The train ride to Pecs (pronounced Pay-sh) was three hours. It was a nice ride through the countryside and I arrived around 1pm and got a little detoured in my way to the hostel. The map didn't quite have the train station on it so I took a wrong turn, but eventually made my way. It took about half an hour which is hard when you have the pack on your back. Also it was an uphill climb to the center and it was hot! It's been about mid 80's in the afternoons. Anyway, the hostel was great and I got a lot if good tips from the guy who worked there. I kinda roamed around and got to know Pecs on the first day. I went to see the synagogue in town which was really lovely. I spoke to the old guy who worked there and he told me that they still pray each Shabbat but its no longer in the synagogue itself because they only have 71 people left. They were 4,000 before the war.
The town of Pecs is really beautiful. The main square is stunning and it has a mosque inside from the time of the Turks which is nicely built and is now a church. It's bright and colorful and has such a good vibe.
The first day I met my two roomies, Fabio from Portugal and Kian from Denmark. I hung out with them for an early evening coffee and conversation. Fabio and I went to the cultural center that night where they were screening a movie outdoors. It happened to be a French movie with Audrey Tatou and it was so fun to sit outside under the stars and watch a movie which you barely understand... You appreciate it in a different way, I think. Pay attention to other pieces and not the words. I still found myself laughing and understanding. It seems that I'll be missing most of the movies in the park this summer so this was a nice way of making up for it.
When we got back to the hostel the bar which is right below had Hungarian folk dancing. It was fun to watch people really into it, dancing their hearts out.
My second day in Pecs was very museum based. I saw several, they are all very small but I feel like it gave me more insight to the culture. Pecs was an excellent way to say goodbye to Hungary. It gave me the time and space to reflect on everything I've learned and seen so far and process a bit of the Hungarian people and culture. I'm glad I decided to go off track a little and explore the smaller areas away from Budapest because they give so much more than the big city does. It would be really fascinating to come back to this country one day in at least 10 years from now. I think the country is still affected by the aftermath of its history and communism and is still struggling to ground itself in certain ways... I'm also curious what joining the EU will do for it in the long run.
Today was a slow morning. I finished my second book last night so I had to search for a new one and I sat at a bakery cafe with a latte and pastry while journaling this morning. Then I pretty much say with Kian and Fabio until I had to leave. My train travels to Zagreb are long today. I have a three hour train ride to bumblefuck and then I wait for 40 minutes and then change on to a different train for another 2+ hours. I'm sure I'll be exhausted when I get to Zagreb. It's also REALLY hot today and the trains are not always air conditioned.
I guess that's all part of the journey though, right?
**Just a side note. This blog post was written earlier in the day. I ended up getting to Zagreb at 9 pm because of the border control. It took almost an hour and a half for the police on both the Hungarian and Croatian sides to check everyone's passports. The train was stopped at a random station. It was awful. That and the fact that the train was totally overbooked and we were all squished in the aisles. It was like cattle cars. Awful. I arrived at my hostel totally exhausted and disgustingly sweaty. But I have to say... So far Croatia is absurdly gorgeous!! It's gonna be a great two weeks!! And now I'm headed to bed in what seems to be a comfy one.
Xoxo
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