Sopron

So after finally leaving Budapest after our week long stay there we arrived in the small town of Sopron in the late afternoon. Our first stop after getting off the train was in a tourist office where we found out all of the accommodation available and were disappointed to learn that there were no hostels and the student dorms had closed their doors for the summer. Our only budget option left was then pensions and private rooms so we set off to try a few. After the first few we found that it was going to be a tough task as most required a phone to call the owners or only had limited reception hours. After nearly three hours of wandering the town we finally came across somewhere that had available and fairly cheap rooms so we took it. By this time we only had time for a short break in the hotel before setting off to grab a quick bite to eat in the town square. The evening was ended fairly early as we were still both exhausted from the festival so we didn't get much sight seeing done that day.

The next morning we awoke and set off to see Esterhazy Castle which is located about half an hour outside of Sopron. Unfortunately we were both starting to feel fairly sick, no doubt from the lack of sleep and excess germs at the festival, so while on the bus we managed to miss the stop for the castle. Thankfully we only missed it by one stop and half an hour later we found ourselves outside of the Esterhazy Castle. Our hour long guided tour through the castle was pretty interesting as the small percentage of the total rooms that we saw were furnished as they used to be and the english description of them was quite good. So after getting to see several beautiful reception rooms, bedrooms, dining rooms and other various halls we got to explore the exterior a bit before having to catch a bus back to Sopron. By the time we arrived in Sopron we were feeling fairly bad and even though it was only mid afternoon we proceeded to have a few hour nap to try and recuperate. After our nap the rest of the afternoon and evening was spent using the internet and searching the few restaurants in Sopron for some Potato Croquettes, a potato dish similar to Tator Tots that we had only found in Hungary, since this was to be our last meal in Hungary. After enjoying our meal of potato croquettes and soup we returned to our hotel and went directly to bed as we were too sick to do anything else.

The next morning we reluctantly hauled ourselves out of bed and packed our bags. Afterwards we made our way to the train station where we caught a train bound for Vienna, our next destination.









A clock in the Esterhazy Castle that used an Angles finger to point out the time.


















One of the many fully furnished rooms that we got to see in the Castle.















The Fire Tower rising above the old town in Sopron.












Note that the pictures for Budapest have also been posted below.

Budapest

We arrived in Budapest after a relatively short travel time compared to the past few times and quickly found the hostel that we had booked for our first 3 nights there. After dumping our bags we set off to find some lunch and explore the city a bit. We started off by walking towards the centre of Pest (one of the main regions of Budapest) and from there we made our way to Andrassy street. Here we strolled along looking at all of the beautiful old buildings including one that used to be the headquarters of the communist party and now houses a museum and a cafe where the Secret Police used to visit. At the end of Andrassy street we came to Heroes' Square which is a huge square containing several statues of heroic Hungarians. From here we wandered into the large City Park which was fairly nice but the highlights were the huge Szechenyi Baths and the Vajdahunyad Castle. We decided to save the baths for a later day as we didn't have our trunks with us and it was getting late in the afternoon and the castle is closed to tourists so all we could do was stroll around its perimeter and admire the chaotic building style (the castle has been added to by countless different rulers, each adding their own eras design so the result is quite chaotic). Leaving the City Park we slowly made our way back to our hostel where we just enjoyed a home cooked meal and spent the evening hanging out with other guests in the hostel.

The next morning we got up and after a quick breakfast we set off to explore Buda's castle hill (Buda is the other main are in downtown Budapest and located on the opposite side of the Danube river). Walking to Castle Hill from our hostel took a little while but we eventually made it up on top and from there we started exploring the medieval buildings. We started off by wandering around the Royal Palace and checking out the views from its walls but we didn't actually go inside it as it only housed some art museums now and we figured we would rather spend our time exploring other sights. So after walking around the Royal Palace we started to make our way to the other end of Castle Hill and soon found ourselves at the magnificent Matthias Church. The exterior looked amazing with a multicoloured tiled roof, although there was lots of scaffolding around it for preservation work. The interior of the church was even more breathtaking although it seemed to be turned into more of a tourist attraction than a church as there was even a souvenir shop inside of it. We still enjoyed wandering around the church though and gazing at the magnificence where the old Kings and Queens of Hungary were crowned. Outside of the church there was the Fishermen's Bastion which was a nice wall along the edge of Castle Hill that provided some great views out over Budapest. After the Fishermen's Bastion we made our way to the far end of Castle Hill where we checked out the Military History Museum where we spent the last bit of our available time that day learning all about Hungary's past military campaigns. The museum was huge and after enjoying nearly 2 hours we decided we had to leave even though we weren't finished as we wanted to get to the music festival fairly early that night. Leaving the museum we walked down from Castle Hill through the Vienna Gate and quickly caught the metro back to our hostel. At our hostel we enjoyed a quick and early dinner before heading back out to make our way to the site of the Sziget Festival.

