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First stop: Climbing Gellert Hill. Reward: Nice views, here of the Royal Palace situated on Castle Hill (Varhegy)
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View of downtown Budapest, with the prominent 96m dome of the Basilica
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Freedom monument on Gellert Hill, to mark Hungary's liberation from fascism
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Another view of downtown Budapest from Gellert Hill, featuring the 96m high dome of parliament building
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The Inner City Parish Church and Elisabeth Bridge, which we crossed to get from the Pest to the Buda side and climb up Gellert Hill
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After lunch on Gellert Hill and a brisk walk back down we were on our way towards Castle Hill, passing by this memorial for Sissi
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A glimpse of Castle Hill through an alley
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A popular mode of transport to reach the castle is this cable car...
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...which we photographed before walking up the hill.
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Looking down from Castle Hill at the Chain Bridge, Budapest's oldest bridge
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The parliament building as seen from Castle Hill
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Clouds shadowing the parliament building, as seen from Castle Hill
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Elisabeth and Liberty Bridges from a vantage point on Castle Hill
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The Holy Trinity Column in front of Mathias Church on Castle Hill
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Mathias Church
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More of the Mathias Church
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A monument to St. Stephen in front of the Fisherman's Bastion
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A view of parliament (again), this time from Fisherman's Bastion
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Looking down on Margaret Island and Margaret Bridge form Fisherman's Bastion
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Reflections of Mathias Church (in the golden windows of an expensive hotel)
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Intricate and beautiful details of the roof of Mathias Church
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Reflections of Fisherman's Bastion
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Fisherman's Bastion
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And more of Mathias Church
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You guessed it, Mathias Church
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Partially reconstructed ruins of Maria Magdalene Church, mostly destroyed in WWII bombings
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Again some very nice roof details, here in the northern part of Castle Hill
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Tourist in the ruins of Maria Magdalene Church
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Reconstructed window frame of Maria Magdalene Church, situated at the northern end of Castle Hill
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Walking along the western edge of Castle Hill, another glimpse of the Mathias Church through an alley
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The Royal Palace
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Turul Statue, a mythical Hungarian eagle
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After Castle Hill we crossed the river Danube back to the Pest side via the Chain Bridge
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Elisabeth Bridge, all decked out for festivities planned for May 1st
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After an excellent and plentiful dinner in a neighborhood restaurant we did a little walking along the Danube river: Mathias Church illuminated
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Night-time illumination of the Royal Palace, with a snippet of the parliament building on the left
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Elisabeth Bridge at night
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The next morning we returned to the Buda side, this time via the Margaret Bridge. There, a tram line runs along the river
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Another church with a nice roof
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Turul Statue, as seen from the foot of Castle Hill
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We continued south along the river, passing by Castle Hill again.
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The tongue-less Marschalko-Lion at the Chain Bridge, which was closed for party preparations
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Marschalko-Lion at the Chain Bridge
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A boater with a sense of humor (and a great marketing instinct)
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Chain Bridge and the parliament building
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Looking up at Gellert Statue, situated half way up Gellert Hill
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Back to the Pest-side via Elisabeth Bridge with a view of the Royal Palace
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View of Mathias Church and Fisherman's Bastion from Elisabeth Bridge
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Hungarian meat specialities - for those so inclined ;-) - in the impressive Central Market Hall
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A short break from walking at a cafe outside of the Central Market Hall, to recoup energy and write postcards
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Europe's largest Synagogue is found in Budapest's Kiraly Utca
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The Basilica of St.-Stephen, Budapest's largest church with a dome height of 96m
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Statues decorating the Basilica
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Walking up the up-scale Andrassy Ut: Budapest's opera building, decorated with statues of important composers
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Further along Andrassy Ut: Interesting architecture marking a less pleasant topic, a Terror-Museum
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A subway station along the M1-line, which runs below Andrassy Ut
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Andrassy Ut ends at Heroes Square (Hosok tere), which was built in 1896 to celebrate the millennium of the Hungarian conquest of the Carparthian Basin.
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Perched atop a 36-metre high column is a winged figure of the Archangel Gabriel
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Behind the column are two semi-circular colonnades...
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... housing the statues of the most famous rulers in Hungarian history
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