Budapest - supplementary

Here's a picture I made in biro, using a photograph I took in Budapest's Deak Ferenc Ter Metro Station: -

- and another, sketched from the deck of a flyboat, during a sightseeing trip along the Danube

14) Hungary - One Day in Budapest - Other Pictures

St. Matyas Church, Buda

 Yes, this is one of the pictures that I finished off in the evening back at the hotel. It was taking ages, it was cold, and time was getting on. It's a stunning looking church, high on the same hill that houses the Castle.

Chain Bridge, from Pest side of the Danube

 My first attempt to sketch the Chain Bridge. It just doesn't work because of that crenelated tower in front of it.

St. Matyas Church and the Fishermens Bastion, Buda

 My first sketch of part of the Matyas Church, and the Fisherman's bastion beside it, which is a great place to look down and out across the river and the rest of the city.

Budapest Parliament Building - Buda - from Danube

This is the other sketch I finished off in the hotel. I made a very quick outline sketch on the boat, but most of the work was done from the photograph.

13) Hungary - One Day in Budapest - November 2017 - Required Elements

Alright, it wasn't exactly 1 day. I flew out on Tuesday 31st, but didn't arrive at the hotel until after dark. I did go into the centre of town by tram and metro, but it was too dark to make sketches. I spent all day in the centre of Budapest until after dark on Wednesday 1st, and flew home early on Thursday 2nd. Well, half term holidays are short, and you have to make the most of them. As such, I was pleased with the number of sketches I made on the day - although I will admit that a few of them were started on site, but finished in the evening back at the hotel with the help of photos I took at the same time.

Budapest - Chain Bridge

 I first saw this iconic bridge lit up at night. When I looked at it, being a Londoner, my first thought was - Hammersmith Bridge. Only, it doesn't look like the current Hammersmith Bridge very much. But I must have been thinking of the previous Hammersmith Bridge, since not only were they very similar, they were also designed by the same man, an Englishman called William Tierney Clark. Once I'd started comparing these Budapest bridges to bridges on the Thames, I couldn't stop. The next two bridges struck me as being like Chelsea Bridge and the Albert Bridge - even though the similarity is slight at best. As for the Chain Bridge, the original Hammersmith Bridge has gone, but Tierney Clark's Marlow Bridge in Buckinghamshire , which was built as a dry run for this one, is still there for a comparison if you're interested.

Castle - Buda - sketched from boat while waiting for sightseeing trip to start

 I did take a sightseeing boat trip down the Danube for an hour or so. Not as interesting as the Spree trip in Berlin, but more interesting than the Vltava trip in Prague. This is the castle complex in Buda. You can either walk up to it, or do as I did and take a ride in the funicular railway.I made this sketch while waiting for 15 minutes or so for the boat to depart.

Heritage tram - Danube riverbank - Pest side

 The most interesting - slightly older looking trams in Budapest run along either bank of the Danube. I sketched this one by the stop just along from the Chain Bridge. Not one person in Budapest stopped to look at any of my sketches at all. I must be losing what little touch I ever had.

Number 50 tram - Hatar Ut metro station

One of the things I love about a European trip is when you can leave your hotel early in the morning, and walk down the road a short way then hop on a tram. From my hotel you just had to cross the road to the tram stop, and take a 15 minute ride on the number 50 tram to the end of the line at the Hatar Ut metro station. These trams are pretty much as modern and efficient as you could ask - almost up to Berlin standards. In which case its such a shame that some of the passengers take them so much for granted, and show so little respect as to leave half eaten pizza on the seats and on the floor.