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Budapest Day 2

Today on the exploration agenda is more of the Pest side of Budapest.  We are taking it easy today by having a nice, long and relaxing breakfast.  After the breakfast we are heading towards the Danube to see the Parliament Building, The Great Synagogue, Gellert Hotel, Great Market Hall and St. Stephens Basilica, among other […]

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To the Hunt

Meanwhile in the other room at Zeller Bistro a fox hunt themed bachelor party was taking place.  14 crazy Englishmen, a bachelor dressed like a fox and a lot of toasting.  There were two different toasts given in about 5 minute intervals – To the Hunt and What Did The Fox Say!  As the table […]

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Zeller Bistro

As my wife said,  when you come to Budapest but don’t stop by Zeller Bistro, for dinner – you have wasted your trip here.  Zeller is a very small bistro on the Pest side of the city, family own and family run.  They also own a small farm and make their own wine and some […]

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Pest side of Budapest

After a nice visit to Buda site of Budapest we crossed the famous Chain Bridge,  to  Pest side of the city.  This, architecturally speaking, is the modern part of the city.  Pest side of the city is a treasure trove of Art Deco, Neoclassical and Classical architecture, perhaps mores than Prague.  For me that is […]

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Buda Castle

Buda Castle is the historical castle and palace complex of the Hungarian kings in Budapest, and was first completed in 1265. In the past, it has been called Royal Palace  and Royal Castle. Buda Castle was built on the southern tip of Castle Hill, bounded on the north by what is known as the Castle District which is famous for its Medieval, Baroque, and 19th-century houses, churches, and […]

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Fisherman’s Bastion

Fisherman’s Bastion is a terrace in neo-Gothic and neo-Romanesque style located on the Buda bank of the Danube, on the Castle hill  just behind the  Matthias Church. It was designed and built between 1895 and 1902.  Its seven towers represent the seven Magyar tribes that settled in the Carpathian Basin in 896. The Bastion takes its name from the guild of fishermen that was responsible for defending this stretch of the city […]

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Budapest

The name “Budapest” is the composition of the city names “Buda” and “Pest”  Dating back to before 1 AD Budapest is the 25th most visited city in the world and 6th most visited city in Europe.  Budapest is extensively dotted with World Heritage Sites which include the banks of the Danube, the Buda Castle Quarter, Andrássy Avenue, Heroes’ Square and the Millennium Underground Railway, […]

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Weekend Pad

This will be our home – away from home, away from home for the long weekend while we explore Budapest.  So far our impressions are pretty good and we are looking forward to staying here and sampling the breakfast tomorrow morning, and each morning after that.   We are about 10 minute walk away from […]

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Riquewihr France

The name of this little village of 1500 just rolls off your tongue – Riquewihr, Riquewihr, Riquewihr.  This little village is located about 5km from Ribeauvillé or 6km if you take the scenic route through the winding roads leading through the vineyards.  Riquewihr is an old wine trading village , famous for it architecture and for the Riesling and other great wines […]

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Bismarck

At the end of our short street is a boulevard that separates our neighbourhood from the moat canals and the parks down below.  On the boulevard there is a massive statue dedicated to Bismarck.  It is quite old and a bit damaged, undoubtedly by both wars.  This place is great for either getting to the […]

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Change of Guard

Today we went to Buckingham  Palace to see the change of the guard, us and about 1000 other people with nothing better to do on a beautiful spring day.  The whole ceremony is quite long, with much fanfare and massive crowds and not a lot to see.  It seems there is not one place that […]

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Natural History Museum

To your average creationist this place is hell and Darwin is the devil, to the rest of inquiriting  minds this is a place of amazement and wonder.  The museum is home to life and earth science specimens comprising some 70 million items within five main collections: botany, entomology, mineralogy, palaeontology and zoology.  Each exhibit hall is more splendid the the […]

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British Museum

It appears that whatever the French have  found first or did not lose  in war is at the Louvre in Paris, the rest of the world’s treasures are in London at the The British Museum.  The Rosetta Stone, the oldest chess set, the Portland Vase the precursor to Wedgwood China, The Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, Colossal red granite statue […]

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London Eye

We woke up to a spectacular spring day in London.  It is the sort of day you wish you were going on the London Eye simply to see the entire city with beautiful blue sky and some white clouds.  That is exactly how we started our day today.   First thing after breakfast we set […]

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Harry Potter Sets

The first part of the tour is on the sound stage where the Great Hall scenes were shot as well as some of the other iconic sets from the movie, such as the Boys, Dormitory, Gryffindor Common Room, Potions Room, the Burrow, Hagrid’s hut, Umbridge’s Office, the Dumbledore’s Office, the Ministry of Magic etc..  It all […]

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Harry Potter

This adventure took about 4 or 5 hours to get through but as Boris said, it was the best day of his life.  Harry Potter Studios just outside London are well worth the time and the money for any Harry Potter fan.   Even before you enter the studios, you are immediately impressed by the […]

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Piccadilly

Until the 17th century the street was known as Portugal Street.  Piccadilly is a  famous road in London, running from Hyde Park Corner in the west to  in the east. It is completely within the City of Westminster and it is one of the widest and straightest streets in central London, and it is always busy.  

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Get Informed

Let your voice be heard. On the anniversary of Aaron Swartz’s tragic passing, leading internet groups and online platforms announce Day of Activism Against NSA Surveillance Mobilization, dubbed “The Day We Fight Back” to honor Swartz & celebrate the anniversary of SOPA Blackout  

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