The Name of the Game

Do you know what my favorite game is in Budapest, especially when I am coming down with a bout of incurable wanderlust?

I play tourist. 

I stick my camera on my neck, put my backpack & sneakers on, go to the most frequented places of the city, slow my steps down, like I don't have anything better to do, and start wandering around. (I should probably get a map too, just to look more authentic.)

I look at the place like this is my first time here, like I haven't been around for (almost) four years, as if everything was completely new, and I had only one chance to suck it all in and carry the experience with me for the rest of my life. I look up high at the facade of the buildings, observe the details, try to get to know and understand the city, wonder about the history, the people living here, and click the big button on the camera a thousand times. Then - surprise, surprise! -  I end up with very touristy looking pictures, a whole bunch of them. But wasn't it the point? Becoming a tourist for a couple of hours, see the city as tourists do, and take photos like they do? Actually, that was the point. 

Yesterday I ended up playing the same game, and these are the photos I came home with from my rapid holiday:

Such a beautiful city, Budapest really is! Most certainly worth visiting.:)

(Btw, I must go back to Párisi Áruház with the tripod, and take some proper long exposure shots, as the place is astonishing. Ah, that architecture (again)! The greatest advantage of being a native tourist is that you can return anytime to the places you liked the most and take more, better pictures.)