# Budapest - the truth



## cardiff (Jul 26, 2005)

I had the pleasure of going to Budapest last week, but was not prepared for what i saw. The city was beautiful but i was totaly shocked at the apauling state of the majority of the buildings, not just delapodated but actually crumbling. This was heartbreaking as some buildings were spectacular! The city is known for its secession style of buildings, a mix of art Nouveau and Gaudi IMO but really a hungarian variation i think. These pics are in 4 parts so check out the next few pages


So i started my trip, foolishly by walking up andrassy avenue (what i thought was Budpaest grand avanue ala Champs Elyses) and to start off with it was with the opera house and one or two big named stores, but it quickly fell into desserted buildings. My first stop, again foolishly was to visit the Terror museum, a museum dedicated to the people killed by the Nazis and Comunists - the museum was great but not the best way to start a trip! an interesting design where the roof structure casts a shadow, this was the headquarters of the nazis and comunists










abandond buildings - seemingly so anyway



















At the end was heros square, which was fantastic, though some buildings on the south of the square were again delapodated










it has two museums, one for contempory art










and one for paintings - which was HUGE and impressive




























back out onto heroes square










behind it is the city park, which has a castle made up of most of the styles you wil find in Budapest



















though an agriculture museum wasnt enough to draw me inside










in the park is also the Szechenyi Baths, one of the largest bathing complexs in Europe and fuelld by natural hot springs










the interior was beautiful










and the outsie spectacular, once you work your way through a labarynth of smaller pools




























a walk to the castle, unfortunately the lake had been drained and it had been used by go-carts it think










There was a nice atmosphere in this park with a little concert going on, i believe the memorila is to the uprising










walking back down andrassy avenue these street scenes were typical, 4-6 story buildings, all beautiful



















the opera house, designed to rival Viennas and Dresdens










In the evening i walked to the river front (the Danube) again through a delapodated arcade where a homeless person had set up a bed and was just lying in it with people walking past, with the lighting and his beard it looked really like he wasin his death bed (creepy). The view that greeted me though was spectacular with the castle on the hill and chain bridge lit up














































I then had a river cruise on the danube with a glass of cheap champagne and noticed how high and extreemly fast the river was! but those pics are too blurry

The next day i went to the Catedral, St Stephens whose mumified hand is kept in a case which you pay to light up! This are was really nice and you could see alot of work had been done recently























































and then a trip to the top of the dome (unusually by a lift)



















the square in front of the cathedral










i loved the tiled roofs of the city



















ground view of the square, the building on the right reminds me why its sometimes called the continental London




























and here some unloved beautiful buildings, one next to it was being demolished










I think this was called liberty park, with the national bank and tv station around it










and at one end a memorial to the Russians who lost their lives liberating the city fromt eh Nazis though if someone can translate what was written on it i doubt it would be nice


----------



## DarkLite (Dec 31, 2004)

*doesn't look bad at all!*


----------



## LuckyLuke (Mar 29, 2005)

Budapest looks amazing


----------



## RawLee (Jul 9, 2007)

The signs in red on the russian memorial has dual meaning.
The current is against our current PM,who admittedly lied during the elections regarding the financial state of the country.
The second is that we generally dont think of russians as the ones who freed us. They were invaders too. And this monument is the middle of the city,still makes us remember,although we dont want to. And Russia doesnt allow us to transport it out of the city to the statue park south of Budapest.


----------



## cardiff (Jul 26, 2005)

Thanks for the info, i think it was great to see it in the center of the city afterall the history. Showed a maturity that even though the comunists were bad , they freed the city from an even worse tyrany. More pics to come later


----------



## RawLee (Jul 9, 2007)

cardiff said:


> Thanks for the info, i think it was great to see it in the center of the city afterall the history. Showed a maturity that even though the comunists were bad , they freed the city from an even worse tyrany. More pics to come later


You dont understand me...we dont want that inside the city...it is painted in red frequently. Russians(USSR) were worse then nazis(from hungarian as a race POV),if we are not considering jews.
Dont get me wrong,we are not against the russian people. We are against the USSR and what they left here(or didnt left here).


