Blink once if you're alive
Blink once if you're alive
You know I have to admit riding around Budapest by bicycle is actually not all that bad.
It provides a completely new and different perspective to a city.
I would definitely recommend it.
Plus it's good exercise and it's free.
It should be a few pounds less by the time I get back to Toronto.
Anyways, we're on our way to Hero Square.
So we are standing in the middle of Hero Square.
Hero Square was completed in 1896 for the 1000 year anniversary of the Hungarian conquest.
The Hungarian conquest was in 896 when all the first Hungarian tribes arrived to this area and settled down.
So over there at the bottom of the column you can see the seven chieftains sitting on horses.
In the middle you can see Arbat.
He was the main chieftain and he led the Hungarian tribes into this area.
On the top of the column you can see an angel called Gabriel.
He's like a patron angel for the Hungarians.
And he's holding two things in his hands.
One is the Hungarian crown again.
The first Hungarian crown.
And another thing is the Dabacross.
So the Dabacross is another symbol of Hungary.
So what is important that in 1896 we had the 1000 year anniversary of the conquest which was the Hungarian millenium.
It was a huge festival, a huge celebration in the whole country.
And they completed the square, commemorized all the Hungarian heroes who were important in the Hungarian history.
They completed two museums on both sides. You can see the Fine Art Museum which is the largest collection in whole Hungary.
And the other side you see the art hall.
The art hall has always something different going on.
They have nine exhibition halls and they always change the exhibitions.
Also under the Andrássy Avenue we have the underground line which we proudly say was the first on the European continent.
What is interesting about the castle is that originally it was completed out of cardboard and wood.
But like a hundred years ago people loved it so much and finally they built it up on bricks and better, stronger material later on.
There is a beer bag.
There is a beer bag behind the big bag.
Maybe I should have opted for the bear bike instead of a real bike.
Anyways, the comedy theater of Budapest started in the turn of the 19th and 20th century as an opposition to the conservative national theater.
It became a pioneer institution of Hungarian drama and one of the oldest theaters still in operation.
Designed and built by Samu Peck's around 1897, the great market hall is the largest and oldest indoor market in Budapest.
The market offers a huge variety of stalls on three floors.
The entrance to the gate has a little neogothic touch.
A distinctive architectural feature is the roof which was restored to have that colorful zolony toning from Peck's.
The same tiling that Maria was talking about that they used from Matthias' church.
We are at the dome of Saint Stephen's Basilica right now.
They started to build it in 1851 and it took like 50 years to finish the construction.
Three architects were on the building.
The first architect started in 1851.
He wanted to make the dome out of glass but it was really difficult to construct.
Unfortunately, the dome collapsed.
The second architect, where the first name was Joseph Heald, he held Georgia in Hungary.
The second one was Mikro Zhibel, who took over the job and he finished the whole building as you see it now.
So it got the form what you see now.
And the third architect, Joseph Kauzer, Kaiser Jozhev, he mostly finished the decoration in the building like the paintings and all the statues and everything.
What is interesting about the Basilica is it's dedicated to the first Hungarian king, King Stefan.
So you can see his statue above the main entrance.
But also at the main altar there is a statue about him.
And there is a sand ride chapel where we keep his right hand.
So he died in 1038 and we still keep his right hand.
It's a really beautiful golden box.
And we celebrate the king every year on 20th of August, which is also the celebration day of the bread.
So this is the only day when they take the hand in the scotty box they take out from the church and they have a procession.
They go around the church, all the priests, they hold the hand and they walk around and all the people that follow them.
What is also important that we are up here at the dome and the dome is exactly 96 meters high.
Basically on the first side almost all the buildings have a kind of similar height except the parliament and the basilica so they can really stand out of the other buildings.
And the 96 is a commemorative number.
And it reminds us of the Hungarian conquest which was in 896.
So we always have these kind of symbols all around which are really nice.
Next we visit the parliament and then head to Grund, a famous ruin bar.
