Pécs 1

I got up early and went to Budapest Keleti station. This is a building with character, redolent of a past era.

I had purchased my ticket to Pécs on the Internet and collected it from an automat at Déli station ahead of time, so I had time to spare and take a few pictures of the surrounding area.

The large underground plaza.

It's a busy transport interchange.

The interior of the station.

As for reason for going to Pécs, I wanted to experience Hungary outside of Budapest. I had planned a trip to Lake Balaton but my chosen lodging had decided to close for end of season, which was an indication that the towns would be very quiet. Since it was quite a detour with little return I abandoned that segment, instead staying one more day in Budapest. So this was my only excursion outside the capital city, aside from a day trip to a nearby town up the Danube, Szentendre.

The Hungarian countryside en route to Pécs was mostly flat since it runs close to the Danube. The mountain ranges of Hungary are to the north and the west.

About 3 hours later I reached my destination. The station was a little bit away from the old city and I caught a bus to my guest house accommodation. The staff were very welcoming. People are friendlier in smaller places. The room was one of the most comfortable I had experienced. It was decorated in a homely classical style, yet the facilities were modern.

I found a Hungarian restaurant close by and had a meal of I think pork chop with fries. It was alright but the meat was tough in parts.

I liked this building facade.

I napped for a couple of hours then ventured out in the late afternoon.

A neighbourhood square, rather deserted. It was palpably warmer in Pécs compared to Budapest. With the sunshine it was almost Mediterranean.

Another attractive design.

Király, the main street of the old town.

Marker of where the old city wall used to be, called Budai Kapu.

An attractive drinking spot.

The Reggeli restaurant. I liked the building.

I liked this one too.

At the end of a side street is Trafik.

Zsanér Bisztró. All those Hungarian z's.

The National Theatre of Pécs.

Ciao Bella Patisserie. 5 minutes between this and the next photo, so I may have bought gelato here.

Korhely restaurant, in attract mode.

Hotel Palatinus which had been my other choice of accommodation. It looked good but I liked my homely guest house better.

The Replay Cafe & Restaurant. I was spoilt for choice for dining.

The Nana which looked very formal but which the writeup says is casual.

Finally I reached Széchenyi Square. The Megyeháza which translates to county house. Háza is house in Hungarian.

At the southeast corner of the square, the Pécs Town Hall.

This is the Mosque of Pasha Qasim but now contains a catholic church inside. In front of it, the Holy Trinity Statue.

Another view of the town hall, from the southwest.

This apparently is a pharmacy, but it was the building that I liked the look of.

At the southern end of the walking street is a large civic area, Kossuth Tér, and a couple of supermarkets.

And a statue of the man, Lajos Kossuth.

Pécs Synagogue is at the eastern end of the square.

The district government offices line the northern side of the square. It was getting too dark to take good pictures of architecture so I called it an evening.

I agonised a bit over the choice of restaurant for dinner. Most of the places I passed looked too formal, or I didn't feel like eating meat, as they seemed to like here. In the end I picked an Italian trattoria on Király street, The owner approved of my choice of tiramisu for dessert.