See the Inside of Parliament...Check!

Finally, Finally, Finally: JSBP got to see Parliament.  We’ve been drooling over the exterior of this incredible building for three months, and finally…we got in!  Having seen every angle of the building: from the Buda side, from the edge of the Danube, from the metro stop, etc. I was really excited to see what the inside of Parliament looked like.  It was more extravagant that I could have imagined.  After seeing so many beautiful churches and buildings in Europe, you would think that the “wow” factor would diminish, but every time, I’m more impressed by the detail and attention that goes into building and furnishing these buildings.

Ceiling of the façade, 27 meters high from the inside, 96 meters high on the outside.

The Holy Crown

All the pieces of the puzzle are beginning to fit into place after living here for three months.  Our tour guide told us that Miksa Roth created the stained glass windows of Parliament.  Roth is a famous Hungarian artist whose home (and now, museum) I visited for an assignment in our Hungarian history class.  We were then led into the dome, in which we saw the Holy Crown, which has been worn by all Hungarian kings.  She told us the history of the crown, a story we had learned about in our Hungarian culture class.  After watching the changing of the guards, which is always an impressive ceremony, our tour guide turned our attention to the statues on the columns of the dome.  She pointed out all of the significant historical figures and I was surprised to find myself doing a mental checklist, saying, “yup, I know that” to myself every time she talked about Árpád, or St. Stephen.  I was proud of myself that I could recognize all these names and understand why they were chosen to be in the façade of the building.

Changing of the guards.

Before the final part of our tour, to see the members of Parliament convening, we were led into the old House of Commons, which is no longer in use.  It was interesting to see the ground-level view of this empty convention area, before being led into the gallery of the almost identical chamber that they currently use.  I’m not sure what I expected when we entered the gallery, but it certainly wasn’t what was below me.  There are about 400 seats in the chamber, but about 25 members were sitting in their seats. Considering that they were scattered all over the room, this number was only diminished further. Looking around at these government 

representatives, I was confused as to why they

 were paying so little attention to the proceedings.  As we sat there, I watched members come in and out at their own leisure, answer phone calls, read the newspaper, chat with the person sitting closest to them, and browse the internet as their fellow representatives spoke.  I have no idea what the proceedings were about—I didn’t recognize a single word of Hungarian, but considering that it is Parliament, it must have some value.  I hope that if I ever see a meeting of Congress, I will be more impressed with their work ethic.  It was a little disconcerting, but certainly one of those things that you have to see at some point.  Maybe that is why people get frustrated with American politicians: they knew what really goes on inside the Capital Building.

Anyway, what a neat experience!  We learned a lot, saw some great rooms and buildings, and learned what it means for a speech to be “worth a Havana,” saw government in action, and saw the Holy Crown!

Woohoo!

After Parliament, Evan and I went over to the Buda side to go to Budapest's best traditional pastry/cake shop, Daubner Cukraszda, where I got not one, but two slices of amazing, amazing cake.  I love European pastries.  Gotta fill up while I can!

Hungary today, Italy tomorrow…and the bitter countdown begins.  There is so much to do before I leave this amazing place, and so little time...

Live and Learn.