| << | 11 |  | 13 | 14 |  |  |  |  |  | >> |

 1 | 2 | 3
Hungary Adventure, Page 1

- Hover Mouse Over Images -

Pictures and Stories About Bicycle Adventures



Hungarian National Flag Former Royal Hungarian Flag

Budapest, Hungary
By Bicycle, September, 2005

-- Itinerary --

Arrive via Hydrofoil on Blue Danube (From Vienna)
Tour Budapest for a Week
Train to Eger (Home of Bulls Blood Wine)
Bicycle to Esztergom for a Week
Train back to Budapest
Depart via Train to Vienna (aka Wien)

Hydrofoil (sister boat) on Blue Danube. Hungarian Parliament Building.
Above Left: This is our sister boat. We are on an identical hydrofoil cruising down the Danube. Its about an eight hour ride and we had a great time. Drinks and beverages were served and everyone was nice. Some locals sat at the bar for the entire ride - they sang a lot.

We did not appreciate how fast we were traveling until a speed boat driver saw us and he decided to race. We saw a full rooster tail come up from the water and a race was on. We watched as our boat just pulled away. That's fast.

Above Right: Its the Hungarian Parliament Building. Its an impressive sight. Its location comes from days of river power - Whoever controlled the river controlled commerce. The Hapsburg relatives were just upstream in Vienna, Austria.

Budapest Motorcycle Rally. Motorcycle Driver Firing an Exhaust Flame.

Left: There just happens to be some sort of motorcycle rally / parade. Every bike is honking. There is no way that the parade is going to be ignored by anyone. Everyone is courteous. We just happened to be on Castle Hill (Var Heggy) and happen to have a nice view. Cool huh?

Above Right: Its all coincidence. Dennis just happened to look into the tunnel at traffic. The biker had activated some device that shot a big flame out of his exhaust. Thinking quickly, Dennis stepped into the street and brought his camera up. The driver, now out of the tunnel, obliged by shooting the flame again. Cool!

Hungary's Mythical Eagle. Hungary's National Museum Art.
Above Left: Hungary's mythical eagle art is prominently visible on Castle Hill to most of Budapest and to everyone that travels on the Danube. As we understand the legend, one of the founding tribal rulers was raised by an Eagle.

Above Right: We don't know the Lady's name or the artist, but the oil painting is beautiful. The picture was taken in Hungary's National Muzeum of Art and Dennis was chastised for taking pictures without a picture taking permit. The permit cost another fifty cents, we just never conceived the notion that permission and a permit was required. This concept is apparently a remnant of former communist days where the bureaucracy did not permit pictures at all. We would run into this problem many more times in Hungary. We learned fast, to ask if pictures could be taken and we only visted where picture taking was allowed.

Cave Painting: Horses. Herrand Porcelain.
Above Left: There is a labyrinth of ancient caves and man made tunnels underneath the castle on castle hill. We were told that the cave paintings are original, but we suspect that something is lost in translation. We think that this cave painting is an imitation of cave art from somewhere else in Hungary or the cave wall painting is severely touched up. In any case the art itself is wonderful.

Above Right: "Herand" is a world renowned and famous name in porcelain. All of the royal houses of Europe and Asia have Herand made vases and objects. The objects in this picture are in a state of having been fire hardened but not glazed or painted, yet. By coincidence, Terry will later purchase this same Porcelain Eagle design as a gift for Dennis. Herand is one of the only major businesses to exist before and after communism and survive, Herand had divided ownership stock among the employees. The Herand factory / studio is located near Lake Balaton, a resort like community and environment that is about a hundred miles west of Budapest.

Church on Lake Balaton. Resort View of Lake Balaton.
Above Left: This church, on Lake Balaton, is the same church and location from where the King of Hungary abdicated his thrown at the end of World War II. Dennis worked very quickly to line up the sun's rays with the cross at the steeple's peak. The cloud and effect were gone in less than a minute.

Above Right: View across Lake Balaton, looking to the south-east. Lake Balaton is Hungary's largest lake and it is a shallow water lake. The shallow lake allows the water to be warmed up by the sun and consequently it very rarely freezes, thus the warm environment favors year round crop growth, minimal freezing temperatures and the area is popular for grape vineyards.

Thatched Roof. Aquincum, Roman City/Outpost Ruins.
Above Left: The thatched roof is not unusual and is very effective for insulation as well as for water leak proofing. This structure was next to a fuel station that was used for a travel rest stop.

Above Right: Aquincum was a Roman Empire City/Post. It represents the furthest formal occupation to the north-east by the Roman Empire. Aquincum is inside the present Budapest city limits, about four or five miles north of the central and popular Castle Hill area. This is our very first visitation to a Roman Ruin. There is an onsite Muzeum that does not allow pictures.

Interior wall at St Mathais Church. Roof of St Mathais Church.

Left: St Mathais was the church of the royalty inside the castle grounds. King Stephen, was the King that made the church what is today and King Stephen was one of the most popular Kings of the people of Hungary. King Stephen's religion became the people's religion.

Above Right: View of St Mathais' architecture and roof tile design. We got to listen to a private organ recital inside the church. Wow!

Schindlers Lift. Gelert Spa.
Above Left: Schindler's Lift!
(Well, it was funny at the time that we took the picture.)

Above Right: Gelert Spa is a world renowned health and mineral spa. It is located about one mile south of Castle Hill.

Hungarian National Dance Ensemble. Chain Bridge at Night.
Above Left: Hungary's National Dance Ensemble. This group of professional dancers, who have danced for Kings, Presidents, and Prime Ministers, performed the folk dances of Hungary's many regions, many ethnic groups, and many different ages. It was exhilarating, refreshing, and exciting. Feet went high, girls got thrown, girls got twirled, boots got stomped, thighs got slapped, and hips got bumped! We had good seats!

Above Right: Romance is in the air! City lights, Budapest, Danube River, Star Lit Night, Famous Chain Bridge, Warm Evening, the Hungarian National Dance Ensemble, Wine, ... .



Previous Adventure   Top   To the Bike Tour!