Wednesday was a PERFECT day
for touring. When I left around 11:30am it was a bit cool out, but by the
mid-afternoon it was gorgeous: sunny and in the upper 70s. My goal for the day
was to walk around the city and see what there was to see, and to look for some
souvenirs. I took the bus into the city (it’s about a 15 minute drive from the
university to the city center) and then walked from there. The area around the
center has an older feel to it, with many cute shops and lots and lots of
bakeries. I grabbed an ice cream cone for 170 HUF (Hungarian Forint), which
equates to about AUD 66 cents. Because all the flavors were in Hungarian, I
just picked one that looked good. It was called Mák, which I later found out
was poppy. It had a strange taste (sweet with a little bite), but I enjoyed it.
The Miskolc city center.
A beautiful building façade.
Looking down a pedestrian path.
It’s funny how they still have stop
signs with the English word “Stop”.
For lunch I grabbed a
baguette/sandwich from a bakery, which cost me 470 HUF (or AUD$2.06). Food
around here seems pretty cheap! I have no idea what things are or how to
pronounce anything, so I’ve been doing a lot of pointing, nodding, and smiling.
It’s very weird not to be able to make small talk. That’s something I enjoy
doing and I’m not able to do it here. I can’t even understand what people
around me are saying. As I mentioned before, it’s like I’m in my own little
bubble. Some people do speak some English, but many of the shop owners and
workers don’t seem to speak any, at least from what I’ve encountered. I’ve also
realized that I have no idea what I’m looking for in terms of souvenir shops. I
don’t know any Hungarian words so the shop signs could have in big bold letters
“Souvenirs!” and I wouldn’t know. I was very careful to look into every shop
window to see if they had anything I wanted. It was definitely a day of window
shopping! I found a nice porcelain spoon with Miskolc written on it for my spoon
collection, and a few other trinkets. Unfortunately I haven’t been able to find
any real souvenir-type shops, so that kind of shopping might have to wait until
Budapest (I’m hoping I’ll have enough time before my flight next Wednesday to
go to the main market and shop a little).
While strolling along the streets I kept my eye out for any attractions to visit. I ended up going through the Theatre History and Actors’ Museum, which cost AUD$1.76. I was the only person there so they opened it up for me. It was neat to see the history of theater in Miskolc. The guide book had an English translation, so I could at least understand the exhibit.
While strolling along the streets I kept my eye out for any attractions to visit. I ended up going through the Theatre History and Actors’ Museum, which cost AUD$1.76. I was the only person there so they opened it up for me. It was neat to see the history of theater in Miskolc. The guide book had an English translation, so I could at least understand the exhibit.
Puppets used for the production of Aladdin.
A lovely costume.
After walking through the old
part of the city I got to the newer part, where there was a McDonald’s, a
grocery store, and other more modern amenities. I went through the Miskolc Plaza, which was like a mall with all
the big chain stores like H&M. I stopped at a grocery store to buy a few
food supplies so I don’t have to go into the city every time I want food. In
the evening a small thunderstorm rolled through, which was so awesome. I don’t
think I’ve experienced a thunderstorm the entire time I’ve been in Australia, and
I really miss them!
They’re everywhere! Apparently they’re
also called “McReggeli” in Hungary.
Today, Thursday, was not such a great day for touring. It was rainy, cold (in the mid-50s), and miserable. However, I was determined to go see the Castle of Diósgyőr, a Gothic castle built in the 14th and 15th centuries in the place of a castle from the 12th century that was the engagement present of the queens for centuries. After Skyping with Chris (my favorite person in the world :P ), I headed off for the castle. It took me a 20 minute tram ride from the city center to get there, plus a few minutes walking down a beautiful tree-lined street in the town of Diósgyőr. By the time I got there both my feet were soaking wet. My left shoe for some reason now has a leak in it, and I accidentally stepped in a puddle while taking a picture. Despite being sopping wet, I enjoyed the castle tour. I was the only person there (it must have been because of the rain) so I had the whole place to myself to look around. There were several exhibits inside the castle, including an exhibit about the history of the place and a weaponry and armory exhibit. It was really neat to think I was standing where kings and queens had stood before.
The Castle of Diósgyőr.
Inside the
castle.
The view of Diósgyőr from the top of the
castle.
A reproduction of one of the counts’
child-arm. The upbringing for a knight’s life began very young (at about 7 or
8), but only the aristocrats’ children had the possibility to get used to the
uncomfortable armor this young. A knight’s equipment was very expensive,
usually about the yearly income of a village.
(Note: I'm sorry about the line spacing of the next three paragraphs. Blogger is being glitchy and I'm tired of trying to format it correctly.)
After my tour, I walked through the small town around the castle. I had passed the American Burger Bar earlier and decided to have lunch there to see what their take on American burgers was. I ordered the Texas burger. Again, I could not read what the ingredients were so I chose based on the name. Since I’ve been to Texas I figured I had something to compare it to. Other choices included the Las Vegas Burger, the Philadelphia Burger, the Arizona Burger, and the Tennessee Burger, to name just a few. The Texas burger was quite delicious. It consisted of a burger, red kidney beans, corn, tomatoes, cheese, sour cream, and ketchup on a ciabatta bread bun. Very yummy!
With a full stomach, I headed back to the university and walked around to get my bearings for the conference tomorrow. It's a beautiful campus, with many trees and open green spaces. It's about the size of Ohio Wesleyan (it takes about 15 minutes to walk across campus). The buildings are relatively new for the area; I think they were built in the 1950s. In many of the buildings there is not much lighting, or at least they don't keep all the lights on in the hallways. Everything seemed a bit dark.
An interesting painting inside one of the university buildings.
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