Visiting Buda & Pest

On our drive from Germany to Turkey, we stopped for two days in Budapest, Hungary. Did you know that Budapest used to be two cities -- Buda on the west bank of the Danube River and Pest on the east side?

We walked out of our apartment in the morning to find
a muralist painting a building across the street.

Two men in a doorway.

Ferit took many photos of Dilek and me walking around the city...

....and so it was only fair that we captured a photo of Ferit.

A sidewalk view.

It's always fun to see a pair of jeans riding a bicycle.

This old woman would make the perfect subject for a painting.
It's as if her hands are speaking the story of her life.

Dilek and I hang out on the Independence Bridge.

Dilek & Ferit have a moment of peace, while sitting aside traffic on the bridge.

Truly awesome graffiti.

Me, Ferit, & Dilek, with the Danube & Pest behind us.

A picturesque lookout.

Another great lookout.

Yup, we spent lots of time looking out over the city.

The gang.

Budapest's Liberty Statue, protected by a metal dude with a really nice set of glutes.

Ferit took a photo of me jumping in a tunnel.
Wow, I got me some gumby-legs.

The palace, on the Buda-side of the Danube.

After dinner, we set out to explore two of Budapest's many ruin pubs. These pubs have been created in old buildings that are awaiting restoration. As such, the pubs have lots of character -- rusty staircases, graffiti-filled walls, old mismatched furniture and the such. One of the ruin pubs we visited was called "Skybar" and was located on the roof of a building. The bar was hosting a short film festival, and so we enjoyed a few of flicks before calling it a night. Very cool!