Devin's Travels: Szeged

Stepping off the bus in Szeged we made our way to the tourist information office to find out about accommodation options in Szeged. After a little bit of wandering around we finally found the information office hidden in a small courtyard and from there we were directed to a cheap student dorm. Just as we got to the dorm it started to absolutely pour so we checked in and spent the next 20 minutes waiting in our room for the rain to let up a bit. Eventually the rain eased up so we set off to explore the town and get a bit of food. The rest of the afternoon was spent wandering around the old part of town and using the internet for a bit. That evening there was a festival starting so we were determined not to miss out this time by assuming that it would still be going on the next day. That night was then spent enjoying a couple of drinks and some food from the festival before heading back to the dorm to go to bed.

The next morning we rose early to catch a train to the nearby town of Kecskemet where we planned on doing a bit of sightseeing before heading just outside of that town to see some Hungarian Cowboys. Arriving in Kecskemet we set off to explore the many squares that all seem to be connected. We spent a couple of hours just wandering around the town admiring the beautiful buildings such as the town hall, Ornamental Palace, Jozsef Katona Theatre and a couple of churches. So after admiring these buildings, and going into a few of them, we made our way to the bus station where we hopped on a bus that would take us out to Bugac village where the Hungarian Cowboys perform. Getting dropped off the bus seemingly in the middle of nowhere we were told to walk down a small road for about a kilometer to the office for the horse show. Arriving at the office we were told that we had just missed the wagon that takes people to where the show is staged 1.5 kilometers away and that the show started in 15 minutes. So we quickly bought our tickets and started off in a hurry to catch the show. 20 minutes later we arrived at the show to find that the cowboys were just entering the arena so we hadn't missed anything thankfully. The show started off with the cowboys riding past us cracking their whips and even one of the cowboys galloping 5 horses while standing on the rear two, it was pretty amazing. The rest of the hour long show showcased the cowboys skills of getting on and off their horse bareback, their whip cracking abilities and even some races. After the show we wandered to the nearby Hungarian Sheppard's Museum which wasn't anything spectacular before walking back out to the road to catch a bus back to the train station. Arriving at the train station we quickly got on a train back to Szeged where we again spent the evening checking out the small fair and enjoying some more of their food and drink, including some delicious marzipan balls which seemed to have so much sugar in that we had to nickname them diabetes balls.

The next morning we got up early enough to spend a couple of hours checking out the Mora Ferenc Museum in Szeged which was really enjoyable. The museum had exhibits on everything from the evolution of the earth to traditional Hungarian household items to humour to modern day furniture. Unfortunately we had to leave the museum before we were fully done in it as we had to catch a train to Eger. The rest of the afternoon was spent taking 4 different trains but eventually getting to Eger where we were planning to spend the next 3 nights.