...and Lillafüred

And so we hurried on to Lillafüred, which brought us into a lush area in the hills

parked under a train bridge

 and began exploring the area, a quaint little tourist town where we stopped for a nice lunch on the terrace

and  contemplated taking a ride on the mini train which runs around hither and thither, at no great speed but in a wonderfully relaxing style

 but opted instead to keep walking on, and so came by the inn where for a modest fee one can spend the weekend - and to our children's chagrin, access the playground

but we found our own playgrounds 

and peacefully strolled downhill toward the lake

where we commandeered a rowboat and practiced pulling on its oars, too short to achieve any dangerous speeds

 but a magnificent ride altogether

and were able to ponder the wonders of nature

before tearing ourselves away and on to the next part of our day.

Day trip to Diósgyőr

Part one of our day trip was a stop at Diósgyőr (DI-osh-dyer), a fort built over a thousand years ago, and showing some signs of wear.

But mostly excited to visit old castles, we began our tour by crossing the ancient moat.

We bumped into a tour group and so were able to visit the guided portion which was underground in a cellar/dungeon with rooms decorated in such dioramas as this

and this one depicting a popular legend in the area around a thousand years ago, about a knight who killed over 200 innocent people and was told by the Pope to atone for his sins by visiting St. Patrick Cave in Ireland, which was believed to be the gate to Hell.  He did, and as the story goes was lucky to return full of toxic gases, which gave him extraordinary visions and was henceforth regarded almost as a saint himself.  Here then, is George Magyar's Descent into Hell.  Yikes.

And so we acknowledged our misdeeds by climbing one of the towers, up and up

discovering an old furnace along the way

and were richly rewarded with the spectacular view from the top

and later discovered some ceramics from the period

and another dungeon furnished with displays of knights of the castle back in the day

and were greeted on our way out by a dizzying demonstration of the lines of kings, of which I will only share a portion, in consideration of your well-being

and a final farewell, with a warning

and so we hastily sped on to Lillafüred, vowing to come back with more troops and take the castle for our own.

Sights of Spring

Spring is rising here - the magnolia has burst forth with its unbelievable plumage

the mornings have the fresh sweet smell of a million flower buds opening

 the flowers are dancing about

 and the little girls are too

and even some of the older girls.

Budapest, Day 2

On our way to a children's morning at the new Bartók Béla Nemzeti Hangversenyterem, the National Concert Hall, we snapped this photo of the University of Science across the river where a friend is doing research.

Arriving with plenty of time to goof around,

we climbed first to the top of the spiral lookout

where we goofed around with the camera...

...can you find the four bridges?  Petőfi, Szabadság, Erzsébet, and Szécsényi Lánchíd...

A view of the new concert hall - too big to photograph really.  We almost ate lunch on the patio there but it was a bit chilly for the kids.

Running through the mazes...

and around the surprise fountains...

finally time for the activities, where our girl enjoyed playing along with the story being acted out by a professional actor and actress.

...after this and some other activities the kids created their own performance art

Back outside I admired another brand new building, not sure what it is, but is was interesting enough

and covered with this sort of statue, I am sure for which there is some explanation

the kids ran around in the maze and tried to get lost and found

and so we bid goodbye to our friends and motored west to the outskirts of Buda, to the Statue Park that houses the Communist-era statues.

Here are the kids enjoy a cheery moment with comrade Lenin.

This is the classic Soviet image, soldier with Kalashnikov rifle

...and the image of 'friendship' between the Soviets and the Hungarians -

and this colossus - which while I love this as classic Soviet style, I can't help but think it looks like a teenager stealing laundry from a clothesline - WOOOOH!

And the girl enjoys a break on the foot of a retired Comrade.