Hungary

THIS IS ONE OF FOUR ARTICLES I HAVE POSTED ON MY PARTICIPATION IN A 24-DAY ELDERHOSTEL PROGRAM IN SEPTEMBER 2003 WHICH INCLUDED VISITS TO POLAND, CZECH REPUBLIC, AND HUNGARY. I AM PUBLISHING PHOTOS AND WRITING A STORY INDIVIDUALLY UNDER FOUR LOCATIONS: (1) WARSAW, POLAND; (2)CRACOW(CRACKOW/KRAKOW?), POLAND; (3) PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC; AND (4) BUDAPEST, HUNGARY. FOUR NIGHTS WERE SPENT IN EACH OF THE POLISH CITIES, AND SEVEN NIGHTS WERE SPENT IN EACH OF THE OTHER TWO CITIES. YOU CAN FIND THE OTHER ARTICLES BY GOING TO MY HOMEPAGE AT: ... (more)

Budapest-Feeding the cats
One Elderhosteler took very good care of the stray cats who learned...

Budapest-Vajdahunyad Castle
Vajdahunyad Castle is in the city park. The castle was designed for...

Budapest-Gate to Vajdahunyad Castle
Vajdahunyad Castle is on the other side of this gate. Its architecture...

Budapest-Jak Chapel in City Park
Located in the City Park near Vajdahunyad Castle, Jak Chapel has a beautiful...

Budapest-Jak Chapel in City Park
Jak Chapel has a beautiful reconstructed Romanesque portal and is...

Budapest-Millennial Monument
In the center of Heroes' Square a 118-foot stone column is crowned by a...

Budapest-Millennial Monument
In Heroes' Square seven bronze horsemen are at the base of the Millennial...

Budapest-Millennial Monument
In Heroes Square the Millennial Monument is a semi-circular twin...

Budapest-Millennial Monument
In Heroes' Square the Millennial Monument is a semi-circular twin...

Budapest-Millennial Monument
The Millennial Monument in Heroes' Square has statues of...

Budapest-Millenial Monument
The semi-circular twin colonnade of the Millennial Monument has statues of...

Budapest -seen from Castle Hill
From Castle Hill it is possible to appreciate the size of the Parliament...

Budapest-Parliament from Castle Hill
The Parliament building on the Pest side of the Danube River is seen...

Budapest-Parliament from Castle Hill
The Parliament building is seen from the Fishermen's Bastion on...

Budapest-Souvenirs on Castle Hill
During our walking tour of Castle Hill on our first day in Budapest we had a...

Budapest-Souvenirs on Castle Hill
During our walking tour of Castle Hill on our first day in Budapest we had a...

Budapest-St. Stephen's statue
Near the Fishermen's Bastion and Matthias Church on Castle Hill, St....

Budapest-St. Stephen's statue
A bronze equestrian statue of St. Stephen, the first king of Hungary in the...

Budapest-Matthias Church on Castle Hill
Matthias Curch is officially known as the Buda Church of Our Lady but usually...

Budapest-Matthias Church on Castle Hill
Matthias Church was originally built for the city's German...

Budapest-Castle Hill in miniature
A young boy is looking at and touching the bronze miniatures of structures on...

Budapest-Fishermen's Bastion
Fishermen's Bastion on Castle Hill, built as a viewing platform in...

Budapest-mirrored Matthias Church
Matthias Church is reflected in the mirrored glass covering of the...

Budapest-view from Castle Hill
This view from Castle Hill is from a different direction and area than the...

Budapest-statue of Eugene of Savoy
The statue of Eugene of Savoy, commander of the army that liberated...

Budapest-Danube River cruise
The view from the top of the boat where we had dinner as we cruised on the...

Budapest-Danube River cruise
The view from the top of the boat where we had dinner as we cruised on the...

Budapest-Danube River cruise
The view from the top of the boat where we had dinner as we cruised on the...

Budapest-Great Synagogue (Dohany Street)
The Great Synagogue on Dohany Street was built between 1844 and 1859 in...

Budapest-Great Synagogue (Dohany Street)
Reopened in 1996 after reconstruction following desecration by German and...

Budapest-Great Synagogue (Dohany Street)
Europe's largest active synagogue, its reconstruction was financed by...

Budapest-Great Synagogue (Dohany Street)
Even in the rain, the details of its white and red brick facade with ceramic...