Arriving at the festival we were completely overwhelmed at how huge the area was and the number of people that were there for it. It took us almost 30 minutes of walking around the festival grounds before we were even able to find the main stage although during this time we had stumbled upon a couple of other stages and spent a few minutes enjoying the Hungarian bands playing on them. The festival grounds were huge and it seemed that everywhere you looked there were hundreds of tents pitched for the people that were planning on living there for the next 5 days. To go along with the tents there was every kind of booth imaginable from food booths, to actual bars set up and even a couple of temporary supermarkets. That night we enjoyed music from SKA-P, Snow Patrol, and Lily Allen along with thousands of other people at the main stage before checking out some of the other stages and eventually returning back to our hostel at 4am to crash.

The following morning we got up fairly early (early considering our bed time) and after a quick breakfast we set off to check out Statue Park. After an hour of riding buses we made it to Statue Park which is a dumping ground for old Socialist statues. Since its separation from the Soviet Union in 1991 a bunch of Socialist statues from around Budapest were taken to this park and are now displayed for tourists to come see. We enjoyed wandering around looking at about 50 different statues (some of them absolutely massive while others were just small busts) before we checked out the fantastic museum on site. In the museum they have a video playing on loop that shows some of the training tapes they used for training citizens to spy on their neighbors. It was fascinating to watch but before we could enjoy the entire thing we had to leave in order to catch the bus back to the centre of town. Making it back to the centre we quickly made our way to the hostel where we again enjoyed a quick and early dinner before setting off for the festival. That evening we got to enjoy the end of a German band called Die Toten Hosen, Bloc Party, and Fatboy Slim. Again after the main stage finished we stayed around enjoying some bands on the smaller stages and finally returned to our hostel at 3am to go to bed.

The following morning we had to pack our bags and move to a different nearby hostel as our first one was full. So after arriving at the new hostel where we planned on spending the next three nights we dropped our bags off and made our way to the Terror House, the museum on Andrassy street which used to be the headquarters of the communist party for Hungary. Walking into the museum the first thing that you see is a huge tank pointing its barrel directly at you so it definitely sets the mood for the next few hours. The museum then proceeds to go into amazing detail about how life was like in Hungary under the communist rule, so from the end of WWII right up to 1991. We spent nearly 3 hours checking out the museum and learning what everyday life was like for the citizens of Hungary and what they had to go through during that time frame and I have to say it was probably one of the best museums I've been in in my life. It was a truly great exhibit. After leaving the museum we again returned to our new hostel for an early dinner before heading back out to the music festival. That night we got to enjoy the last bit of JET, Primal Scream, Pendulum, and The Prodigy on the main stage before spending a little while checking a few other stages. We didn't stay too late that night (returning home around 1am) as we planned on getting up early the next morning to do a day trip out of Budapest.

On Saturday morning we got up pretty early and made our way down to the local commuter train station. From here we road the train to the end of the line while trying not to fall asleep again and after about an hour we made it to the picturesque little town of Szentendre. Szentendre is located just north of Budapest on the Danube river where the river starts to turn south (we headed up river from Budapest) and so the region is called the Danube Bend. Once in the town we started to wander its pedestrian lanes in the centre of the town which are all full of little shops, cafes and restaurants. We also visited the Belgrade Cathedral before venturing into the Serbian Orthodox Ecclesiastical Art Collection which had some beautiful religious icons. After the art collection we went to find out how to get to the nearby open air museum, the highlight of Szentendre, but we found out that we just missed the bus out to it so we decided to walk the 3km to the museum.

Arriving at the Open Air Ethnographic Museum we got to walk around several old towns (around 6) that had been rebuilt to show what life in different parts of rural Hungary was like. It was extremely interesting getting to see the different types of houses, churches and stores as they all varied quite a bit over the country. In addition to just seeing what the houses looked like we were able to learn what the main income source was for each region whether it was agriculture, trade, wine or anything else. All in all it was a fantastic way to spend three and a half hours seeing the traditional wooden and stone houses for regions of Hungary that we had already visited. Leaving the museum in the late afternoon we made our long way back to Budapest where we returned to our hostel for a bit of a rest and some quick dinner before heading back out to the festival that evening. At the festival we only got to enjoy Placebo on the main stage but we stayed for quite a while after enjoying some of the local bands on smaller stages. By 1:30 in the morning we decided that we were almost dead and made our way back to the hostel for some much needed sleep.

The next morning was our last full day in Budapest and we decided to take it fairly easy. After a nice sleep in and a late lunch we made our way to the Szechenyi Baths where we planned to relax all afternoon. While in the baths we got to sample about 15 different pools (all of different temperatures and some of them containing healing minerals in the water) and almost as many saunas. After 3 hours of just soaking in the warm and cool pools and exploring the beautiful building we felt much more revived and set off back towards our hostel for another quick dinner. Afterwards we made our way back to the festival for the last time where we enjoyed performances by The Offsring and Faith No More on the main stage. Again we felt we should stay and enjoy some of the other bands playing later but we didn't stay too late as it felt as if the festival had truly come to a close. So just after midnight we left the grounds and went home to bed.

On the following morning we again took our time to get up and after enjoying a leisurely breakfast we packed our bags and set off for the train station. Upon reaching the station we found it absolutely packed with thousands of other people who were clearly leaving the festival but thankfully since we were only getting a domestic train ticket we had no problems with the crowds. After a short wait in the train station we boarded a train bound for Sopron which is near the boarder with Austria and was our next destination.









