Had been to Budapest last weekend. Had been for 3 days with Jeremy.
Part 1
Its a nice city, though still has a communistic feel since it was liberated only in 1989 from the Soviet rule. So, you see a lot of Russsian influence on architecture, food, clothes etc. The city is divided in to 2 parts Buda and Pest separated by the river Danube.The Danube is the longest river in Europe after the Volga and Has 9 cities on its banks.The whole city has grown along the banks and all the monuments are visible standing on the banks of the river.
The two parts of the City are connected by a number of bridges.There is an island in between the river called I guess Margaret Island....dont ask me why....but its a beautiful green island. Has a musical fountain which dances along Beethoven's tunes, a state of art sports complex a beautiful park which has trees 100s of years old.The highlight in Pest was the Parliament bldg which is an ultimate example of baroque and gothic architecture. You will never realsie that its a parliamnet house....it looks like agothic cathedral.....the work is so intricately done.The views of the Parliament house from the various bridges is a picture which u can see in a number of postcards.
Pest is very commercialised and built on the plains. The buildings are all huge and imposing with dark lanes in between which give the city a very ominous feel.Due to years of negligence during the soviet rule,most of the buildings are covered with soot and are in need of repairs.Being in Pest you dont feel like as if you are in a developed European country, it does give you the feel of being in a 3rd world nation.Buda on the other hand is a stark contrast. Its built on the hills and is extremely picturesque and beautiful.Ofcourse the rich and famous stay on the Buda side of the city.