Buda & Pest - an elegant city

My first visit to Hungary ever. Sounds hardly possible but that's the fact. Over the socialist period, when majority of my friends were penetrating the "internationally comrade-fraternal countries" for best holiday opportunities, mainly because of the passport facility, I usually opted  for other destinations.
So, lured by the incomprehensible language, as it may seem, and the political developments in the country, I gladly agreed to join my cousins and off we went!
The trip was guided by Ola, half Polish, half Hungarian tour leader and guide, which added enormously in terms of the habits, the language and the history.

BUDA
Beautifully located on hills with magnificent view over the Danube and Pest.
A place telling the history of the city and Hungary.

We, three cousins

Down there - the Danube

us with Aleksandra Rzewuska, the guide

The view over the St. Mathias church

we are climbing up

to see the church. The roof is of ceramic tiles, which seemed to be favourite material for the purpose in the 19 c.
The great market hall in Pest has also got such a tiled roof

The king

The view off the hill

 

Inside the church

The copy of the royal symbols. The crown is topped with a crooked cross which has an explanation. It happened during a very long journey from Rome to Hungary in deep medieval ages.

Coats of arms of the nobility

Outside the church, there are tiny relics of the former Dominican convent. The statue tells the story of a monk who set on a journey to the original site the Magyars had come from.

The remnants of the Dominican church replaced by Hilton Hotel in the 70s.

The Castle Hill:

The Old Town on the Castle Hill

The castle

Next to the castle - the Municipality

The Municipality guarded by the soldiers

St. George's Square.

There is a funicular going up the castle hill. A view over the Chain Bridge leading to Pest

PEST
A commercial part of the city and also site of the famous Parliament.
All Budapest is fairly new; no medieval or Renaissance structures. Almost all built in 19 c., but it has a very distinct classy look.

the famous shopping street

The uptown cafe

Unlike in Poland, the foreign banks in Hungary, pay the taxes!

this comes all over Europe now

a modern look against the burgeois, Austro-Hungarian style

The great market hall featuring the ceramic tiles on the roof

Meals a la Hungarian - always with music and paprika&wine :)

Gypsy music every time we went for a dinner

Most popular venues are the Csardas

The musicians approach you and expect a banknote stuck into the fiddle :)

Everyone has a good time

The Parliament overlooking the Danube: