Beautiful Budapest

Monday, September 24, 2012

When in Budapest, look up.

Budapest's buildings are beautiful and ugly, a fascinating mixture of all kinds.of architectural styles: gothic, classic, art nouveau, brutalist.

Budapest beautiful
 
The beautiful buildings radiate, adorned with symbols and alive with detail.

Budapest patterns 

 The uglier buildings are monumentally so, and tell of a dark history.

Budapest communist architecture

I went on a communist tour to discover some of the sights. The guide Andrew mentioned that during the communist times, the city was grey. Buidlings were neglected, allowed to accumulate layers of pollution and urban grime.

Budapest street 

When the 1990s came and the ending of the communist era, the sense of optimism for the future must have been matched by a sense of joy at seeing buildings like these shine again.