dessert

Friday: Eger, Hungary

Posted on by Susan

We left Budapest this morning. I would love to go back. It is such a vibrant city and I could look at the ancient buildings’ architecture every day. But we were off to Eger – a two-hour drive by the time we got out of the very busy Budapest.

Eger is in northern Hungary and one of the things it is noted for is its red wine. So once we got settled we tried some at lunch. Later we checked out Eger’s holiday market (the “Advent” market) which really does not open until tomorrow. It looks as though it will be a big deal, with a bandshell, lots of food and wine booths, and all sorts of holiday gifts.

Their holiday lights and Christmas tree will be lit tomorrow night too. We are just here overnight and the lights that are on make the city look beautiful.


photos: a tree in the center of Eger’s town square; a stream that runs into the Eger River; palacsinta – a rolled pancake tgat can have nuts, jam, or other things in it. We had chocolate❤

Saturday: Pecs, Hungary

Posted on by Susan

Today we drove from Gyor to the city of Pecs, in the center of Hungary. Pecs has a 2,000 year history and is also a UNESCO World Heritage site. It is a city filled with many cultures and it is a wonderful place to walk around with lots to see and do.

Like other ancient cities we have visited, the very large city square allows for limited car traffic. It is similar to a massive pedestrian mall.

We walked around all afternoon, stopping for lunch at a tavern, then coffee and dessert at a cute coffee shop run by a very nice and friendly English-speaking man and his much quieter wife.

I like to check out the English books section in bookstores we come across, so I did that. Most bookstores have at least a few shelves of books in English, and my biggest fear is not having a book to read (This won’t happen. My suitcase is full of them.)

Our little hotel has a decent gym in its medieval cellar, so I will spend some time there in the early morning.

photos: Pretty Pecs; the delicious reasons I need to hit the gym; city government building

Wednesday: Gyor, Hungary

Posted on by Susan

We left Trieste this morning and although we would have liked to have stayed a few more days, the almost constant wind and heavy rain was becoming ridiculous. On to Hungary.

To cross through Slovenia and Hungary, tolls are paid via a vignette – a sticker on the car window. A car without a sticker means a €140 fine, paid on the spot. Stories are all over regarding clueless drivers who figured “toll road” means what it means in other countries: pay when passing through a toll booth. Fortunately we had read up on this and got a sticker in a shop close to the Italy/Slovenia border. Sure enough, police were on active lookout on the Slovenia/Hungary border.

The five- hour drive went fine until we got into the city of Gyor. Since the hotel was in the promenade/ pedestrian walk section of the old city, there was no way to get to it get there without parking in the garage and walking over – no big deal once we knew that, but GPS caused some frustration as we drove around looking for the hotel.

We finally found it, after parking our car and walking around inside the area closed to cars. We checked in and got the rest of our luggage and almost immediately went looking for dinner because we hadn’t eaten since breakfast. We found a nice place within steps of the hotel – a good thing because of course it continued to rain.

We walked around for a while after we left the restaurant and eventually found a small dessert shop. Who knew “Gofri” means “waffle,” and that these things are gigantic.


photos: a vignette firmly attached to the windshield; wild and delicious gofri/waffle; Hungarian restaurant this evening. The old brick structure is interesting to check out.