth. Glad to see you're still here and had such a great time. The pictures were spectaculare. And your son is really cute. :)

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  12. Hah! Large Book. That's an understatement.

    Anyway, I love getting these glimpses of your life and travels. You have such a varied experience, it's always interesting to see the things you see.

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  13. wow! so pretty! i hope your creative juices start flowing soon!

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  14. Fun to see those familiar falls with your Budapest shots... makes me feel like maybe I will get someplace interesting someday... And I love your son and the cockatiel--(I like their blushy cheeks)

    I hope you get settled--it looks like such a great city--so much history.

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  15. Amazing. You live in a place that will no doubt inspire some great fantasy writing. Thanks for posting the pictures for us mundane folk out here.

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  16. love the falls pic. The fun part about a new city is the exploration.

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  17. Looks like an amazing city full of rich culture. The shot of your son with the cockateil is a sad one for me. The bird looks exactly like our Brandy, we had him 17 years. Can't say much more or I'll turn into a puddle.

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