Around the World With Uncle Moose: Szentendre and Pecs

Saturday 07 SEP

We were not scheduled to board the boat until 4:00, so we decided to take a day trip to Szentendre, a village about 20 miles from Budapest. The town is actually on the commuter rail line from Budapest, so we walked to Buda and took the train from there, saving approximately $80 from the cost of the tour that the ship was offering.

Yet another view of Buda, including St. Mathias Church, and Fisherman's Bastion

Traveling through the outskirts of Budapest, I observed that the physical condition of the area was much better than I had seen in other post-communist countries.

Housing in suburban Budapest

Less massive housing in suburban Budapest

Szentendre is known for its galleries, craft shops, and artisans. It's an old town and still has a lot of buildings from the 16th century and later.

Entering Szentendre

One of the squares in Szentendre

Saint Janos Roman Catholic church

Inside Saint Janos

Serbian Orthodox Church

Some artisans' houses

Along the main street.

After returning to Budapest, we boarded our boat, the Avalon Imagery, which held about 220 passengers, a mixture of Americans, Canadians, British, Australians, and New Zealanders. The cruise director was American, which is something that I have never seen.

The Avalon Imagery (picture not taken in Budapest)

Ship's bar and lounge

Part of the dining area

Our cabin

Approaching the Chain Bridge

Sunday, 08 SEP

After breakfast, we boarded a bus for Kalocsa, Hungary, home of the world-famous Museum of Paprika, as well as a museum of ethnography. I now consider myself a paprika expert.

Museum of Ethnographiy

Inside the Museum of Ethnography

At the Paprika Museum

Kalocsa Town Hall

At this point, I'd like to say a little bit about Hungarian. Here is a sentence from the Hungarian Wikipedia entry on paprika. Except for the second word, I defy you to translate one word:

A paprikát kezdetben leginkább dísznövényként termesztették színes bogyójáért; fűszerként csak lassan hódított tért, mivel azt híresztelték róla, hogy mérgező.

Fortunately, just about everyone we encountered spoke English.

From Kalocsa, we went to the Wunderlich Winery, where we had a 5-course wine-tasting lunch. Paprika was involved.

The Wunderlich Winery

The wine cellar at the winery, where we had lunch.

Hungarian Wine Country

Hungarian wine grapes

From the winery, we continued on to Pecs (pronounced "Paich"), the 5th largest city in Hungary. It's also one of the more picturesque cities I have been in.

A very old building next to the Cathedral

Pecs Cathedral. There are Roman ruins under the cathedral.

Ceiling of Pecs Cathedral

The central square is particularly nice, containing the Mosque of Pasha Qasim, as well as lots of other buildings. The mosque has been both a mosque and a church at various times.