----------



## WolfHound (Jun 28, 2006)

Looks fantastic. All those old nice historic buildings seem untouched compared to many other European cities.


----------



## RawLee (Jul 9, 2007)

WolfHound said:


> Looks fantastic. All those old nice historic buildings seem untouched compared to many other European cities.


80% of those were either destroyed or damaged in the battle of Budapest


----------



## earth intruder (Apr 4, 2006)

beautiful....


----------



## gliwiczanin (Oct 29, 2005)

RawLee said:


> You dont understand me...we dont want that inside the city...it is painted in red frequently. Russians(USSR) were worse then nazis(from hungarian as a race POV),if we are not considering jews. Dont get me wrong,we are not against the russian people. We are against the USSR and what they left here(or didnt left here).


He will not understand you, coz england has never been under occupation. Russian/soviet army didnt feed, they raped, burn, stealed, ruined and occupied. That's why people in Central Europe don't want russian monuments. He doesn't realize it, coz he hasn't been learning about it in school, they teached him only about cruelty of nazists.

I've been to Budapest - beautiful city! Nice pics


----------



## Gordion (Oct 26, 2005)

Looks beautiful!


----------



## Delirium (Oct 8, 2005)

great pics! :banana:


----------



## kenworth (Jun 20, 2006)

Great pic's i like it!


----------



## Jedrzej (Dec 25, 2005)

RawLee said:


> 80% of those were either destroyed or damaged in the battle of Budapest


This is destroyed city




And Budapest is beautiful!!


----------



## wierdo_and_me (Aug 23, 2007)

gliwiczanin said:


> He will not understand you, coz england has never been under occupation. Russian/soviet army didnt feed, they raped, burn, stealed, ruined and occupied. That's why people in Central Europe don't want russian monuments. He doesn't realize it, coz he hasn't been learning about it in school, they teached him only about cruelty of nazists.
> 
> I've been to Budapest - beautiful city! Nice pics


Is it also true that they used to rape farm animals?


----------



## ZZ-II (May 10, 2006)

beautiful city


----------



## Qtya (Aug 31, 2006)

cardiff said:


> Thanks for the info, i think it was great to see it in the center of the city afterall the history. Showed a maturity that even though the comunists were bad , they freed the city from an even worse tyrany. More pics to come later


The problem is for some of us is not just what RawLee mentioned, but there was a Flag and a memorial that symbolized the separeted but organic Hungarian nation. 

The memorial:



The square:



There were 4 statues too:

North: Az emlékmű főalakja a három méter magas, keresztrefeszített Hungária. A hozzásimuló fiú a tót nemzet ragaszkodását jelképezi az anyaországhoz. A kettő egységét kivont karddal előretörő kuruc alakja védi, emlékeztetve arra, hogy a magyar szabadságért Rákóczi hadaiban tótok is küzdöttek. 



Symbolizing: the Hungarians in Slovakia

West: A szoborcsoporton az ifjú az elszakított nyugati vármegyéket jelképezi. Térdre hullva borul a magyar Szent Koronára, s míg jobbjával az ország testéről leszakadni készülő nyugati vármegyék címerpajzsát öleli magához, addig baljával görcsösen kapaszkodik a nagy magyar kettőskeresztes pajzsba. Fölötte áll Hadúr alakja, kezét nyugtatva az ifjú címert szorító karján, jobbjában védően tartva a nemzet pallosát. Arcán kemény dac, hit és önbizalom. Lábainál szárnyait repülésre tárva a Turul. 



Symbolizing: the Hungarians in Austria

South: A szobor főalakja karddal és a magyar címerrel díszített pajzzsal kel a Délvidéket jelképező svábleány védelmére. Az előtte lévő búzakévék Nagy-Magyarország éléstárát, a Bácskát és a Bánátot jelképezik. 



