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Post by bjd on Oct 19, 2012 12:09:50 GMT
A month ago a friend and I spent 4 days in Budapest. The usual pictures show the Parliament building along the Danube and not much else, so I didn't really know what to expect. It turned out to be much more interesting and a very nice city to wander around for a few days. I have just started to upload some of my many photos to Photobucket, but these are some street scenes. This was near where we stayed, on the Buda side of the Danube river. As you see, much of the buildings look similar to other cities that had been part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, where the Art Nouveau period was called Secession. Most of these are likely early 20th century. Near the castle area on Buda Hill The whole area seemed to be in the midst of restoration.
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Post by bjd on Oct 19, 2012 12:14:00 GMT
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Post by bjd on Oct 19, 2012 12:19:40 GMT
The tram lines running along the Danube are the only ones to have retained the old streetcars. And there are a few old buses too, although most of the transport system is more modern And the teenagers look like teenagers anywhere in Europe A pedestrian shopping street with souvenir stores and lots of tourists
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Post by bjd on Oct 19, 2012 12:26:20 GMT
Walking around on the Pest side of the river, this is a fairly central area with lots of shops, restaurants, etc. I liked these seats at an ice cream seller A rickshaw made from an old Polski Fiat One of the very few beggars we saw This is a traditional pastry cooked over a fire. We saw several stands selling it. Other food stands exist And in a park, we saw these skateboarders As well as this guy talking about Hungarian minorities across the borders -- in English!
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Post by mossie on Oct 23, 2012 7:23:18 GMT
My youngest son bought an apartment in Budapest a few years ago. I thought he was crazy but he has been very lucky, it is near the centre and has been let ever since, mainly to foreign embassy workers. He loves Budapest, I have seen it described as "the Paris of the east", and he has some excellent pictures. As you show in your pics, English is widely used and spoken. My boy had absolutely no language skills but still gets around, he was even invited to a wedding of two Hungarians!
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Post by bjd on Oct 23, 2012 8:08:34 GMT
Mossie, I guess your son was one of those people looking to invest in real estate in Central Europe when prices kept rising?
We went to Budapest because I thought Prague would have too many tourists, but there were quite a few in Budapest too. I have the impression that there is the "cosmopolitan, English-speaking, tourist-oriented" side to the city, then a whole, Hungarian-nationalist side that we can't get any idea of if we don't speak the language. That's why I was so surprised that the young man in the beret in the last picture was speaking English.
All that said, it's a very pleasant city -- one I could imagine living in, although only if I learned the language.
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Post by bixaorellana on Oct 23, 2012 16:00:45 GMT
This is great, Bjd! You always capture pictures that reveal some human element or insight, even when it's a street shot of a place that retains much of its distance exoticism, to my mind anyway. I love the courtyard that seems to be undergoing a Villa Arpel renovation and the yard sale(?) in the covered passageway. Ditto the Polski Fiat conversion and of course I'm fascinated by the food stands. It's most interesting that the guy talking about the minorities has such a rapt audience. ... cities that had been part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, where the Art Nouveau period was called Secession. Do you know why that was? Can't wait for more of this!
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Post by bjd on Oct 23, 2012 16:16:22 GMT
Thanks, Bixa. As far as I know, what we usually call Art Nouveau flourished in various parts of Europe at the same time, but under different names since French wasn't used everywhere. In Vienna too it's called Secession, in Germany Jugendstil.
You'll have to wait for more photos -- I'm having computer problems these days.
That's not a yard sale -- just the entrance to a shop through the passageway rather than off the street.
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Post by nycgirl on Nov 7, 2012 18:39:37 GMT
Budapest looks a pretty city. Hope your computer problems get sorted out so we can see more.
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Post by bixaorellana on Nov 7, 2012 19:50:42 GMT
Looking at these great pictures again, Bjd ~~ what NYCGirl said!
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Post by bjd on Nov 7, 2012 20:00:34 GMT
I have been writing to Photobucket about my uploading problems. The thing is that they say there are glitches in the new Photobucket and you can't choose to reduce the size beforehand. But it seems as though you can if you use Windows or a Mac. My computer is under Linux, so I have to upload each large image, then reduce each one individually. It takes forever.
I'll try to do a few more.
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Post by bjd on Nov 7, 2012 20:39:37 GMT
Photobucket is driving me nuts, but here are a couple more pictures. The funicular that goes up to the castle on Buda Hill One of the bridges crossing the Danube (Elizabeth Bridge, I think). This is the one we usually took. St Matthias Church near the castle
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Post by bjd on Nov 7, 2012 20:40:27 GMT
These were uploaded in 800x600 size and they are still huge!
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Post by bixaorellana on Nov 7, 2012 23:31:21 GMT
Bjd ~~ the problem is that they are 600(wide)x800(high), rather than 800(wide)x600(high).
They are still hugely wonderful pictures. What is that very interesting monument in front of the church, please?
