Fortress with a View in Budapest, Hungary

On June 24, 2019 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Hungary6 Comments

The Citadella is a fortress that sits on top of Gellért Hill on the Buda side of the Danube River. The Liberty Statue that is located next to the citadel can be seen from throughout the downtown area of Pest. The bronze statue features a woman raising a palm leaf toward the sky and, although it was built by the Soviet Union, it still represents Hungary’s freedom from Nazi occupation. As interesting as the fortress and statues are, the main reason for making the trek to the top of Gellért Hill is for the views of Budapest. You can see the Buda Castle District, the Parliament Building, St. Stephen’s Basilica, the Danube River, and the heart of Budapest.

Looking Up at the Fortress and Liberty Statue from the River

We walked from our hotel down to the river where we crossed Liberty Bridge to start our hike to the top of Gellért Hill, which is 771 feet above the river below. The winding path is fairly steep and takes you through a wooded area as well as by the St. Gellért Monument. The hill gets its name because it is the location where St. Gellért was brutally killed and apparently tossed from the hill. It took us about an hour to make the walk to the top of the hill, but we stopped several times to take in the scenic views at the various overlooks.

As we reached the Citadella at the top of the hill, we had worked up quite a thirst and were quite happy to find out that their were several vendors selling food and drinks next to the fortress walls. In addition to the Liberty Statue, there were also two smaller statues that remain from the original four statues that were erected at the site. The other two statues were moved to Statue Park some time after 1947 when Liberty Statue was erected. Once at the top of the hill, we spent about thirty minutes walking around the fortress and statues. We happened to go on a Saturday and there was a mix of tourists as well as locals enjoying the beautiful weather.

Bird Along the Trail to the Top of Gellért Hill

St Stephen’s Basilica and the City of Budapest

There are many wonderful sites to visit while in Budapest and the Citadella is certainly one of them. We would definitely recommend going on a clear day in order to take full advantage of the incredible views of the city.

Fort San Lorenzo in Panama

On December 3, 2018 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Central America2 Comments

As far as historical points of interest within Panama, visiting Fort San Lorenzo is definitely a key site to visit. The Chagres River was a key method of transportation across the isthmus of Panama during the 1500’s as Spain used it to transport gold from its conquests in Mexico and South America to the Caribbean Sea where they could return it to Spain. It wasn’t long before pirates began attacking the ships as they made their way to the sea, so Spain built Fort San Lorenzo around 1560 to protect their ships from the pirates.

The pirates that attacked the ships were not the ones of a Disney movie and were vicious and ruthless. Over the next 40 years, the fortifications at the fort continued to evolve as the fort became more secure. One of the first things that you notice as you visit the remains of the fort is that the canons all face inland and not towards the river. This is because the attacks on the fortress actually occurred from land as the pirates tried to take control of the high point above the river. The cliffs around the fortress are far too steep for anyone to attack the fort from the river. The fortress also has two motes around it providing the ability to trap attackers as the soldiers retreated into the interior walls.

The fort was attacked and pretty much put into ruins in 1670 by the infamous pirate, Henry Morgan (from Captain Morgan rum fame). It was pretty much abandoned after that, but it was used as a prison during part of the 1700’s. Spain abandoned travel through the isthmus in favor of traveling around Cape Horn, but it became a popular route once again during the gold rush of 1848. The fort was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1980 and is part of the current Panama Canal.

You travel through a national park on your way to the fortress and during our ride, we stopped several times to see monkeys, a tree sloth, and most interestingly, an anteater in the trees. We spent about an hour walking through the ruins and despite being a world heritage site, our group was all alone during our time there. Afterwards, we set up chairs underneath a tree to enjoy some lunch. We did have one visitor during our lunch as a tarantula poked his head out of a hole in the tree to see what we were eating. We would definitely recommend that you put Fort San Lorenzo on your itinerary when visiting Panama City.

Koblenz, Germany

On October 19, 2018 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Germany11 Comments

Taking a train from Frankfurt to Koblenz was one of the most memorable trips during our time in Germany. The city spans both sides of the Rhine River and is situated where the Rhine meets the Moselle River. There are many sights to see when visiting Koblenz, but the highlights are the Ehrenbreitstein Fortress, the German Corner, and Schloss Stolzenfels. There is also an interesting statue that depicts the 2000 year history of the city, but even without all of these places, just walking along the Rhine would make visiting Koblenz worthwhile.

In order to get to Ehrenbreitstein Fortress, you take a cable car across the river to the top of the hillside where the fortress stands. The fortress is definitely interesting to see, but the views of the city are absolutely spectacular. Seeing the German Corner from the top of the hillside is even more impressive than just walking it at ground level. It is the spot where the Rhine and Moselle meet and has a park and a large statue of William I, the first emperor of Germany, riding a horse.

Schloss Stolzenfels is just outside of the city, but definitely worth taking a taxi to see. It is located in a large park with walking trails and sits high atop a hill that overlooks the river below. It is possible to take a tour of the castle, but there were none in English at the time that we visited. Also, be sure to have a number of a taxi driver with you as you can’t guarantee that there will be one in the area after you visit the castle, at least not during October when we were there.

There are plenty of restaurants and hotels to choose from, but one of our favorite places to eat was at the Einstein Café where they served a rather extensive buffet brunch with paintings of Einstein all around the room. Perhaps because it was one of the first places that we visited during our time in Germany, Koblenz will always have a special place in our hearts. It certainly didn’t hurt that the scenery was so beautiful at that time of the year.