Andrew and Nikki go overseas: Being a tourist in Budapest again

Now that our first lot of visitors have arrived and we have established ourselves in our apartment we have at last ventured out to see the sights. The first thing anyone should do on arriving in Budapest is to climb Gellert Hill and take in the view from the top. There are the two things they will see.

The magnificent view across the Danube with the Lanchid (Chain Bridge) in the foreground.

The other very famous sight in Budapest the Houses of Parliament on the Pest side of the Danube.

A less usual sight is the Danube in flood as these half submerged trees along its bank indicate.

This is a view of the tram crossing the Szabadsag Bridge. The Budapest public transport system is excellent.

This is a view of the moving staircase at Metro 3. There are 3 layers of the metro in Budapest. Level 1 is very close to the surface. It was established in 1890 and it was the first metro line on mainland Europe, earlier than the Paris Metro. Only the London Metro is older but London is not mainland Europe. There was another level lower down constructed years later and then another level yet lower down again. This staircase goes to the lowest level.

Heroes Square displaying all the kings and national heroes of Hungary. All communist monuments and statues around Budapest have been removed. They are now displayed in Memento Park (Statue Park) which houses all the monumental art that was a tool and symbol of power in the 60 years of socialism. Even the names of streets and squares have been changed. For example, Moszkva Ter which was a central tram changing square in Buda has been changed since we last visited so we could not find it on our map.