Pecs

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So, getting a host was quite an effort and I almost didn't go but I sent out a SOS on the group list and managed to get a host 😊 My host in Budapest was really nice and said I could stay longer if I skipped Pecs but I'm glad that didn't happen. Getting a bus ticket was a chore and as usual, my ISIC was rejected. Jeez.....ISIC has been pretty useless so far in terms of getting discounts for transportation. I think I should have gotten a Euro 26 card instead. Apparently it's cheaper and really, no one can ignore the big EURO >26 on the card. Transportation in Hungary is expensive! Especially after coming from the Czech Republic.

So I headed down on the bus and arrived about 3-4 hours later. Pecs certainly looked closer to Budapest on the map! My host met me and we went through the old town which was small and uphill. The view was great though. Had some food and then attended the Carnival costume party that was being held randomly on a Tuesday night on the Erasmus floor. I looked at my meager belongings and decided, what the heck....and so, I was "Exotically Asian" thanks to my pareo and a tissue paper flower 😊 Original, I know.

The next day I went around town but for some strange reason, couldn't find the Tourist Info center no matter how hard I looked. Bummed, I just wandered around. I had lunch at this place I randomly pick because I was standing outside and looking at the menu that I couldn't read and some old guy went in. Eat where the locals eat, right? Anyway, nobody spoke English and when the older lady asked me if I wanted the menu, I said yes. Instead of the menu, I got served soup. Took me a while but I eventually figured out that I had ordered the set lunch menu. Eh. *Shrugs* After the soup came beans and a meatball which was the default meat. If you wanted sausage, you had to ask. I didn't bother. It was all good and quite cheap and by the end of it, I had made friends with the elderly man who was the waiter 😊

I visited the church and got the full tour (since it wasn't such a large difference between the limited version and the full one - totally the American mentality of super-sizing 😊 ...What?!? An upgrade to the large for a dollar? I'll take it!) I'm still not sure if it was worth it. The church was nice, and so were the treasury, the empty crypt, the lapidary and the "winery" but some of it was just a little pointless (mainly the "winery") although I did get a free glass of wine...that wasn't all that great but who turns down free alcohol? ...even if they don't really drink.... I didn't go to the UNESCO ruins; I honestly wasn't interested in the inflated price and was kinda feeling the "been there, done that, got a souvenir" bit. I know, shame on me, future archaeologist and all that. Went to the local CS meeting that night and it was nice to chill out with everyone but I did not enjoy the thick smoke or the chain smoking Turkish guy who sat next to me. Urm, the mulled wine tasted kinda funky too but one girl brought some Hungarian snacks and that made it all better 😊

I managed to get to the Vaserely museum before I left town and I thought it was crazy!! All that optical art was just mind blowing. After that, I got the bus out to Szeged.

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