Devin's Travels: Keszthely and Pecs

Arriving in Keszthely after a long day of several train and bus transfers from Ljubljana we made our way to what we thought was a student dorm offering accommodation during the summer. After a while of wandering around the town we came to the conclusion that the dorm either no longer existed or didn't offer accommodation anymore so we set off looking for another place mentioned in the Lonely Planet. Being unsuccessful in finding this hotel as well we finally came across a pension and were only to glad to stay there the night. By this time it was already early evening so we just went out for a delicious dinner and after dinner we went for a walk down to Lake Balaton, the largest freshwater lake in Europe outside of Scandinavia. As we approached the lakeside we saw that a festival of sorts was going on, mainly consisting of booths to buy food or handicrafts, so we walked amongst them for a bit. Since we had already eaten we didn't sample any food but decided that we would return the following night so we just made our way back to the pension to head to bed.

The next morning we awoke and made our way up to huge Festetics Palace which is located near the centre of the town. We started off wandering around the exterior of the palace as the grounds and exterior of the building was beautiful. We then went inside for a tour around some of the 100 plus rooms of the palace which were all fantastic and the highlight definitely being the 900 000 volume Helikon Library. After the palace we enjoyed a picnic lunch before searching around the entire town for somewhere to rent bicycles as we hoped to ride along the lake shore to some nearby towns. Unfortunately we were unable to find anywhere to rent bicycles so we just spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing next to lake as there wasn't much else to do. That evening we made our way back down to where the festival was taking place the night before only to find it dead quiet so we figured that the previous night was the festivals last. We then made our way back to the same restaurant as the previous night as it was delicious and after dinner just returned to our pension for an early night.

The next morning we set off as there wasn't anything else to do in Keszthely so we made our way to the bus station where we quickly boarded a bus bound for Pecs. After a 4 hour bus ride we arrived in Pecs, the city that is going to be named the culture capital of Europe in 2010, and walking to the old town centre we found that almost the entire area was under construction. Unfortunately it also meant that the hotel we were going to try and stay in was also under construction so after a quick visit to the tourist office we quickly found a substitute. After dropping our bags off in our hotel we set off to explore the town starting with the oddly named Mosque Church. The church is a converted mosque and although there no longer is a minaret there are still Islamic elements inside it. After visiting the Mosque Church we started to wander the streets of the old town and quickly came across a "wall of padlocks" which is a short section of wall absolutely covered with different padlocks. From here we wandered around the old town admiring the buildings and eventually ending up at the Synagogue. The Synagogue was great as upon entering it we were given an information sheet in English detailing the Jewish history of Hungary and specifically Pecs. By this time it was getting quite late so we returned to our hotel for a short rest before heading out to enjoy dinner on the streets and to again wander around some of the streets in the evening before heading back to bed.

The following morning we set off to explore more of Pecs starting with some early Christian cemeteries which are a part of the World Heritage List. Of the cemeteries we got to see a 4th century Christian Mausoleum and a Late Roman Burial Site and Chapel which both have some beautiful decorations inside. After viewing a few of these Christian cemetery sites we made our way to the Szent Peter Bazilika which is a gorgeous cathedral complete with an 11th century crypt and wine cellar. That evening was again spent wandering around the streets after dinner and this time we stumbled upon some sort of dance happening outside of the Pecs Theatre. The dance was pretty fascinating to watch as it seemed as if every Hungarian knew the steps and joined in so soon the entire area was full of people doing the unique dance and a handful of tourists watching.

The next morning we set off from our hotel to the bus station where we quickly boarded a bus bound for Szeged. After another 4 our bus journey we finally emerged from the bus at Szeged, our next destination.