Pictures from Prague: Budapest Day 2

Day two in Budapest did not begin quite as nicely as the first. The blue sky had gone away, but the weather was still relatively nice. Katie and I got onto a hop-on hop-off bus tour around the city, which took us basically all day. The first place we stopped on the bus was at Heroes' Square, which also has in close proximity the Budapest Zoo and a very cool ice skating rink. The next stop was at the Citadella, which had an amazing view of the city. We spent a couple hours at Buda Castle and the Fishermen's Bastion before ending our tour at, of all places, Parliament. Along with our bus tickets, we got a free river cruise which we did at 5 so we could see the city lit up, which was beautiful.

After an afternoon of touristy activities, we hit up a Hungarian restaurant where I had some amazing goulash before going to a movie. That's right, I went to a movie in Budapest. Cultural note: they assign seats in their movie theaters. So, if you ever find yourself at a movie theater in Budapest make sure you're in the right seat because when a Hungarian couple tells you to move, you won't understand what's going on.

Heroes' Square

Me at Heroes' Square

The square is really, really big

Entrance to the zoo

The audio on the bus said something about Sleeping Beauty's castle when we passed this, but I wasn't paying attention...

The view from the Citadella. Not too shabby, despite the fog.

View from Buda Castle

More from the castle

I'm fairly certain the scars on this building are left over from some sort of shelling

Lots of Hungarian flags

Again, looking out over Buda

Castle

Crazy fountain depicting something about hunting

Archway

More castle grounds

Yet another archway. The castle is pretty extensive.

Entrance to the funicular which we didn't take because you had to pay

The Danube

We've seen this bridge before

Really, really big eagle--I learned in class today that this probably has something to do with the Hapsburgs

Again, lots of square footage

One last look at the castle

Katie and I took a break during our touring and went to a cafe above this adorable grocery store

Fishermen's Bastion

Another angle of the same

These guys were taking pictures of people holding that gigantic eagle. And they had fun hats.

The side of the Bastion facing toward Pest

The same

Katie walking down the steps

One final look

This exact same statue of St. George is outside of St. Vitus' Cathedral in Prague. He's been cheating on us!

Me being dwarfed by Parliament

I think this is my last shot of Parliament...except for all the ones I took on the boat

This statue is on the side of a bank or something. It doesn't seem like the guy is all that excited about holding onto that swan.

He looks decidedly uncomfortable with the situation.

Walkway along the river

We walked along this path for about 10 minutes so we wouldn't be too early for our cruise.

Yay! Free boat!

A British girl in our hostel told us that the river cruise she did the night before was one of the best things she did in Budapest, so needless to say we were pretty excited.

Inside the boat

Hot wine!

And we're off! Buda Castle from the river

Top deck

We really enjoy hot wine.

Me on the boat

Buda Castle

Sun! Just in time for it to set!

Bridge

Katie contemplating life, hot wine, and all things Hungarian

Me again

I don't know why I have so many pictures of this bridge, but I do

It's a very familiar presence in my Budapest experience

Castle

Parliament hiding in the corner

Cool reflection

I think this picture is one of the very few pieces of evidence that Katie and I were actually on this trip together.

I think this expression is trying to say, "Why did that woman in the background steal my blanket while I was up taking pictures?" But I could be wrong.

The first lights to go on in the city!

Very close to Parliament

Straight on

Wide shot of the city

Erzsebet Bridge

Gellert Hotel and the Citadella

Tram at night

Buda side of the river

The city really does come alive at night

Mostly Pest with a little Buda thrown in for good measure

Going under the Erzsebet Bridge

Final shot of the cruise of the castle

A giant intersection that they call The Octogon because the buildings on the corners all have flat sides facing the middle, creating an octogon from bird's eye view.