Budapest Blue(s)

It was a beautiful Friday evening, when I took this shot. The spot was the Chain Bridge bridgehead at the Pest side: There is an open-air bar at the bridgehead, and I was listening to the jazz theme "Take Five", while I was playing around with the camera settings. It was magical.

The Vajdahunyad Castle is not a real castle, it is a building, designed to represent various landmark buildings from different parts of the Kingdom of Hungary. It was built in 1896 in the City Park of Budapest. A lake surrounds the Castle, which turns into an ice skating rink in winter. The location of the Castle:

I finally took this photo a couple of days ago, but I discovered this location month ago. The spot is the Szabadság Square - Vécsey Street crossing. The dome of the Parliament can be seen between the lovely trees of the Vécsey Street. The Szabadság Square is a beautiful place, but you need to be careful what to shoot here, because to the right there is the US Embassy (absolutely no photos allowed).

Statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary overlooking the city of Budapest. The 4 meter high statue is quite new, it was erected on the wall of Buda Castle in 2013. The artwork depicts Mary and the child Jesus and the child is hovering in front of his mother’s body, so depicting the mystery and the wonder of the immaculate conception.

The image is available for sale on shutterstock:
http://www.shutterstock.com/pic.mhtml?id=423520117

The sky on this photo is a bit darker blue; actually it is almost black. I shouldn't have posted it, but I couldn't resist... I took this shot in early March 2015. I worked until 5.30pm on that day and the blue hour starts around 6 pm in March, so I had to hurry. Unfortunately I arrived late at the Batthyány tér, so I ended up with black sky instead of blue. Anyway, the Parliemant Building is beautiful.

The Corvinus University Building near to the Szabadság (Liberty) bridge.

A fantastic view from the Buda Castle at the Pest side of Budapest. The main theme of the photo is the Chain Bridge (Lánchíd in Hungarian). It is the oldest Danube bridge in Budapest, and - in my opinion - the most beautiful.

It was New Year's Eve in 2011, when I took this photo. It was a cold winter evening, but the lights were beautiful, so I brought my camera and my tripod with me. The shot was taken in the Buda Castle, when the sun was setting over the Buda Hills.

The iconic landmark of Budapest, the former Royal Palace, now the home of two museums and the National Library.

The Buda Castle, photographed from the nearby Gellért Hill.

The building of the Hungarian National Museum in Budapest. One of my favourite museums in Budapest, home of the Hungarian coronation mantle, that used to be worn by Hungarian monarchs at their coronation

Rainy evening at Normafa (a popular place of excursion in the Buda Hills). I took shelter from the rain in the Normafa Rétes (a buffet with excellent pastries). I took this photo, when the rain finally stopped

Szabadság (Liberty) Bridge, Budapest, Hungary. 27.02.2016 I spent an hour in freezing cold on the Gellért Hill to take this shot. I almost fell off the cliff, when I was trying to set up my tripod. But iwas totally worth it