untitled #24
It took me longer than planned to complete the trilogy. But here's the third and final instalment of my photographs of Parisi Udvar in Budapest, Hungary.
untitled #17
I previously shared my fortuitous experience visiting the arcade with my parents in May 2012. That piece includes information about the architecture and history of the building.
untitled #21
untitled #10
untitled #11
untitled #29
untitled #22
in the arcade [parisi udvar, budapest, hungary, 2012]
In May 2012, I flew to Budapest to meet with my parents, who were travelling through Europe.
We stayed in a small hotel, the Leo Panzió, on Ferenciek tere, near the metro station of the same name, not far from Erzsébet híd (Elizabeth Bridge).
On our first full day exploring the city, we started out slowly, each capturing the street and architecture near our hotel with our cameras.
Soon after venturing out, a fellow approached my dad, seeing the three of us with our cameras in hand and furiously snapping away.
I still don't know if the fellow was homeless or just a random passerby. I didn't speak to him much myself until the end of our 'tour' and, as we followed him into the building, I won't lie: alarm bells were quietly going off in my head for us as three non-Hungarian tourists, including two women, following some random guy into a building.
Maybe it was all my parents' teachings about "stranger danger" coming up from childhood, the knowledge that many tourists are scammed while travelling, or simply being a woman and aware that following strange men into unfamiliar places is not recommended.
Nevertheless, my dad was less cautious. And I will always be thankful for his trust in this fellow and what the fellow showed us that we would otherwise likely never have discovered.
We had been photographing the exterior of what had been known as Brudern-ház (Brudern House). It was rebuilt as the headquarters of the Belvárosi Takarékpénztár (the Downtown Savings Bank) starting in 1909 and contains the Párizsi udvar ('Parisi udvar' according to the signage on the building).
bőrdismű | bortáska [parisi udvar, budapest, hungary, 2012]
Google translates 'Párisi udvar' to 'Parisian courtyard', but 'Párizsi udvar' translates to 'Paris Court' and seems more commonly used. Based on the place and information from Wikipedia, the arcade was modelled on Parisian arcades, specifically, the Passage des Panoramas, and it incorporates Indian, Islamic and Moorish elements.
The building's architect, Henrik Schmahl, died in 1912 while undergoing intestinal surgery before the building's completion. Pál Lipták, the building's construction manager, oversaw the completion of the building.
When we followed the fellow through the fancy entrance with MCMIX written above it, we found ourselves in a mostly vacant, partially derelict but extravagantly beautiful former shopping arcade.
műtárgy-szőnyeg [parisi udvar, budapest, hungary, 2012]
Signage told us the arcade used to house a store selling fine carpets. Another store sold leather goods, and another sold gold jewellery.
However, in May 2012, the arcade housed very little for sale.
arany-ekszer [parisi udvar, budapest, hungary, 2012]
It did, however, house a grand interior replete with lifts, telephone booths, ornate staircases, a magnificent ceiling, mosaic flooring, and classic shopfronts facing into the arcade and onto the street.
There were broken glass panels and some graffiti, but most of the arcade still seemed to be in a relatively good state. Little visible to us appeared to be unsafe.
10472 [parisi udvar, budapest, hungary, 2012]
The blue modern payphones were incongruous in their booths. But time had marched on in Budapest, and time had since continued its forward march beyond the usefulness of public telephones with the prevalence of mobile phones.
Despite still feeling a little nervous about whether we had walked into a trap for tourists, I snapped away in every direction, in thrall with my surroundings.
haris köz [parisi udvar, budapest, hungary, 2012]
After we had seen and photographed our fill and my dad had tipped our impromptu tour guide for his advice, we moved on. But the place stayed in my mind.
So much so that, a couple of years later, watching an episode of Penny Dreadful, I was overcome by déja vu as Vanessa Ives entered a shop in an arcade. It took me mere moments to realise where the scene was filmed.
It was lovely to see the arcade appear lovingly restored and close to the appropriate period (the opening narrative of Penny Dreadful takes place in 1891, and the building was completed in 1913).
Over the years, I've spoken with friends about it and discussed the place and the circumstances of our visit there with my dad.
A while back, I went to seek the building out on Google Street View and discovered the building had been restored and is now a five-star Hyatt hotel.
As much as perhaps that isn't my ideal outcome for its restoration, they've retained much of the arcade's glory in the refurbishment, and I'm pleased to see it's found a new lease on life.
Despite knowing the arcade's name for all this time, I only translated it as part of composing this post. In doing so, I was reminded of the writings of a German philosopher, Walter Benjamin, about Parisian arcades, Arcades Project, which I read about in a book titled Psychogeography that my friend, Phil, gifted me.
untitled #28 [parisi udvar, budapest, hungary, 2012]
I thought it interesting that Henrik Schmahl, a German-born architect living in Hungary, decided to 'import' a Parisian arcade to Budapest.
Hopefully, one day, I'll return to Budapest to lounge in the hotel foyer with a cocktail and admire the work done to restore a gorgeous interior.
Perhaps one day, I'll also have the funds to stay in one of the rooms in the hotel to get the complete experience.
Either way, it was a highly fortuitous and unforgettable experience during our holiday.
