Gyor

Monday: Budapest

Posted on by Susan

We left Pecs and drove to Budapest today – about 2 1/2 hours. The big city is beautiful, all decorated for Christmas and at about 55 degrees it is perfect weather to stroll around and get in the holiday state of mind. We parked our car and we don’t plan to use it at all for the time we are here.

We had lunch and checked out our part of the city, right on the Danube River. There wasn’t much boat traffic this afternoon and I wondered how busy the river got here.

I was surprised that Budapest has a giant(er) ferris wheel than Gyor so after the sun went down we took a ride to get a view of the city. They seem much more serious about their wheel, with two technicians in a booth operating the controls rather than a college girl pushing a lever. On the other hand, we were not offered blankets as we were in Gyor. It was lots of fun in both places and a good way to see the city lights.

We strolled around and walked right into a giant Christmas market, with lots of food, live music, and interesting gifts for sale. Wow, it was fantastic. We will have lunch there this week, but for now we got a few Christmas cookies.


photos: The city in holiday lights; music at the market; so much food at the holiday market, just one booth of a dozen.

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

Thursday: Gyor, Hungary

Posted on by Susan

We woke up to the coldest weather so far on our trip: 32°. By 9am it was not much warmer but then the sun came out and it was a beautiful day to walk around Gyor.

We went to the Janos Xantus museum in town and enjoyed looking at movie posters, contemporary metal sculptures, and photos from the last 100 years of Hungary’s history.

We walked from the older area of the city over the bridge to the busier part of Gyor where cars and trucks have normal road access they don’t have in the promenade area. It was not as nice as the old part, but still fun to see rhe Rabca river which runs through the city and is a big rowing river. There was no action on it today.

Back across the bridge again, we walked by workers putting up holiday decorations and we went into a 12th century cathedral that was decorated unlike any I have seen. The artwork, wood working, and decor were fantastic.

I had read about a part of a tree in the city that 300 years ago every craftsman/tradesman in the area had pounded a nail into for good luck. It was there, unprotected, easy to miss but very cool to see.

We went on the town’s giant ferris wheel this evening to get a bird’s eye view of the area.

Gyor is a delightful town.


photos: Gyor’s ferris wheel; when you walk past an open restaurant window; it’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas

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.