The interior of the Matthias Church. This picture doesn't really do it justice as it was absolutely fantastic.



















One of the largest socialist statues at Statue Park complete with a banana peel that someone had put under his front foot (you can see it if you look closely).

















A shot of the communist red star made up of flowers at Statue Park with a few of the statues visible in the background.















Some of the typical historic Hungarian buildings from one of the small "villages" we saw at the Open Air Ethnographic Museum.













Some ancient firetrucks in another of the villages at the Open Air Ethnographic Museum.

Eger

So we arrived in Eger just as it was starting to get dark and so since we figured the tourist information office would be closed we made our way to where Lonely Planet said there was a dorm we could stay in. After spending a few minutes looking for it we decided that it no longer existed so we set off to look for other accommodation. After wandering around unsuccessfully for just over an hour we decided to ask in a 4 star hotel if they knew of any place and the lady at the desk told us there was a cheap hotel just around the corner. Arriving at the cheaper hotel we were disappointed to find a very nice 3 star hotel but we decided to ask if they knew of any other place. When we asked the girl working the desk she said that she had a room that she could give to us 50% off because it didn't have a window. Since we were both tired of searching for a place to stay we quickly said yes and made our way up to our great room. After dumping our bags we went out to enjoy a late dinner before returning to the hotel to crash.

The next morning we got up and discovered that the 3 star hotel and the 4 star hotels were owned by the same people so we got to use the same facilities as them and even enjoy the same quality of breakfast. Delicious. After breakfast we set off to check out Eger Castle which is located on a hill in the centre of the town. Climbing up to the castle we were delighted to find out that an historic reenactment was taking place there that weekend. So we spent the rest of the morning wandering around the castle grounds enjoying the views over the old city and watching people dressed up in costumes have mock battles. Unfortunately everything was in Hungarian, including the museum exhibits, so after a while we decided that it was enough and left to explore the rest of the town. Leaving the castle we came across a minaret standing in the centre of a traffic circle but without a mosque which is apparently Europe's northern most remains of the Ottoman invasion in the 16th century. After the minaret we visited the Minorite Church which is a beautiful building on the edge of a nice square. After the church we enjoyed a small bite to eat (the breakfast was big enough to be our lunch as well) before heading to Szepasszony Volgy (Valley of the Beautiful Women) which is a small street that has nothing other than wine cellars on it. Arriving there we just got a plastic bottle filled up to enjoy that evening as we planned on coming back the next day to sample more of their wares. Returning back to the hotel we spent a little bit relaxing and using the internet before heading out to dinner. After our enjoyable dinner we returned to the square with the Minorite Church where we sat and enjoyed the last bit of our bottle of wine before returning to our hotel for bed.

The following morning we took it easy and enjoyed a leisurely breakfast before heading out to check out the last few sights in Eger. We started with the huge yellow Eger Cathedral which was pretty magnificent although not as nice as the Minorite Church. From the cathedral we went to the Lyceum (an old university built by a Bishop) where we saw a spectacular 20 000 volume library complete with a frescoed ceiling. Climbing higher in the Lyceum we checked out the Astronomy Museum which contained several old telescopes, cameras and filming equipment. However the highlight of the museum had to be the Eye of Eger which is a camera obscura, something like a periscope where the surrounding scenery was reflected onto a white table in a dark room. This gave a great live picture of the surrounding city from high up in the Lyceum. After the Lyceum we returned to the Valley of the Beautiful Women to sample more of the famous Eger wine (specifically Egri Bikaver or Eger Bull's Blood) and to fill up a few bottles which we planned to take with us to Budapest where we were heading to the next day. After getting our wine we made our way back to our hotel and the rest of the evening was spent enjoying dinner and having a swim in the hotel's pool.

The following morning we got up and checked out of our nice hotel after breakfast and made our way to the train station. At the train station we quickly boarded a train bound for Budapest where we planned to spend the next week so that we could explore the town and also enjoy the Sziget music festival.









One person dressed up for a reenactment at the Eger Castle.




















The northern most minaret from the Ottoman invasion.




















Enjoying our wine in the plastic water bottle and McDonald's cups that we had to drink it out of while sitting in the square.

















The amazing library in the Lyceum with the frescoed ceiling.














Lianne enjoying a glass of wine in one of the wine cellars located in the Valley of the Beautiful Women.

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.









The main town square in Szeged at dusk.


















The one cowboy driving 5 horses while standing on the rear of the back two.














The cowboys getting their well trained horses to sit down while they crack their whips over their heads.














The cowboys standing on their horses and cracking their whips.

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.









The beautiful gardens in front of the Festetics Palace in Keszthely.




















Lianne posing in front of one of the portraits inside the Festetics Palace which we got to slide around with felt slippers on our feet.



















The magnificent Helikon Library in the Festetics Palace.




















Lianne in front of the "wall of padlocks" in Pecs.


















The Pecs National Theatre all lit up at night time.














Some of the beautiful paintings found within the Christian Mausoleum.















The interior of the Szent Peter Bazilika.