Budapest-Great Synagogue (Dohany Street)
I apologize for not having enough knowledge to describe some of the...

Budapest-Great Synagogue (Dohany Street)
Europe's largest active synagogue, the Great Synagogue seats 3,000...

Budapest-Great Synagogue (Dohany Street)
Built between 1844 and 1859, the synagogue was desecrated by German and...

Budapest-Great Synagogue (Dohany Street)
Donations from all over the world financed the reconstruction of the...

Budapest-Great Synagogue (Dohany Street)
Please view other pictures for information about the Great Synagogue.

Budapest-Great Synagogue (Dohany Street)
Please view other pictures for information about the Great Synagogue.

Budapest-Great Synagogue memorial tree
In the garden behind the Great Synagogue (Dohany Street) the "memorial...

Budapest-Great Synagogue memorial tree
In the garden behind the synagogue the "memorial tree," a...

Budapest-Great Synagogue memorial tree
A gray rainy day seems appropriate for our visit to the garden behind the...

Budapest-Great Synagogue marble plaque
At the rear of the synagogue is a black marble plaque in the ground with the...

Budapest-Jewish Museum
The Jewish Museum, a four-room exhibit next door to the Great...

Budapest-Jewish Museum
The Jewish Museum's exhibits are arranged in three main rooms...

Budapest-Jewish Museum
The Jewish Museum had most of its collection stolen in 1993, but the...

Budapest-Jewish Museum
The four-room exhibit next door to the Great Synagogue opened in 1932...

Budapest-Jewish Museum
The museum's fourth room, which has beautiful stained-glass...

Esztergom-bridge to Slovak Republic
The bridge separates Hungary from the Slovak Republic. It was not until after...

Esztergom-cathedral, palace, church
The ruins of a royal palace built in the 11th and 12th centuries and...

Esztergom-cathedral, palace, church
The ruins of a royal palace built in the 11th and 12th centuries and...

Esztergom-Cathedral
Built in the 19th century, Esztergom Cathedral is the largest church...

Esztergom-Cathedral
Esztergom Cathedral, the largest church in Hungary, was consecrated in...

Esztergom-Cathedral
Built in the 19th century, the cathedral's consecration in 1856...

Esztergom-Cathedral
The cathedral is the home of the primate of Esztergom, the highest-ranking...

Esztergom-Cathedral interior
The Esztergom Cathedral is said to have in its treasury the country's...

Esztergom-Cathedral interior
In addition to the country's largest and most valuable church collection,...

Esztergom-Cathedral interior
The cathedral is the largest church in the country and has one of the largest...

Esztergom-Cathedral interior
The Cathedral treasury has the country's largest and most valuable church...

Esztergom-Cathedral interior
The cathedral's clear glass windows let the sun stream onto the paintings...

Esztergom-Cathedral interior
The cathedral is the largest church in Hungary; the treasury is the...

Visegrad-Nagyvillan Restaurant
The restaurant overlooks the Danube River in the area of the Danube Bend, a...

Visegrad-Danube Bend
This view was taken from the Nagyvillan Restaurant in Visegrad which...

Visegrad-a 15th-century royal residence
This view from the Nagyvillan Restaurant in Visegrad is of the ruins of a...

Szentendre-Ethnographic Museum
On the outskirts of Szentendre the largest outdoor ethnographic museum in...

Szentendre-Ethnographic Museum
The museum was founded to present details on the way of life in villages and...

Szentendre-Ethnographic Museum belltower
The free-standing bell tower was certainly the most unusual site in...

Szentendre-Ethnographic Museum church
The ethnographic museum was founded, among other reasons, to present the...

Szentendre-Ethnographic Museum church
The ethnographic museum was founded, among other reasons, to present the...

Szentendre-Ethnographic Museum church
The ethnographic museum was founded, among other reasons, to present the...

Szentendre-paprika for sale
In Szentendre, the Danube Bend's most visited tourist area, there...

Budapest-Hotel Corvin
Hotel Corvin is a small hotel about a block from one of Budapest's main...

Budapest-Cancer Hospital's view
In the same block as our hotel was a hospital who treated children...

Budapest-colorful souvenirs
Colorful souvenirs were always on view to tempt the attention of shoppers.

Budapest-statuary near Parliament
This statuary can be seen from the side of the Parliament building where...

