last photo post, I promise!

[molly_o]

	Keleti Palyaudvar This is the eastern train station in Budapest. I think it's possibly the most elegant train station I've ever seen -- not just in its ornamentation, but in its function: It doesn't have a system of gates, trains just pull straight in and you walk off the train right into the middle of that central hall. The wings on either side contain the administrative offices and waiting areas.
	Castle Hill, Budapest This is our first afternoon in Budapest. You can see Pest behind us.
	Capistrano Square St. John of Capistrano was "an Italian friar who in 1456 recruited a crusading army to fight the Turks." In the corner of this square is the military history museum -- always one of our first stops in any city.
	Church of Saint Mary Magdalene The rest of this church was destroyed during World War II.
	Hilton Chapel The very contemporary building visible just to the left of this gothic chapel is the Budapest Hilton.
	Fisherman's Bastion This elaborate structure on Castle Hill used to be a fishmarket.
	The Hats, Again Here we are again, on Fisherman's Bastion.
	Castle Hill View Beyond the small towers of F.B., you can see the roof and tower of Matthias Church.
	Enter the Dragon How cool is this sculpture? So cool I can't even keep my eyes open.
	Statue of Matthias Corvinus Matthias Corvinus was a late 15th century king of Hungary who had a rep for being just.
	Sushi w/Viking Buffet What more is there to say?
	Mark's Idol We toured a labyrinth under the castle -- it's actually a real labyrinth that was a wine cellar in the 16th and 17th centuries, but it's been converted into some kind of performance art experience, so you wander through and they play eerie music, and every once in a while there are some unusual sculptures (like this one, of an enormous fossilized Coke bottle). It's some kind of commentary on consumerism, I think.
	Equestrian Statue of Prince Eugene of Savoy The last time we were in Vienna, we toured the Belevedere Palace, at one time the home of Prince Eugene of Savoy, and Mark filled me in on Eugene's military career. That same trip, we went to the Hofburg, where they have an equestrian statue of Prince Eugene, but it was covered for the winter in an enormous box with a fake brick pattern on it. So when I learned about the equestrian statue of Prince Eugene in Budapest -- well, of course we had to find it. It took a lot of wandering around the Royal Palace in the snow, but here it is!
	Heroes Square (Hosok Tere) Most cities have something like the Arc de Triomphe or Brandenburg Gate -- this is Budapest's. The statue at the top of the column is of the Archangel Gabriel. At the base of the column are the seven Magyar chieftains who conquered Hungary in 896, and between the columns are statues of heroic leaders in Hungarian history.
	Seven Magyar Chieftains Hungary has one of the best founding stories of any country: Seven Magyar chieftains, led by Arpad, conquered the land in 896.
	Vajdahunyad Var This castle, in Budapest's city park, is a crazy mish-mash of architectural styles. The souvenir shop here had a kitty in it, curled up on a mat beneath a radiator.
	The Chronicler Sortof a cross between Death (minus the scythe) and a jawa, the Chronicler is a depiction of the anonymous scribe who set down Hungary's history in ink.
	Eyepatch Cat Isn't this cool graffiti?
	House of Terror This building was headquarters for the fascist Arrow Cross from 1939-1945, when it became headquarters for the communist secret police. Today it is the House of Terror, a museum/memorial to the people imprisoned, tortured, and executed under both regimes. RM says it's probably the most well-done museum he's ever visited.
	Central Kavehaz We ate here on Sunday. It has some kind of literary significance, and the brunch was pretty good, too.
	St. Stephen's Basilica Cathedrals are sometimes awkward tourist attractions, because they're also places of worship. St. Stephen's is so beautiful it's hard to be anything but reverent, especially when you're mingling with devout worshippers.
	Buda Skyline The view across the Danube. Sunday we had beautiful weather -- sunny and warm -- and we walked from Parliament (which we failed to photograph, I don't know how, it's a striking building) south along the Danube and then crossed over to the Vaci Utca, the main shopping strip.
	Lion Doors Check out those knockers!
	Szechenyi Lanchid This one's for lanchid!