I recently traveled to Hungary with my husband for a two-week vacation. It was my first trip to Europe and found it was a very interesting experience for me to see a totally different country, lifestyle and culture. When we were in the capital Budapest, it was amazing to be in a city full of Baroque style buildings, and at the same time be able to see trendy cafes and restaurants. Walking in the city was like traveling through different centuries; some buildings were hundreds of years old, yet you could be sitting in a newly opened cafe, using your iPhone with free wifi service! During the trip, our tour of the Hungarian Parliament Building was one of the most memorable experiences. Here, I would like to briefly introduce the Parliament Building.

The building is divided into 3 major parts: Southern wing, Central Domed Hall and Northern wing. Construction of the building began in 1885 and was completed in 1904, taking nineteen years to build. When I saw all the details and decorations on the facade and in the interior, I wasn’t surprised at all that it required nineteen years to build the building.

In the building, you could see statues on almost every single pillar. The statues represent different historical figures of Hungary. The most precious thing inside the building is the original Holy Crown of Hungary (also known as the Crown of Saint Stephen). The crown is more than 755 years old and is currently displayed in the central Domed Hall. With natural light shining through the Domed Hall’s mosaic glass windows, projecting onto the Holy Crown, it almost felt as if a strong energy was concentrating on the crown, slowly releasing into the entire space.

Nowadays, if someone builds a house with this much detail and decorations, it would be overkill. However, when a building has gone through centuries and a long history, every single element in the building is meaningful and precious. We are living in a modern society with high-tech buildings and new technology products. Somehow, we are used to all the “new things” and are slowly forgetting the “old beauty”. To me, it’s always a wonderful experience to visit and appreciate something historical that is neither modern nor high-tech.

To help you experience what I saw during my Hungarian Parliament tour, I found this high quality 360 interactive virtual tour online to share with everyone. http://www.360cities.net/image/dome-hall-of-the-the-hungarian-parlament-with-the-crown-budapest#0.00,0.00,70.0

Image Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Parliament_Building_Budapest_Hungary.jpg