| We spent the next day exploring Pest, walking the streets and finishing with a delicious dinner, accompanied with Hungarian wine, at a seven table restaurant called Retek, which means "radish" in Hungarian. Its 43 year old owner and chef has worked in Canada, New York, and Sydney, following a several year stint on a river boat. The next day we boarded the boat and enjoyed a night time cruise along the Danube with all the famous landmarks brilliantly illuminated. |
| More Hungary: The Pest Side of Budapest, And Pecs |
| Later that evening we sailed for Mohacs, which is the site of a historically significant battle in which the Turks defeated the Hungarians in 1526 and ruled Hungary for the next 150 years. We took a bus ride to Pecs (sounds like "pages" in Hungarian), a multicultural university town of 170,000, which was named the "European Capital of Culture" in 2010. Nearby is Hungary's principal wine producing region, Szekszard where we visited a winery which offered overly generous tastings in a Napa-like style wine cave, accompanied with a trio of Hungarian musicians |
| At left, Barb and Ken at a traditional Hungarian restaurant where we had our first dinner; lots of root veggies and no lettuce to be seen. On the way back to the hotel, we witnessed a massive nightly fireworks display, Below is the Basilica of St Stephen, a few blocks from our hotel. We then proceeded to our Retek dining experience. |
Highlights of our night time cruise: The parliament building,
the Budapest University of Technology and Economics (in
the Gellert Hill region), the Royal Palace, and the Matthias
Church and Fishermen's Bastion above the Chain Bridge
the Budapest University of Technology and Economics (in
the Gellert Hill region), the Royal Palace, and the Matthias
Church and Fishermen's Bastion above the Chain Bridge
| The elaborate St Peter's Cathedral was our entry point to Pecs' town square, where we found children playing in a fountain to stay cool. The main shopping street is adjacent to the square. |
| After the Turks conquered Hungary, they built Mosques and imposed the Muslim culture throughout the country. When the Hungarians regained control, they converted the mosques back to Christianity, but the original architecture of this mosque in Pecs was retained. The interior of what is now called the "Mosque Church" reflects theTurkish influence. |
| The Szekszkard wine region dates back 2000 years although wine production was interupted during periods of Turkish Islamic rule. We tasted a variety of 6 wines including the well known Tokaj variety. Only one seemed particularly notable. |
Radishes