1. New Roommate who was really bored at home and wanted to go out sightseeing...

2. I said that I would come if we actually got to go and explore the museums on Castle Hill

3. Castle Hill does look better in the sunlight then in the fog...

On the Buda side... I had already told my roommate that there was no way I was going to climb up the hill after my experience in winter. I wanted to take the furnicular... but unfortunately it would be ready till after the end of May, so we took the bus up instead...

At fisherman's bastion again... funny how I noticed more things than I did previously...the holy trinity column was built by Buda's Council in the early part of the 18th century to serve as a lasting memorial to those who died in the devastating plague of 1691

Matthias Church. According to the guidebook, looks like renovations won't be done till 2012. I really wanted to go in and take a look at the interior as I had read that it was very pretty. However, I guess this is a downside of sightseeing in a group. Not everyone is always willing to pay money to see the things you want to see. I guess that I'll just have to come back here another time by myself to see the interior...

Look familiar? :P

I guess it really shows... on a clear day, you can really see the parliament across the Duna...


Also took a stroll along the medieval streets (old town) surrounding castle hill... Here you can see the controversial Hilton hotel in which the remains of a 13th-century Dominican church and the wall of a 17th-century Jesuit college have been successfully integrated into the design.

Pretty sights along the streets

View of the Buda side from castle hill grounds

Castle Hill grounds

The are two big museums to be seen on castle hill: the Hungarian History Museum, which tells the visitor pretty much the history of castle hill, how it came to be invaded by the turks and its different occupants and how the design of the castle has evolved over the years... so yes... the castle hill we see today was not the original design at all... I was only able to visit the History museum this time by fluke.. (Long story to tell). The other museum which I missed was the National Gallery... so I'll have to go back myself another time to see that.

For the excitement seeking pple, sitting beneath Castle Hill is a 28km long network of caves formed by thermal springs, which were supposedly used by the turks for military purposes and served as air raid shelters during WWII. They also hid a secret military installation during the cold war. The people I was with that day were really interested in seeing this museum so off we when. When we got there, the first thing that hit me was this really really musty smell which you could smell right off the doorway. The atmosphere was almost like the House of Terror museum (look at previous post). They played some haunting music, probably to put us in the spooky mood as we explored the labyrinths which were barely lit at all and we were just wondering whereever. It would have been better though if I had known what I was looking at and there were explanations in english to tell me more about the maze that I was walking through. As far as I know, audio guides are not offered for this area as well... so while it is an experience walking through the caves and looking at the interesting stone structures they have below... one often wonders what was the significance of each....

Labyrinth Museum entrance.

Pictures like these were all over the caves... like I said, I don't know the significance of these... I only know they're there..

Wierd end of the corridor with a cross in the middle and flanked by stone warriors with their magic wands.. :P


Do not ask me why this underground WINE fountain was here...it was just here...