Baai2Berlin: Berlin to Budapest: Freezing and Sightseeing

Here are some pictures from all over. Fortunately it was only really cold on the Friday with some light snow. Strange how my standards regarding cold has changed. In sunny South Africa I considered daytime temperature of 15 ̊C to be cold. Now I don't consider 10 ̊C to be cold. Interesting how context is really king. Anyway, it was mostly pleasant in Budapest except the Friday when it hit -3 ̊C at one time during the day. When I get back to SA, I'll be so ready for the winter!

I stayed in a nice but basic hotel in Budapest. No complaints except the walls that is very thin so my loud Italian neighbour who loved chatting on her cell at all hours of the morning was not my favourite at times. The hotel is 5 minutes walking distance from the conference centre with a tram stop right in front of the conference venue. This venue is situated in a shopping centre, which means it was really easy to find food. Budapest is a reasonably cheap travel destination and the flights to Budapest from Berlin, the hotel for a week and my spending money, including food came to about €250, which I thought was very reasonable.

Get ready for lots of pictures from both the Buda and the Pest side of the city (b.t.w., it was two separate cities until the late 1800s).

I passed this church on the way to the conference center every day. You can see how gloomy it was on some days while I was there.

An interesting courtyard I saw somewhere in the inner city

The same Xmas market but during the day. It was snowing at this point, but my camera didn't capture the actual snowflakes. But it was COLD!

I'm trying to take a picture of me in the snow with the Xmas market in the background with the wind blowing snow straight into my face. Not very successful

Vaci utca (Fashion street) is a big tourist trap but an interesting street. Behind me is Vaci street and once again, I'm flippen freezing!

Look at this interesting shop window. I especially love the gogo.

One of the bridges and a very cold-looking (and feeling) background

There was something about Mozart going on in this building

Apparently a well-known restaurant but I thought it unlikely that I would eat in a restaurant called "Fatal"...only later saw the funny thingy above the 'a'.

The Great Market Hall from the outside

The Great Market Hall from the inside.

Lots of fresh produce gets sold here - from meat to veggies and fruits. There is also a second floor where one can buy very touristy stuff.

On Saturday afternoon, Christians from the Budapest Church of Christ took us on a sight-seeing tour. Here Feri is telling us about the Parliament building. He did a great job memorising all sorts of interesting facts like the hight of the tower!

The Parliament building

We caught the end of some dance but I'm not sure if this was Hungarian traditional dancing.

Eish, everybody had to pose here!

More buildings with beautiful details

I think this is St. Stephens basilica. There is a Xmas market in front of it.

On Sunday afternoon I went sightseeing with some of the UK Christians. This shop had a statue of a pirate climbing down the wall. Very realistic.

Crossing the Liberty Bridge on our way to the Buda side of the city

Looking south, one can see the Petofi Bridge

and some old buildings

Some of the details

Thought it was interesting how old buildings are just next to the street. This is at the bottom of Gellert hill.

Anton from Leeds in a silly mood

Walking up Gellert hill. From the autumn leaves on the trees I gather that it's not yet fully winter in Budapest yet.

View from Gellert hill. This was about 3pm and quite foggy, great atmosphere.

More of Pest from Gellert hill

Anton and Natalie from Cardiff.

A real tourist shot.

Anton loves posing for pics, so here's another tourist shot.

Really stunning view from Gellert hill. I didn't climb to the top. Just got fed-up of climbing up a hill in the cold and semi-dark, so waited and had the chance to take lots of pics. This one is my favourite.

I think that is St. Stephens basilica in the background, but I'm probably wrong.

The escalators in the metro is like the escalators from hell! High and steep! The longest one took 71sec to reach to top.

Going up is OK, but going down is vertigo-inducing!

I just clung for dear life.

On Tuesday, I had a few hours to sightsee before I had to catch my flight back to Berlin. I went to Castle Hill on the Buda side. This church is being renovated, I think.