Symbolizing: the Hungarians in Serbia

East: A szobron az ősi magyar erőt megtestesítő Csaba vezér a megtorlás pillanatát várva felszabadítja a levetkőztetett és kopjafához láncolt, bilincsekbe vert, Erdélyt jelképező - kezében az országrész címerét görcsös reménységgel szorító - alakot.



Symbolizing: the Hungarians in Transylvania, Romania


----------



## cardiff (Jul 26, 2005)

Thanks for all the info, it is hard to understand the effects of comunism for someone who has not lived through it. We are taught about it in the UK, though more focus is on it origins in Russia and what happened there (effectively cut and paste to all comunist states, which may or may not be true). 

.. next stop was the Parliament, which i have always found beautiful and secretly preffered over the houses of Parliament in the UK until i got up close, the houses of parliament are FAR more beautiful IMO close up though i will still always preffer symetry and the Hungarian one is still dirty










Opposite are a building where the bullet holes are marked where a politician was shot, and the Ethnographical museum (?), very impressive outside and even more so on the inside (if a bit boring for a musuem)










Walking towards the main shopping street (Vaci Utca)





































At the start is a square (with one of the few modern buildings under construction) and one of the most famous cafes




























And then a walk down the street, which was very narrow for the main shopping street. I couldnt help think that it would have been better to have regenerated Andrassy avenue than this street, though i can apreciate how it fits in more with other areas




























An arcade, slightly deserted by shoppers and shops yet very beautiful



















I loved the way these buildings marked the entrance to Elizabeth bridge, thoguh didnt like the way the rd disconected the two hlaf of the street




























At the end of Vaci utca was the main market hall, extreemly impressive though whats the deal with all the nets being sold?




























more later....


----------



## skytrax (Nov 12, 2006)

What an amazing city!!!


----------



## RawLee (Jul 9, 2007)

> At the end of Vaci utca was the main market hall, extreemly impressive though whats the deal with all the nets being sold?


Nets? What nets? We dont fish with nets...all fish are bred in captivity...(apart from the ones from the Tisza,which are ,I believe,rare in Budapest).


----------



## cardiff (Jul 26, 2005)

No i didn't expect that, I expected it to be like Prague where as you get closer to the city center it gets prettier and more historic, then more renovated and less graffitied and then the prestine historic city center. Unfortunately (as you will see in my later pics) this was not the case as the center was still graffitied and run down (though obviously not all of it).


----------



## cameronpaul (Jan 15, 2010)

Just came accross this interesting thread. Budapest has changed and improved a lot since these photos were taken, just returned from a recent visit and there has been an enormous amount of restoration done and still going on, though I fear the present economic situation might slow things down. Still a lot to do but it is a really beautiful city, there about 10 or so real bastards from the 60's, 70's in the central area which should go and this would make a huge difference to the overall beauty of the city - can't wait to go back again soon!


----------



## zsimi80 (Nov 28, 2009)

My pics:

2010.05.07.


----------



## zsimi80 (Nov 28, 2009)

Budapest, 2010.05.09.
My photos.




























































































More photos:
http://picasaweb.google.com/zsimi80/20100509Budapest#


----------



## zsimi80 (Nov 28, 2009)

My photos of Budapest




















































































*More: https://picasaweb.google.com/zsimi80/20110315KossuthTerOrszaghaz#*​


----------



## zsimi80 (Nov 28, 2009)

I took these pics






















































































































More pics here: https://picasaweb.google.com/zsimi80/20110416Budapest​


----------



## zsimi80 (Nov 28, 2009)

MORE PICS HERE: https://picasaweb.google.com/zsimi80/2011042223Budapest#​


----------



## zsimi80 (Nov 28, 2009)

...


----------



## zsimi80 (Nov 28, 2009)

OFC my pics, taken today:


















































































































































Wanna see more? Here is my album: https://picasaweb.google.com/zsimi80/20110428Budapest





​


----------



## Chadoh25 (Dec 28, 2007)

Great photos! BTW, we have a Kossuth Street in German Village here in Columbus. I guess that's where the street name came from.


