New York City Official Door Knob

;) 

Interesting Balcony Patterns

The building to the front right caught my attention because of the white outline, but then I also like the pattern of the balconies.

I liked the look of these balconies and windows from the side too, but then noticed the new art deco details, which made me like it even more.

I like the railings.

Elephant Bar Door Handles

Need I say more?



One doesn't often find architectural elements of note at chain restaurants (now that I said that I will,) but I thought these door handles were fun.

Elephant Bar
Modesto, CA

Is An Eagle/Star Fence Patriotic?

There is a bit of an unappealing chunkiness to this, but I think it's more interesting than many of the boring, same old, same old iron-work fences I have seen.



I just think it was patriotic because I saw it in downtown Washington D.C. I wonder if I would have thought the same thing if I saw it in Jersey City, NJ?

More Weltenburg Nuggets

More Weltenburg Nuggets...of Gold this time, not turds!

This is the main altar.



There were at least two of these reliefs in the church. I loved them. My other picture did not turn out though.


A wall candle-sconce.



A very dramatically naturally-lit sculpture of St. George and the dragon. I don't care for this style, but I love this for some reason. I think the fact that I like this is part of the same aesthetic phenomenon of the general attraction of the masses to kitsch.

Iron Work in Regensburg

I love this iron work, and the organic reliefs around the door. They aren't the same style, but have similar shapes, if not linear quality.


These are from a gate around a fountain across from the Gothic Cathedral in Regensburg if my memory serves me correctly.

Iron Work as Water and Other Natural Forms

As I stated before, Passau is where three rivers come together, and they have had a lot of flooding over the years, so it is appropriate to have architectural elements relating to water. I do not recall seeing this type of iron work other places, but now I will keep an eye out for it.





I love these two designs. The lion on the bottom is the symbol of Passau.

Doors in Passau

Sorry it has taken me so long to post a new architectural picture. I just loved the lion on the previous post so much that everytime I was going to update I couldn't bring myself to push "new post."





I found some interesting doors as I walked around Passau Germany.

Belvedere Iron Work

I love the leaves and the ornate swirls. The reflection from the window makes it look much busier than it is. I can't tell if it makes it more interesting or if it is more distracting.

Mini Churches

I love the little sculptural models of churches that are outside of churches. Does anyone know the reason they are there?

Mátyás Templom, Budapest, Hungary


St. Stephen's Cathedral (Stephansdom,) Vienna, Austria

Where East Meets West

Hungary has always been an area that has been fought over by eastern and western powers. You can see it in the eclecticism of the architecture around the city of Budapest, and Esztergom for that matter (which will be represented in a future post.) I think Mátyás Templom (Mathias Church) is a prime example of the eastern and western influences. On the tour I learned that the patron saint of this church is Mary, so the proper name isn't Mátyás Templom, but the Church of Our Lady. This is a fact many tourists and residents do not know because it's so well known by its secular name.

The altar looks very Byzantine.


The wall paintings have a very eastern feel to them, but there are pictures of people and saints, which is more western.




The stained glass windows are very western looking. I only took a picture of this section because I really like the seals (as you can see from the blurry picture below.)

Beautiful Iron Work

This is a wonderful iron fence right across the street from where I took the photo from my post yesterday. Most iron fences do not have such beautiful detailed floral work. This is really nice design with the repetition and varied heights.

Favorite Bridge in Budapest

Everyone has a favorite bridge in Budapest, and for most people it is the Széchenyi Lánchíd (Chain Bridge.) I of course have to be different. My favorite is the Szabadság híd (Liberty Bridge.) It probably has a lot to do with the fact that I walked, and rode the tram across this one almost everyday. I got here this summer and was so confused. I didn't recognize it. They are putting an underground metro line where my tramline was. It was just one big construction site as you can see from some of the pictures. The bridge has no concrete on the roadway right now, so I walked across it to check it out. Here is my trek from Pest to Buda across my bridge.

Opera

A visit to a grand European city is not complete without a look at their Opera House. (I say "European city" because The Lincoln Center in New York is not quite so grand.) This opera house has a special place in my heart because it is where I saw my first two operas 10 years ago: The Marriage of Figaro, and La Boheme.


This is the famous Hungarian composer Franz Liszt, and on the other side is a seated sculpture of Ferenc Erkel who wrote the Hungarian National Anthem.




Even the light posts are interesting!

Erzsébet Híd

This bridge is not as interesting or lovely as the other bridges in Budapest. It is much more simple and modern looking, but that's a great view from my hotel window eh?

In the distance is Gellért Hill with a statue of Szent Gellért raising a cross over the city. Gellért was a missionary/Bishop from Italy who became a martyr when the Magyars nailed him into a barrel and rolled him down the hill into the river. This is how my guide book puts it, "Crucifix held high, the bishop glares down on the sinful metropolis. According to tradition, Bishop Gerhardus of Venice, know to the Hungarians as Gellért, paid for his missionary zeal with his life on this very spot" (Kluge-Fabényi & Markus 82).




This last picture shows the span and the tram you can take to see great views of Buda and the Duna.

Kluge-Fabényi, Julia, and Hella Markus. Prestel Guide Budapest. Trans. John Gabriel and Nancy Norwood. Munich: Prestel, 1994.

Széchenyi Lánchíd

Széchenyi Lánchíd=Széchenyi Chain Bridge, and is the most famous and oldest bridge in Budapest. It is a suspension bridge that was designed in 1839 to replace temporary floating bridges across the river and it was finished being built in 1849. Széchenyi István was one of the main supporters of building a permanent bridge, so it was named after him. This bridge was bombed in World War II, as were each of the seven bridges in Budapest in order to separate Buda and Pest.

Normally it is a bridge that cars drive over, but last weekend they were having a summer festival. People were selling food, drinks, and wares, and all automobile traffic was blocked off.







By the way the lions do have tongues. (If you have no idea what I'm talking about Google it!) Also, young children believe that the bridge gets pulled into the tunnel by Clark Ádám tér on the Buda side every night.