What a great location. Where I'm staying in my B&B. Or so I thought, when it all turned problematic. I thought I was staying in the center of the city, as I always do, liking to walk to all the historic sights. But my B&B is far from history, until suddenly last night it wasn't. But, more about that in my next post.
dd
Nevertheless, it is very convenient where I'm staying. I am one block from perhaps the busiest transit point in Budapest with the Metro and a constant parade of buses as you can see in the pictures (to follow). I quickly got the hang of the Metro (subway) which is wonderful. Safe, modern, efficient and well marked for easy navigation. That is, once you've got the basics down.
Sunday, I decided to take it easy, exhausted from sleep deprivation and jet lag. Instead I found myself learning and experiencing the Metro and traveling to two great sites: the Hungarian Parliament, a combined 10 minute M2 Metro ride and 1 block walk from my B&B, followed by a visit to St. Stephens, just a few stops beyond on the same line.
The bright light of this sunny Sunday afternoon hit me as I emerged from the deep subterranean metro. Even more brilliantly, I am struck by the sight immediately in front of me: the massive and magnificent Hungarian Parliament.
A smaller country now, having lost much of its geography from the Great War, the Parliament building reflects Budapest's former grandeur as the former co-capital of the Austro-Hungarian empire.
I walked around the building taking pictures, stopped for lunch at an adjacent cafe and was almost blown over by the blustery wind as I walked along the "Blue:" Danube river.
Then I hopped back on the Metro 2 and emerged a few blocks from St. Stephens where I took more pictures, both inside and out, and then walked up a seemingly endless circular stairway to emerge (once again) into the brilliant sunshine overlooking 360 degrees of beautiful downtown Budapest and nearby environs.
Stay tuned. I've got lots more pictures of the Parliament including great ones from across the river Danube. Plus St. Stephens etc. etc A new computer and camera have delayed my progress in getting the pictures working with the Blog. Lots more to share with you as I, hopefully catch up!
Thanks for reading!
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