August 20th is a national holiday in Hungary, St. Stephen's Day. St. Stephen was a Hungarian king who became Roman Catholic. According to my guide, the significance is that King Stephen allied Hungary with the Western world, instead of Byzantium in the East. The main celebration in Budapest is in the evening, when the city has two identical, simultaneous fireworks display over the Danube river. I went on a boat cruise on the Danube with some some other students to see the fireworks. They lasted a long time, and it was the best fireworks display I'd ever seen. The view on the boat was incredible, especially the view of parliament which lights up like a Christmas tree at night.
Beautiful pictures!
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