Castle Hill in Budapest

Budapest is the capital city of Hungary and is dubbed the 'Paris of Central Europe'. The city sits on the banks of Danube River. By the way, Danube is the second longest river in Europe at 2850 km, stretching all the way from Germany's Black Forest through Vienna, Bratislava to the Black Sea. Buda and Obuda are located to the west of the Danube while Pest is located to the east.

From Bratislava, we took a train to go to Budapest.






The Buda Castle Quarter including the Old Town and Royal Palace has been listed as a World Heritage Site. We were living at the Pest side. Early morning we took a metro to cross under the riverbed of Danube to the Buda side and entered the Old Town through the Vienna Gate.


Mary Magdalene Tower was part of a 13th century Franciscan church and is opened to public as a lookout tower now. The Old Town itself is located on top of a hill and there are a number of scenic viewpoints free of charge and thus, we didn't pay to enter this. ;p






Fisherman's Bastion is a beautiful lookout terrace complex overlooking the Danube built in 19th century. It has never served as military defense towers although it looks very much like one. In case you're curious how did the name derive - as I was curious as well, it was named after the medieval fish market once nearby and the Guild of Fishermen.




The view across the Danube from Fisherman's Bastion are really a sight to behold. It's really pictureque with the Parliment Building sitting majestically at the other bank of the river.






Part of the Fisherman's Bastion has been converted to a cafe to cater for the flocking tourists. It's probably one of the best place to have a cup of coffee with commanding views.




It's easy to guess which side is the Danube view. Hehe. The right row of tables were almost unoccupied.




The Matyas Church, or Matthias Church in English was first built in the 13th century and is one of the oldest churches in Budapest. It was also the site where two weddings of King Matyas were held. During the Turkish occupation, many of the ecclesiastical treasures and frescoes were removed. It was subsequently restored to baroque and late gothic styles. I think the colourful roof tiles are quite pretty complementing the grey exteriors.


A model of Matyas Church.


There weren't many tourists at this rather secluded viewpoint behind the Sandor Palace.


The St. Stephen's Cathedral and the famous suspension bridge, Szechenyi Chain Bridge are also clearly visible from here. Chain Bridge was built in the 19th century and was the first permanent bridge spanning across the Danube. It was an engineering marvel upon its completion then.


With a major river cutting through the city, this is really an ideal place for bridge engineers to showcase their ingenuities. When I was younger during the university years, I dreamt of designing a monumental long-span bridge like this if I ever have a chance. Somehow I ended up in building design now. I still love bridges very much.




The Royal Palace is an extensive complex on the south of Castle Hill. It houses several musuems and galleries.








Another viewpoint from the Royal Palace.


When we were walking from the Old Town to the Royal Palace, we stumbled upon a group photographers honing their skills with an instructor demonstrating in front. It immediately reminded me of a renowned wedding photographer from my hometown Sabah, Louis Pang. :)