St. István Basilika

I'm sorry to be posting so much. I had planned on trying to put up a new post every few days, but I keep having little adventures and I want to make a note of them. Also, for future BSMers my discoveries might be useful, though there's nothing like wandering around on your own and making a fantastic discovery.

Anyway, this morning I got up way too early. I don't know why I felt compelled to get up so early because I don't have class on Mondays. I was so tired when I got up that I practically inhaled half a pot of coffee hoping that the caffeine would kick in instantaneously. It took an absurdly long amount of time to have the measliest effect.

I hit the street to check out an Apple store I found yesterday to get a new battery for my computer. It can last all of 15 min before it just shuts off if it's not plugged in. It's rather obnoxious considering that there are no outlets in the hallways at school, so I can't make use of the WiFi. I got to the store at around 9:30am, but it didn't open until 10am, so I retraced my steps and hunkered down with my good friend, caffeine, at Costa.

It turned out that the Apple store didn't have the battery I needed, so I had to put in an order. I should hopefully get it in a few days. It's frustrating that I can't order things online because many sites that I usually buy things online from don't have international shipping (i.e. Apple.com) But, since it took me all of 3 minutes to ask for the type of battery I needed and put in an order, I had a little time to kill before heading to school to sign some paper work for my residence permit. I decided to wander across the street and check out St. István Basilka. It took me a few minutes to figure out how to get in. The front door is actually on the opposite side to the side that faces the street.

I can't even describe how absolutely gorgeous it was inside. I tried to take some pictures, but I know full well that they won't come close to doing the interior justice. When I walked in my jaw dropped. The basilica has huge vaulted ceilings with an even larger central dome all covered with fantastic paintings trimmed in gold. The ceilings are supported by large marble pillars donned with gold light fixtures, and the side walls are interspersed with wonderful stained glass depicting many different saints. It was truly awe-inspiring to stand there and look up at the magnificence all around me and realize that humans had created this. The thought that human beings are capable of creating something that transcends mere beauty is mind boggling.

After leaving the basilica I headed for it's opposite in every way, the metro. I was still under its spell as I absent mindedly swerved between people. I swear if I had heard even a single soft note of music drift through the air I would have been moved to tears. That's one of my favorite aspects of Europe, their churches. Stepping into artistic feats like St. István Basilika make me wish I had religious conviction to possibly better understand how something can have such unparalleled beauty and a life altering impact on me.

To truly understand what I'm talking about you have to see it for yourself.