Tour of the Parliament
Since we arrived in the city we had decided that we would visit the Hungarian Parliament Building for a tour. Kathryn had pointed out some very nice pictures taken from inside the Parliament Building that made me want to visit even more. The interior of the building was amazing. Everything there was so elegant. No expense was spared in the buildings construction. We were allowed to take pictures in all areas of the building aside from the area where the crown jewels were stored. The entrance hall was gigantic and covered in gold with a red carpet flowing down the middle. It was the most impressive part of the building for me.
Hungarian Parliament Building Entrance Hall vertorama – 8mm, f/2.8, ISO 1000 at 1/25 secondsView From the Citadel
The Citadel in Budapest is one of the highest points around the city of Budapest. As a consequence of this it was no easy feat to walk up there with camera equipment. There was a nice walkway up along the side of the hill that we followed. About halfway up I needed to take off my jacket and hat as I was getting way too hot. When we got to the top of the hill, we started looking for a spot to settle down at for the evening. As the area we were in was quite high, we soon became quite cold because of the wind and lack of shelter. From our vantage point, we had good views of the Palace and the Chain Bridge.
View of Budapest from the Citadel – 44mm, f/16, ISO 100 at 4 secondsI decided to zoom out slightly and try and get the complete Chain Bridge into the image. I felt slightly conflicted when I saw the results. On the one hand, the bridge didn’t cut off in the middle but on the other I liked the sense of balance that the previous shot had created.
View of Budapest from the Citadel – 36mm, f/16, ISO 100 at 6 secondsBefore we finished up for the evening I decided to shoot a panorama to try and cut out some of the sky and trees which I felt there was slightly too much of in the other photos.
Panorama of Budapest from the Citadel – 50mm, f/5.6, ISO 100 at .8 secondsEaster Festival
We were very lucky with our timing of visiting Budapest. About 5 minutes walk from our apartment an Easter Festival was getting set up. Unfortunately it stated on the Friday and we left early on the Saturday. However, we could have missed it completely so all things considered we were quite lucky. The festival was something like what I experienced in Prague at the Christmas Markets just without the Christmas theme. Skilled craftsmen people were peddling their wares and everyone was merry sampling the local cuisine an drinking the local beer. It was a lovely place to be.
Lanterns during the day – 8mm, f/2.8, ISO 100 at 1/250 secondsEveryone there genuinely seemed happy. It was a great place to be and had a great atmosphere. It looked lovely during the day and especially at night when all the lanterns strewn around the square were lit up!
Lanterns at night – 8mm, f/2.8, ISO 100 at 1/4 secondsAll in all I have to say I enjoyed what Budapest had to offer. Sadly as I had badly cut my leg I didn’t venture into the thermal baths but I would love the opportunity to try them out at some point. Obviously I wish I could have taken a bit more time with some of the shots I took but it’s all practice. Shooting in a new city will always be a challenge. One that I welcome!
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