Vienna and Budapest are marked in faint white boxes
I had a long fall break in the beginning of October and went with Matt to Vienna and Budapest. We traveled by train from Oberursel to Vienna, where we stayed for a couple nights and didn't take a single picture. My good friend Katinka used to live in Vienna and we were fortunate enough to be able to stay in her old roommate Marlene's apartment right in the city. The gradiose architecture of Vienna is a reminder of the city's rich history of power and wealth - with most of the stunning buildings built hundreds of years before Lewis and Clark explored the interior of North America by canoe.
We continued on the train to Budapest, where we spent a week exploring the city, oogling at the impressive architecture, eating cakes, and running up large hills.
The Keleti train station in Pest
The characteristic tall stone buildings of Pest flank narrow streets
A conglomeration of brick and stone built over the centuries
Buda Royal Palace from across the Duna
Rakoczi ut.
Great mustard-colored stonework
Szent Istvan Basilica
The Parliament with the chain bridge (Szechenyi Ianchid) in the background as seen during a run around Margit Island
...same brand, different flavor...
We visited a curious outdoor museum, Statue Park, where Communist-era statues and sculptures were collected from the city after the Soviets left the city in 1991.
A proud and hopeful Lenin
Stalin's boots - all that remain after frustrated students and factory workers cut through the legs with acetylene tourches during the 1956 uprising.
The Great Market Hall, built in 1894
The interior of The Grand Market Hall
Ah the cakes...the fantastic cakes...
Just don't squeeze the tomatoes - one woman took the vegetables out of my hands and chastised me for inspecting her nectarines too closely.
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