This summer's big vacation for me and Danelle was a trip to Eastern Europe -- first stop, the Hungarian capital of Budapest!
It's a good sign that the city is going to be stunning when even the manhole covers are works of art.
Yes, this is
a giant replica of the moon. It's quite popular for selfies, but I'm not sure what it has to do with Budapest. It was literally a one-minute walk from our hotel, otherwise I don't think we would have made a special trip to see it.
I appreciated the chance to do some street photography, which is outside my comfort zone. The textures in the clouds, sidewalk, and
Klotild and
Matild Palaces made me feel like black and white was a better choice for this shot.
One thing I loved about Budapest was how many amazing things were all in easy walking distance, including
St. Stephen's Basilica.
The effort and expense people go to in order to show their respect for God can truly be astounding. This was just one of the first of many such examples we saw on our trip. I love my church, which is slightly less ornate. Maybe in another hundred years it will look more like this, and house the mummified hand of
Jason Gray.
More evidence of how stunning your city is -- people come to take pictures in the reading room of
your university library.
I could have done some studying in here. More than I actually did when I was in college, anyway.
I think the stairway in our library had fluorescent lights.
The city's most picturesque bridge -- the
Széchenyi Chain Bridge -- is only open to taxis, buses, and pedestrians. It's also a great place to see the early morning sun.
Shoes on the Danube Bank is a more sobering sight -- a memorial to the thousands of people told to remove their shoes before they were shot and killed here during World War II.
The
Hungarian Parliament Building is supposedly just as beautiful on the inside as it is on the outside, but we didn't have time for a tour. This was the view across the street from the cafe where we relaxed and had a couple of drinks. I can see
Castle Rock Information Tech from my favorite coffee shop here.
Did you like the university library? This staircase is in a
public library. I can't even with this city.
Our final stop before leaving this amazing city was the
Central Market Hall. I thought I'd take more pictures of interesting items for sale, but I felt awkward photographing things I had no intention of buying. Except these Russian dolls, for some reason.
