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Buda Palace views

Kids enthralled by the Buda Palace views from the plaza.
Kids enthralled by the Buda Palace views from the plaza.

Buda Palace Views

The kids were fascinated by the Buda Palace views of the Danube River from the hillside in the oldest part of Budapest.  This included anyone else visiting as well, some from around the world.  It was honestly hard to look away.  Most significantly, the river was beautiful and there were views of a variety of buildings from many eras.  An expert could’ve created an architectural history lesson easily from where we were standing.

We also had other great views such as the cafes down one terrace and the rest of the castle structure wrapped around the hill studded periodically with statues.  Part of this view included the Citadel at the peak of the hill. The funicular was just below like an up-hill train. We also saw a changing of the guard and several mounted groups ride by.  Parliament and St. Stephen’s Basilica were prominent on the Pest side of the river.

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Variety in the Rebuilding

As we walked around Buda Palace, we entered a courtyard of the palace showing the layers of rebuilding over its history in the various materials.  This variety starts with the earliest, roughest Gothic stone, transitions to Renaissance brick, then baroque-style recent at the highest point.  Also, there are modern rust-textured metal stairs from the last few years.  It looked like there were several areas under construction adding even more new things to see in the future.

 

Buda Palace viewed in a "postcard" style.

Buda Palace viewed in a “postcard” style.

Postcard views

This is a postcard view of the palace from the Elizabeth Bridge.  It is a gorgeous walk across any of the bridges from the relatively “newer” Pest side to the older Buda side.  The views are of boats, historical buildings and hillsides on the Buda side of the city.  It is also wonderfully breezy down the river giving a break from the summer heat.

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Buda Palace windows

Summer sky reflected in the windows of Buda Palace in Budapest, Hungar
Summer sky reflected in the windows of Buda Palace in Budapest, Hungar

These are just a few of the many baroque windows of Buda Palace.  There are  some gothic ones as well.  The palace was originated in the 13th century but was repeatedly built and torn down and the current version is a modernist reconstruction of the medieval and baroque periods.  As you may expect, this causes some architectural confusion but it does not detract from the overall sumptuous effect.  The views are amazing and the layers of history are fascinating.

Looking through the castle chapel, one of the few remaining remaining Gothic portions of the palace.
Looking through the castle chapel, one of the few remaining remaining Gothic portions of the palace.

While the whole castle district is apparently somewhat rebuilt, it remains full of atmosphere and beautiful to visit.   There are some shops, an art/souvenir market, Matthias Cathedral, the Fisherman’s Bastion a romantically designed fortress and a handful of restaurants.  And the view.  Sweeping across the city on both sides of the Danube River, studded with spires and filled with the variety of roof forms produced over the last several hundred years.

People enthralled by the city views from the plaza in front of Buda Palace.
People enthralled by the city views from the plaza in front of Buda Palace.

Budapest is busy with tourists and the castle area is very popular.  Everyone brought their cameras and took pictures of the views, each other and themselves.  I took many pictures also… it’s almost impossible not to.  It seems anywhere you look is a potential photo.

Tourists photographing the view, each other and themselves at the Buda Palace walls.
Tourists photographing the view, each other and themselves at the Buda Palace walls.