I thank whoever that fellow was who saw us and wanted to share his knowledge of his city with us avid photographers. I will forever be grateful that, despite my initial reservations, my dad followed a random man into a seemingly abandoned building. I hope that fellow will understand and forgive my hesitation.
marguerite in bud
untitled #3 [parisi udvar, budapest, hungary, 2024]
In May 2012, visiting Budapest with my parents, we ventured from our hotel for our first full day in the city.
untitled #1 [parisi udvar, budapest, hungary, 2024]
Just on our doorstep was this beauty, containing the Parisi Udvar arcade, though its full beauty hadn't yet revealed itself when I started photographing the building's exterior.
untitled #5 [parisi udvar, budapest, hungary, 2024]
I'll write a piece about it and our experience when I share the second of three instalments of photographs.
untitled #2 [parisi udvar, budapest, hungary, 2024]
mcmix [parisi udvar, budapest, hungary, 2024]
untitled #6 [parisi udvar, budapest, hungary, 2024]
jesus and jules [church of our lady of the assumption of beauvoorde, wulveringem, belgium, 2014]
monument léopold ii [place du trône, bruxelles, belgium, 2014]
I captured these photographs of the equestrian statue of Leopold II in Place du Trône in Brussels during my visit to Belgium with my parents and then-partner, Kyle, in September 2014.
According to Wikipedia, Leopold II was the second King of the Belgians. Although he still holds the title of the longest-reigning Belgian monarch, by all accounts, Leopold II was a nasty piece of work.
See, in particular, his reign over the Congo Free State (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo).
I won't use the words 'founder' and 'owner', as we know there were already people there when he claimed those titles who had more right to claim ownership than he did.
leo/poldo ii [place du trône, bruxelles, belgium, 2014]
I usually avoid capturing people in my photographs of monuments, architecture, street scenes, etc., but I quite like the moment I captured with these particular folks in the second image.
untitled #186 [cimetière père-lachaise, paris, france, 2011]
shot through the heart [church of our lady of the assumption of beauvoorde, wulveringem, belgium, 2014]
scherpstellen, kleffe vingers [place poelaert, bruxelles, belgium, 2014]
lamb's tongue (one o'clock gun)
basic (baby, you can drive my car)
rue des mineurs [liège, wallonia, belgium, 2014]
crown imperial [széchenyi istván tér, budapest, hungary, 2012]
noi fodrasz kozmetika [budapest, hungary, europe, 2012]
chic to chic [budapest, hungary, europe, 2012]
full of goodness [church of our lady of the assumption of beauvoorde, wulveringem, belgium, 2014]
The inscription on the headstone of this grave reads Eenvoudig en oprecht vol goedheid was uw leven, uw edel hart heeft ons zoveel gegeven.
According to Google Translate, it means Your life was simple and sincere, full of goodness, your noble heart has given us so much.
The other photograph I took of this grave showed the other two items holding more cobweb hens and chicks - or sempervivum - and the inscription, but it wasn't sharp and worthy of sharing. However, I decided to take the title for this image from the inscription.
I took this after the rain in the churchyard of the Church of Our Lady of the Assumption in Wulveringem.
The church is opposite Kasteel Beauvoorde. We visited the castle (it was the reason we were in the town), but I've yet to edit most of the photos from there. Another task on my to-do list...
a korean rose in brussels [palais royal de bruxelles, bruxelles, belgium, europe]
I'm a little hesitant about the identification of these flowers. My plant identifying app said it was a Korean rose for every photo I checked, though, so I'll go with it.
untitled #232 [palais royal de bruxelles, bruxelles, belgium, europe]
And they seem to match - to my untrained eye - photos in the Wikipedia entry for the Hibiscus syriacus.
untitled #230 [palais royal de bruxelles, bruxelles, belgium, europe]
I find flowers past their prime or weather-worn as beautiful as the most perfect specimen, just in a different way.
untitled #233 [palais royal de bruxelles, bruxelles, belgium, europe]
Having said that, when I photographed these, it did strike me as odd that the flowers in the front garden of the Palais Royal de Bruxelles should look so unkempt... I might have been quietly judgmental.
yer takin’ the pis [manneken pis, brussels, belgium, europe, 2014]
The Manneken Pis, of course...
chocolate, chocolate, beer, pissing, pis, number two [manneken pis, brussels, belgium, europe, 2014]
Congratulations to whoever managed to get that Space Invaders paste-up there. Apparently, it's been there since around March 2012. I took these photos in September 2014, and the paste-up looked relatively new.
pis-ing about [manneken pis, brussels, belgium, europe, 2014]
I don't know the symbolism of this particular costume, but apparently, he has many costume changes.
s.p.q.b. [bruges, west flanders, belgium, 2014]
untitled #240 [bruges, west flanders, belgium, 2014]
'Senatus Populus Que Brugensis' means 'the Senate and the people of Bruges'.
It can be found on the Bruges coat of arms and an ornate water pump featuring a swan in Bruges, as I found in 2014 during my time there.
reflecting upon a subject deer to my heart [ghent, east flanders, belgium, europe, 2014]
keeping my hand above water
I looked online, but I can't find which artist created this sculpture I photographed at the Memorial Museum Passchendaele 1917 in Zonnebeke in 2014.
I will look again, but if you know/can point me in the right direction, I'll be happy to credit them.