Budapest-Parliament look-alike
Other than pictures of the Parliament building from across the Danube,...

Budapest-Parliament building interior
The Parliament building, Euroope's largest, on the Pest bank of...

Budapest-Parliament building interior
The Parliament building has 691 rooms, 10 courtyards, and 29 staircases. More...

Budapest-Parliament building interior
More than 88 pounds of gold were used for the staircases and halls,...

Budapest-Parliament building interior
The Parliament building in neo-Gothic style was designed by a Hungarian...

Budapest-Parliament building urn
The Parliament building had many decorative pieces like this 15-foot...

Budapest-Parliament building interior
I think some of the tour group may have been trying to decide if it...

Budapest-Parliament building interior
More than 88 pounds of gold were used for the staircases and halls of the...

Budapest-Parliament building interior
Generally the Parliament is in session on Monday and Tuesday from late...

Budapest-Parliament building interior
Generally the Parliament is in session on Monday and Tuesday from late...

Budapest-example of Art Nouveau
This building, near the Parliament building, is one of several...

Ocsa-a Calvinist church
In the small village of Ocsa this Calvinist church is one of the...

Ocsa-Calvinist church
One of the country's important Romanesque-style structures was...

Ocsa-Calvinist church/peasant village
Adjacent to the churchyard of the Calvinist church built in the 13th...

Ocsa-Calvinist church interior
In the Calvinist church, a Romanesque-style structure built in the early 13th...

Ocsa-Calvinist church interior
In 1996 the frescoes in the church painted in the late 13th century...

Ocsa-Calvinist church interior
The outstanding frescoes painted at the church in the late 13th...

Ocsa-Calvinist church interior
The pipe organ can be seen in the 13th-century Romanesque-style structure. On...

Ocsa-traditional peasant homes
Next to the church a small "village" of thatched peasant...

Ocsa-"old village" buildings
Next to the well-known Calvinist church in Ocsa are thatched peasant...

Ocsa-a simple peasant lifestyle
Thatched peasant houses from the "old village" are furnished as...

Ocsa-Peasant home wall decoration
This was one of several styles of the same type of decoration on the wall or...

Ocsa-storks' nest
On one of the thatched peasant houses from the "Old village"...

Kecskemet-Town Hall
The Town Hall on the main square is considered a masterpiece in Art Nouveau...

Kecskemet-Town Hall
The Town Hall in Art Nouveau style has a glazed tile roof and fire-glazed...

Kecskemet-Catholic Church
At one end of the square in Kecskemet the Roman Catholic Big Church, built in...

Kecskemet-Catholic Church interior
On Kossuth Square, Kecskemet's Roman Catholic Big Church was built in the...

Kecskemet-Catholic Church interior
The Roman Catholic Big Church was built in the late 18th century.

Kecskemet-Catholic Church interior
The Roman Catholic Big Church on one side of the square was built in the late...

Kecskemet-Catholic Church interior
Built in the late 18th century, the Roman Catholic Big Church has a 230-foot...

Kecskemet-Kossuth Sq children's slide
Kossuth Square, the town's main square, is the site of this slide. The...

Kecskemet-newlyweds in Kosssuth Square
The newlyweds had a civil ceremony at the Town Hall before proceeding to a...

Kecskemet-Kossuth Square statue

Kecskemet-former synagogue
The former Kecskemet Synagogue was built about 1860 and now contains...

Kecskemet-Holy Trinity Monument
The Holy Trinity Monument in front of the Jozsef Katona Theatre was...

Kecskemet-Jozsef Katona Theatre
The Jozsef Katona Theatre was built in the late 1890's. It is...

Kecskemet-"Just Married" auto
This decorated auto was just outside the Town Hall where couples first had a...

Kecskemet-one ceremony down, one to go
The couple who were married in a civil ceremony in the Town Hall stand...

Kecskemetg-two flower girls or three?
Look closely at the flower girls holding the train of the bride's dress....

Fulophaza-Hungarian cowboys
Hungary's equestrian tradition of more than 1,000 years is best...

Fulophaza-a horseshow on the Puszta
In Hungary the equestrian tradition is best preserved on the Great...

Fulophaza-Horse Show
Although the sounds of the whips cracked around the horses' ears,...

Fulophaza-Master of the "Puszta Five"
Many Hungarian cowboys found on Hungary's Great Plain, called the Puszta,...