Saturday, September 22, 2007

Hungary for Critical Mass

A cyclist watches over the crowd at the Critical Mass event in Budapest


Hey..had a great time wondering around Budapest today. Bob and I caught the big Critical Mass (CM) bike event late in the afternoon to promote biking and raise awarness to drivers that bikes have every right to be on the roads. Apparently last years CM brought out 50,000+ bikers and was the largest turnout ever for CM--and this years was expected to exceed that number. Bob says the CM event in Fairbanks pulled out 10 or so bikers and stirred up controversy among the rednecks that think bikes should NOT be on the roads--ridiculous!
Raising of 10's of thousands of bikes in the city park

We caught this street fair where the arts were being promoted with a Graffiti Battle. There were kids lining the streets with spray cans aimed at large canvasses.

The trash cans of Budapest

20th century art dangling from above in the Hungarian National Gallery
Mementos of a sadder times line the walls of the Horror Museum

Looking good--garden art at a small gallery

And a few scenic shots--the Danube winding its way through downtown Budapest from high above at the Citadel. There was actually quite a bit of smog lingering over the city and the air quality was rather poor.
The chain bridge and St Stephens Basilica light up the night skyline

2 comments:

Stef said...

hay ed, looks like you're having an amazing time over there! keep up the bloggin' because i love looking at the pictures. :) be safe.

stef

Lena said...

awesome photos, Ed! but a quick correction: critical mass is a MONTHLY (not annual) event! the fairbanks CM has drawn anywhere between 9 and 70 people, although it is only in its second year. it is tough to get people to come to it in da banks, but it did spur a large number of letters to the editor this past summer, so awareness (if not acceptance) of bikes is up!

can't wait for photos from Odessa!