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Post by nycgirl on Nov 8, 2012 2:39:20 GMT
More nice photos! By the way, those playful ice cream seat would go nicely in "public seating" in the Image Bank. Just curious, did there seem to be many American tourists there? I was wondering if Budapest is "up and coming" among Americans, or if its already very popular. I have to upload each large image, then reduce each one individually. It takes forever. I do that, too. I thought everyone did. It never occurred to me that there was a better way.
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Post by bjd on Nov 8, 2012 7:36:17 GMT
nycgirl, there were quite a lot of tourists of all kinds. The Europeans mainly seemed to be middle-aged and older but the North Americans were quite often young. In the streets not far from the US Embassy (visible because everything around is blocked off), there were lots of bars with advertising in English.
I suppose young Europeans go during their university holidays.
Bixa, I don't know what that monument is -- I am generally a lousy tourist as far as monuments go. We had a guidebook but rarely pulled it out except to get an idea for an area to wander around in.
Well, Photobucket is still causing me problems. I went to upload more pics, chose them, reduced the size even more and then the upload option disappears completely. There must be a better way to do this.
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Post by mossie on Nov 8, 2012 8:39:37 GMT
Bjd, I had big problems with Ph***f**kit and complained to them. They advised me to revert to the old system, there is/was a box at the upper right you could hit to do that. It is almost the same but still not as good. I complained bitterly about them keep making unnecessary changes, which silly old fools, like me, cannot cope with.
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Post by bjd on Nov 8, 2012 9:44:20 GMT
Mossie -- I did revert to the old system. Now the problem seems to be that the upload button disappears when I choose pics to upload.
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Post by bjd on Nov 9, 2012 17:36:57 GMT
I just switched to ImageShack. Despite the instructions, I can only upload one image at a time, but at least it's smaller. We'll see how it goes. Men in a bookstore/café A lookout place near the castle, called Fisherman's Bastion. You have to pay to get in so we didn't. The view is the same from a few meters away. You can also pay to see the view from this café and listen to these musicians. I don't know who this is supposed to be, but obviously people rub his stomach for good luck. Across the Danube, on the Pest side, there is this beautiful hotel. It was originally (late 19thc) the building of the Gresham Insurance Company. Some sweet street food
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Post by bjd on Nov 9, 2012 17:53:49 GMT
This was called the Parisian Gallery but seemed closed except for some security guards An American bar?
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Post by bjd on Nov 9, 2012 17:56:53 GMT
Budapest Castle and the Danube in the evening Some buildings just across from the Central market And a detail of the decoration And inside the market -- note the paprika which is used a lot
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Post by bjd on Nov 9, 2012 19:04:05 GMT
We went to the Museum of Decorative Arts, mostly to see the building itself. Late 19th century design by a local architect. The entrance Entrance ceiling Galleries and central skylight Roof and dome Roof detail
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Post by Deleted on Nov 9, 2012 19:24:02 GMT
That market picture and the pictures of the Museum of Decorative Arts are great.
One thing that I remember about my two trips to Hungary is the fact that there were 3 shakers on the restaurant tables: salt shaker, pepper shaker and paprika shaker.
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Post by bjd on Nov 9, 2012 19:26:08 GMT
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Post by bjd on Nov 9, 2012 19:33:38 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Nov 9, 2012 19:36:37 GMT
We have a Place Kossuth in Paris.
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Post by bjd on Nov 9, 2012 19:43:21 GMT
I knew Kossuth was a leader of the 1848 Revolution but I preferred the modern statues. The political ones look rather "Socialist-Realist" although I don't know when they date from.
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Post by mich64 on Nov 9, 2012 20:16:51 GMT
This is fabulous bjd! Budapest is becoming a popular destination for Canadians, many travel agents are suggesting it and I have seen many trip reports recently. The river cruises are advertising routes show casing Budapest and has peaked our interest for a future holiday you have now added to that interest.
Do you know what the name is of that grand Hotel in your photo? I enjoy searching these places and dreaming of them.
Thank goodness they are restoring those doors and not replacing them with something modern.
I also enjoyed the photo of the man advertising the fashion flea market outlet and the girl approaching him looks like she is walking like a model would.
The pastry that was on the spit, what is inside it?
I think I am going to add a paprika shaker to my table as well Kerouac, I never thought of that.
I am really enjoying your photos and narrative bjd!
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Post by bjd on Nov 9, 2012 20:27:48 GMT
Thanks Mich. Here is a link to the hotel's page. It's now a Four Seasons Gresham Palace Hotel. There are some nice photos on their website: www.fourseasons.com/budapest/The pastry on the spit is just a plain sweet dough cooked on a spit and served sprinkled with sugar.
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Post by mich64 on Nov 9, 2012 20:46:36 GMT
Thank you for the link bjd, I will enjoy looking at it. I thought the pastry would have some sort of filling, but it sounds delicious sprinkled with sugar!
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