Castle Hill

In addition to a trip to the Hungarian Opera House, the conference organizers also included tour of Budapest's historical Castle Hill in the schedule. Located on the "Buda" side of the Danube, Castle Hill is one of Budapest's oldest (and most interesting!) neighborhoods.

Some highlights:

beautiful views across the danube. this photo was taken from the buda side,
while pest is the neighborhood across the river. 

the fishermen's bastion. named after a medieval fishing
market, this structure was built for decoration rather
than defense. 

fishermen's bastion.

great views from the fishermen's bastion- it was a perfect
afternoon for a tour!

the multicolored tiles are common in hungarian design. 

this hilton hotel may be an eyesore, but it's certainly got an interesting
history: it was built near the end of the communist regime with hopes of
luring in tourist and boosting the economy.  

the matthias church.

monument built to victims of the bubonic plague. 

of with his head! ben being silly with a statue. 

courtyards in front of the royal palace. although these buildings look old,
they're mostly reconstructions-- the originals were demolished during
world war 2.

statue of king matthias during a hunt. 

would a post be complete without a ben-climbing-things
photo?

beautiful, beautiful budapest.