Budapest, Hungary

This spring we had our Global Marketing meeting in the city of Budapest. Fascinating town with an incredibly rich history and many, many sights to explore. Above the famous Chain Bridge spanning over the Danube River and to it's left the former Gresham Palace, now housing the Four Seasons Hotel which we got to stay in. On the far left above you can see St. Stephen's Basilica lit at night and visible from all over Budapest. Below a scenic view of the old city from Gellert Hill showing from left to right Matyas Church (where Sissi got married!), Buda Castle, Szechenyi Chain Bridge (linking the historically 2 independent cities Buda and Pest after 1849) and the Hungarian Parliament (the largest Parliament building in the world when it opened after decades of construction in 1902).

Regarded as one of the most beautiful cities in Europe, Budapest also has a history like no other. First a Celtic settlement before 1 AD it was later occupied by the Romans, then by the Turks and finally by the Austrian Habsburg Empire. The city was destroyed multiple times and shows unique architecture from the Ottoman reign and the rebuilding efforts after World War I and II. Today Budapest is home to about 1.8m inhabitants and includes various UNESCO World Heritage Sites. We were all very excited to have our business meetings here - it was my first time to Hungary and Budapest but I hope it won't be my last - still lot's more to explore and see…