----------



## Cariad (Sep 22, 2005)

I was in Budapest in Summer 2008 and I had an awful time, but purely because I was so sick, I didn't enjoy it. I really should go back and give the place a second chance.


----------



## aljuarez (Mar 16, 2005)

Love the walking tour with photos and the map showing the route!! :banana:


----------



## Mariachi (Nov 4, 2006)

One of the most beautiul cities in all the world.


----------



## zsimi80 (Nov 28, 2009)

Budapest today:

















































































































































More pics here: https://picasaweb.google.com/zsimi80/20110430Budapest​


----------



## Kevin_01 (Apr 29, 2009)

I go to Budapest in july :banana:


----------



## Filandon (Jun 24, 2009)

Beatiful thread for a great city


----------



## pumpikatze (Sep 19, 2009)

Great shots :applause:


----------



## Kornel007 (Jan 7, 2010)

Beautiful pics Zsimi, thank you


----------



## christos-greece (Feb 19, 2008)

Amazing and very nice photos of Budapest at day and night :cheers: amazing city, loving it very much kay:


----------



## zsimi80 (Nov 28, 2009)

Kornel007 said:


> Beautiful pics Zsimi, thank you


You're welcome


----------



## Rombi (Apr 17, 2010)

In my opinion Budapest is the most beautiful city in our CE Europe, even more beautiful than Prague.
This year I'm going on Balkans so definitely I have to visit this city.


----------



## zsimi80 (Nov 28, 2009)

Budapest is not Balkan 






































*More pics in this album: https://picasaweb.google.com/zsimi80/20110507BudapestEsKornyeke#*​


----------



## zsimi80 (Nov 28, 2009)

2011.05.03.




















































































*More pics in this album: https://picasaweb.google.com/zsimi80/20110503Budapest*​


----------



## Urbanista1 (Sep 13, 2006)

Hungarian people are the best!


----------



## Rombi (Apr 17, 2010)

zsimi80 said:


> Budapest is not Balkan


Definitely yes, but Budapest lies I would say in half of way between Gdynia and my destiny (Balkans)


----------



## zsimi80 (Nov 28, 2009)

Budapest - 2011.V.8-9.



























































































More pics: https://picasaweb.google.com/zsimi80/2011050809BudapestEsteEsNappal​


----------



## zsimi80 (Nov 28, 2009)

Budapest , my new photos:












































































































































Rest of this album is here: https://picasaweb.google.com/zsimi80/2011052229
​


----------



## aljuarez (Mar 16, 2005)

I love your new photos! :cheers:


----------



## TARANSKY (Dec 23, 2008)

one of my top 5 favorite european cities. good job!


----------



## zsimi80 (Nov 28, 2009)

2011.08.20.


















































































www.index.hu www.mti.hu


----------



## zsimi80 (Nov 28, 2009)

Source: www.peca.hu


----------



## zsimi80 (Nov 28, 2009)

I took these photos last month:


----------



## Deanb (Jun 7, 2006)

haha looks fine to me! hopefully going there in May


----------



## zsimi80 (Nov 28, 2009)

Updated: http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpost.php?p=90121927&postcount=72


----------



## Nightsky (Sep 16, 2002)

Budapest is a beautiful city, one of my favourites in Europe! Been there some years ago.


----------



## zsimi80 (Nov 28, 2009)

Windblower said:


> ^^ I found this image just now. *Budapest* is incredible, isn't it?
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I like it.


----------



## Rombi (Apr 17, 2010)

Great! Density of development and Danube river makes perfect pano.


----------



## Linguine (Aug 10, 2009)

amazing updates on Budapest....kay:


----------



## RKC (Jun 16, 2007)

^^ great shots Zsimi


----------



## zsimi80 (Nov 28, 2009)

^^ Thanks.

I went to Hungarian State Opera House last week:


----------

