Pathologic Basis of KT

Sunday, August 8, 2010

Budapest, Hungary

I loved Budapest! It was easy to get around, there was so much to see, and I finally had some great weather.

Fisherman's Bastion and statue of Stephen I on Castle Hill, Buda

Looking from Fisherman's Bastion, Buda across the Danube to the Parliament Building, Pest

Fisherman's Bastion and Stephen I

Fisherman's Bastion

Matthias Church, Buda

Raven, symbol of King Matthias

Széchenyi Chain Bridge, viewed from the Royal Palace

Parliament, viewed from the Royal Palace

Liberty Bridge and the Danube, viewed from Gellért Hill

Looking towards Castle Hill from Gellért Hill

Liberty statue at the top of Gellért Hill

St Stephen's Basilica, Pest

St Stephen's Basilica

St Stephen

St Margaret

Statue near the Parliament Building, Pest

Another statue near the Parliament Building

Interior, Great Market Hall

Did you notice the undead doll staring back at me?

Széchenyi Baths

Next: Prague, Czech Republic...

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Auschwitz-Birkenau and Kraków, Poland

I specifically visited Kraków so that I could go to Auschwitz-Birkenau (it was as depressing as you'd expect), and was pleased to find the city thoroughly charming, and quite busy at the end of winter.

The Auschwitz concentration camp entrance gate with the sign "Arbeit macht frei" or "Work makes you free" (a replica of the original sign, which was stolen in December 2009, and since recovered, cut into three pieces)

Auschwitz electric fence

Birkenau extermination camp: end of the line (I could not believe how many tourists were getting their photos taken, draped across these train tracks)

Birkenau memorial

Birkenau gas chamber destroyed by German troops as the Soviet forces approached in November 1944

Guard tower with Birkenau camp buildings in the background

Wawel Hill featuring Wawel Castle, Kraków

Wawel Cathedral

Dominican Church, Kraków old town

Church of SS Peter and Paul, Kraków old town

Town Hall tower, Rynek Główny (Main Market Square), Kraków old town

Rynek Główny

St Mary's Basilica, Rynek Główny

Florian Gate, Kraków old town

Old city walls extending from Florian Gate

Courtyard of Collegium Maius, the oldest university building in Poland

Next: Budapest, Hungary...

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

State Hermitage, St Petersburg, Russia

Think of every famous artist you've heard of. Michaelangelo, da Vinci, Raphael (only 3 of the 4 TMNTs - Donatello was missing), Renoir, Monet, Cézanne, van Gogh, Rodin, Gauguin, Picasso, Matisse, Kandinsky, Rubens, Rembrandt...

Now place their artwork in rooms of incredible beauty, rooms that are works of art themselves. Add crown jewels, ancient treasures, and Egyptian mummies, and you'll begin to imagine the scope of the State Hermitage.

My jaw dropped when I walked into each room. I didn't know what to look at first - the floor, the ceiling, the artworks on display? Some rooms were overwhelming, and required several viewings.

The collection is housed in the Winter Palace and Small, Large, and New Hermitages. I spent 2 full days there and still didn't see everything.