St. Stephen's Basilica ~ Sophia

I went to St. Stephen's this Sunday, followed by some wandering around the neighborhood and a stop at a little gelato shop. I hear rumors of a cool gelato place where they make the ice cream into the shape of a flower; maybe I'll find that next Sunday.

Navigating public transit can be tricky, but at least the church is easy to spot.

Their English is making me feel better about my Hungarian.

There's an eclectic mix of pews and chairs, which latter are all joined together for maximum creakiness. No kneelers, of course. That floor is awfully hard.

Lots of little statues, including both the standard Mary/Joseph/Therese assortment and some more idiosyncratic Hungarian choices (St. Elizabeth of Hungary, St. Ladislaus).

Soaring domed ceiling

Side altars with altar lamps lit make genuflection decisions complicated. (What counts as passing in front of the altar? Does your path of travel have to be perpendicular to the way the altar faces?)

The other side altar.

The other side of the exterior. (It's hard to get photographs, because it's just so tall.)

Buda Castle ~ Sophia

For my first excursion from Pest across the Danube into Buda, I went to see Buda Castle. There was some sort of wine-tasting festival going on, so some areas were roped off for that, but I still got to explore most of the castle.

View across the Danube

Up the stairs to the castle

Enormous eagle statue

Much smaller Athena statue

Horseman statue

(I have no idea what's going on with any of these statues, really. Unfortunately all the inscriptions are in Hungarian.)

Castle gardens

There were a lot of these little low fountains. I can't tell if they have a specific purpose (dog drinking fountains?) or if they're just decorative.

Can't throw a stone in Budapest without hitting a cathedral.

More castle-y things

More castle, more statues

Lots of little rob-the-tourists shops. Handcrafted painted eggs and dolls feature prominently.

Back down the hill

Budapest in the rain ~ Sophia

One week here and I finally have enough free time to write a blog post. (Or enough homework that blogging sounds like an appealing form of procrastination. Take it as you will.) So here, for your viewing pleasure, is my daily walk to the grocery store.

Just outside my apartment, on the third floor.

Which of course means three flights of stairs.

I've been mentally referring to this as "the creepy handprint." I have no idea why it's there.

The street outside my apartment.

Crossing the street.

I hear church bells ringing at noon every day.

Turn right at the enormous statues.

Inside the grocery store. The Europeans are really into their bottled water -- these are tiny bottles in the baby food section.

Heading back home.

And here we are.