I'm dust-spotting today. Looking at images magnified to 100% on my computer monitor and painstakingly removing any of the tiny spots of dust that sometimes appear on digital camera sensors. It's a pretty laborious and repetitive job and strong coffee and loud music is required to keep me conscious.

But I've taken a break from that to bring you this image of a statue in Budapest. It sits high above the city on Gellert Hill and forms part of Hungary's Independence Monument. The statue was originally created as a tribute to Russian solders who liberated Budapest in 1945 but the Cyrillic inscriptions have since been removed and the statues have been re-dedicated as a monument to Hungary's more recent independence.

It's a tremendously striking sculpture (pun fully intended). I've climbed the steps of the monument to get this elevated perspective that also includes a glimpse of the rooftops of the Pest side of Budapest, across the river Danube. However, when you first approach the statue you are beneath it, which really emphasises its power and aggression. It's quite intimidating to stand beneath it. There's great power in that raised fist and arm of course but the elegance of the shape is what really attracts my eye. If you squint your eyes quite tightly so that the shape becomes just a silhouette you can see the curved shape of the leg and arm, it looks like an oblique 'S'.

But I know that what you're really asking is "Are there any dust spots in the image, Gav?". I'm pleased to be able to answer "No, not one".

Tags: photography, budapest

The Metro in Budapest is a happy little train. Hear its jingly-jangly greeting every time it enters and leaves a station.

Tags: budapest, audio

A Budapest blog! What an excellent idea.

Well, I haven't had time to see any of Budapest's more well known tourist attractions yet but I have found one real gem already!

You know how tiring it can be to travel all day? You start early in the morning and you travel on trains, on planes and in automobiles. You spend hours waiting in anonymous airport departure lounges, you queue for check-in, you queue for the security check, you queue for the plane, you fight for a seat, you queue for passport control. Then, eventually, you arrive in an unfamiliar country, you're not sure of the language, the currency is a mystery and you don't have the faintest clue which direction you should head.

You know what we all really want at this point in our day's journey? We want to be met at the airport by a friendly taxi driver who drives us to our destination. We want to be greeted by smiling, friendly faces and we dream of being invited into a warm, homely, cosy apartment. Imagine the relief at discovering that we've found somewhere really relaxing to stay. How reassuring to be shown maps and guidebooks, to have the best local cafes and restaurants pointed out to us and to find that we have a clean and spacious place to call home for the next few days. And imagine the delight at hearing these magic words at the end of our tiring day:

"There's beer in the fridge, call us if you need anything".

I give you... Andras and Malna.

Cheers!

(This post first appeared on http://budapestguest.blogspot.com/)

Tags: budapest