CHIMING CHURCH BELLS AWAKENED US YESTERDAY MORNING, a pleasant change from the electrified, amplified wailing muezzins that we had grown accustomed to. And after a visit to the palace cum art museum we joined the crowd of locals and tourists for a stroll along the Danube in Pest, just the thing to do on a rainy Sunday. It’s good to be back in Europe!
Eyebrow windows, Kaska
Taking the metro to the airport took less than an hour and cost about three bucks, a much better deal than the €30 cab ride. Sixt had our tiny Citroen C1 ready and waiting. The C1 is the tiniest car we’ve had yet but it holds all our gear, is cute as a bug and is fun to drive. With “Sir Clive” mounted on the dash to direct us we headed off to see Hungary. Much of the drive was on well-maintained highways where we cruised along at 100 kph. Once onto country roads we stopped now and then to photograph an interesting building and the colorful fields of mustard yellow rape seed.
Spring is in the air
Rick Steves, our European travel guru, had nice things to say about Pecs, 200-some kilometers south of the capital, including the fact that few American tourist bother to visit. Their loss. It is a charming town not far from the borders with Croatia and Serbia, with a medieval wall surrounding Art Nouveau buildings and a wonderfully restored Roman necropolis, complete with frescoed crypts. The chestnut trees are in full bloom, the women have shed their winter coats and spring is in the air.
Frescoed Roman crypt
Centrum Apartments is conveniently just outside the old barbican and our apartment has a functional kitchenette. The included breakfast was fantastic — with bacon to boot! No restrictions on pork here. We even had use of the washer so all we own is freshly laundered and we are ready to face the world.
