Spread The Colour

Hi there! I have a very talent friend who is a make-up artist. This weekend, I was the lucky model. The session included 4 different make-ups. I think she did a fantastic job! Take a look:

Anita preparing all the necessary utensils for our session:

 In a professional atmosphere! Loved the lights by the mirrors.

Usually I am no fan of self-portraits, but I had to document the eyes. The extra lashes are so cool!

This was another work. More mysterious. 

And a more extravagant one. Now we just a need a really cool party. 

 So many brushes! I would be at a total lost which one to choose.

Some rich colours from mac.

And at the end, a make-up to go home. Beautifully done. 

 If anyone here in Budapest would need a talented make-up artist for special events, I can highly recommend Anita! (contact me for more information)

A Ride Back in Time

Hello there! A new week and a new post. This time we will travel a bit back in time. Not too much, just back to the beginning of the 1900s.

At the time when the first underground (in continental Europe!) rolled along underneath the streets of Budapest, with its first debut on March 2nd, 1896. 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/af/Budapest_subway_1896.jpg

Now, 116 years later, there is still the possibility to travel back in time a bit and take a ride on one of these old underground carriages. Of course, it has received a fresh paint job since then and it is now all polished and shiny, but the carriage itself - frame and structure - it exactly as before.

In special celebration the Hungarian public transportation awarded tickets to some lucky ones to travel in such a car. Here it is - number 11.

The carriages - decorated with special American pine slates - were all electronically motorized.That was big news back then.

The original commute extended from Vörösmarty tér along Andrássy and passing by Hősök tere  to Széchenyi fürdő  - a solid 3,7 km one way. In the 1970s, the line was extended till Mexikói út and the stop at the Állatkert (zoo) was closed . (Interesting fact: till 1973 the underground rode on the left hand side, whilst traffic above ground was already going on rights hand side)

With such nice features, it is no surprise that the underground was extremely popular. Up to 35 thousand people used this transportation on a busy day. By 1917 the number of commuters in one year reached the 11 million. Would it have been as crowded as the metro cars today?

One thing is for sure: for us it was a breezy commute with a small group of 20. And we were all really excited to travel in style.

Do you also really want to travel in this carriage? Well, believe it or not you can actually rent it out  - for only 95.000 Ft + tax!

As part of the celebration, visitors were also able to discover the old buses that roamed the streets of Budapest.

The bus was decorated with old pictures from the time when these buses were a novelty to passengers.

Sitting comfortably. Personally, I would prefer this bus to the ones traveling on our streets nowadays.

Thanks to the BKV's leaflet "Földalatti Sztori" for all the historic facts and figures.

Let's Dance!

Hello again! As promised we are back with regular posts. Besides documenting new discoveries, I will also be posting some creative projects. And this is actually one of them. I have been taking sewing lessons since the last year. This is actually something I have always wanted to do, but never got around to it. But the right time came and I have managed to take classes, sewing skirts and trousers. I am currently on the coats. :) In addition, I was asked to sew a skirt for a dance production. It was a bit tricky as I only had an old skirt as a starting point. After that it was all up to the imagination. And the result is:

The blue fabric is a traditional "kékfestős". Traditional they were hand painted/printed.
The white fabric is a madeira.  

And the end result was this skirt with a small apron.

The madeira also served as a decoration at the bottom of the skirt. Another option would have been a fine lace, but it did not seemed appropriate for a first grade school dance.

And here we have it on for the dance (with a white blouse and stockings and black shoes) - all based on Hungarian customs.

And this was another attire based on time-honored traditions. Breaded hair is a must. :)

Here we are again!

Hello again! After a very long break we are now back in session. With some changes to the layout, I am also modifying the type of content that will be published. From now on, it will be a bit of a mixture of pictures, creative projects and so much more. Hopefully you like it.

As spring has just greeted us with its beautiful glory the first pictures are a very few selections of flowers and of course a cat. A very protective cat.

Pécs

Another day, another city. This time, Pécs, a city in the south of Hungary. It was actually named European Capital of Culture for 2010. A quirky but cute little city.

Introducing Esztergom...

With the weather turning, temperature rising, and proper sunny days, it was time to dust off the camera for a new season of photoshoots. This first proper one is from Esztergom, a city located way north in Hungary, a river away from the Slovakian border. It was one of those surreal experiences, where I ate sweet kürtőskalács in Esztergom, but enjoyed some delicious ice-cream in Sturovo, Slovakia. No borders, no passpots, just a bridge connect two cities with two entirely different languages and histories. Here are a few introductory pictures...

The Basilica, the castle as it can be seen from Sturovo, Slovakia:


Mária Valéria bridge across the Danube river:

A little cafe by the basilica:

The staircase that leads all the way to the top of the basilica:

The view from the top, looking down onto the old seminary:

Inside the basilica:

Inside the basilica:

The view from the basilica, with the franciscan church and the christian museum in sight:

Bicycle invasion

Critical (Bicycle) Mass - celebrating the joys of riding the bike in the city.