Hungarian Parliament 2.0 and Christmas Party

Only 2 days after my trip to Parliament to as an American Fulbright representative, all of the Fulbrighters in Hungary came together for a tour of the Parliament. It was fantastic! During the first trip, we went through several layers of security before heading to a meeting room. We saw only the staircases and the hallway, and they are beautiful on their own.  Dan and I were glad to see more of the building on Friday December 12.

First of all, it was a special day because it was our last event for the semester. This was also our last opportunity to see the professors and scholars who were only here for the fall. The Parliament was a perfect end to the year. This time we entered through the recently built underground entrance for tourists. By being underground, nothing obstructs the view of the building. When it was our turn to enter, we went through the security checks and walked up several flights of stairs. These were the same stairs I had used on Wednesday. The design of the windows, walls, and ceiling are lovely in the staircase.

Beautiful windows and golden arches.

Long hallway down to the center of the building.

Looking through the beautiful windows, a view of the Ethnography museum across the lawn.

When we reached the main hall, it was breathtaking and stunning! Only special guests and dignitaries get to enter through this area.

Here is a photo of the Fulbrighters in attendance.

The next stop was the area under the dome. It is by far the most beautiful room of the Parliament, so of course we were not allowed to take pictures. This is also the home to the crown jewels of Hungary. The jewels have two constant guards around them at all times. Here is a picture of the crown that I found on the internet so you can see what it looks like.  This picture shows the crown and the orb with parts of the scepter and the sword.

The crown is incredibly detailed. We were only able to see it for a few seconds. I hope I can go on a tour again before we leave. After the dome section, we went into a room where reporters can wait before special news or interviews. There were several statues representing various types of work in Hungary. I enjoyed this statue of a hunter with his horn and his dog.

Our last room was the hall where the Parliament actually gathers. It was very beautiful. Here are a few photos. This first photo shows the front of the room where the leaders of the Parliament sit.

This is the ceiling of the hall.

Here, you can see the desks where the members of Parliament sit. They each have digital voting devices.

After our tour inside, we moved outside to view the statues around the Parliament. A former Fulbrighter to the United States shared the significance of each statue.  My favorite part about all of the statues is that they depict the history of Hungary with great detail. Hungary is rich with history and they are proud to tell it through their statues, architecture, and art. 

To conclude our tour, we took a group picture outside the Parliament. It was a wonderful tour. 

Following the tour, we headed to the Fulbright office for our Christmas party. We did a white elephant gift exchange and we had a great meal. It was a wonderful celebration of our time together so far. Dan and I will definitely miss all of the scholars and professors who are heading back home. They are interesting and inspiring and I hope our paths cross again some day!