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Yesterday, In true Brook style, we leapt without looking and drove off into the wild blue yonder, namely, Szeged in Hungary! It is my dear friend Marietta's birthplace and she has often shared her memories of it with us, painting such a beautiful picture . Szeged didn't look that far on the map so it seemed like a good idea.
The three hour drive turned into nearly five, due to my failing to keep an eagle eye on google maps. Once we were in Hungary, I managed to lead us 60 kms west before I realised my mistake... all credit to Geoff, we shared a laugh, found a turnoff another ten kms down the highway and we were back on track. That was the first time...
The second time, we stopped in a village to ask directions and received blank stares. That was when I began to have second thoughts . Uh oh, I really had not given the language situation due consideration. For those of you who are unaware, the closest language to Hungarian is Finnish. Despite the fact that we were mere kilometres into Hungary, NO ONE spoke Croatian, let alone English!
I can't remember the last time I found myself in this situation and it was confronting.
Geoff has this amazing inner compass and we did find our way to our accomodation to be met by a charming young man called Sandor who spoke excellent English! Our apartment is in the heart of Szeged which is even more beautiful than Marietta described. We learned how to say "thank you" (google translate - audio ) and managed to buy salami, cheese, pickles and bread for breakfast the next day. -all with smiles and body language!!! Fantastic!!!
Sandor suggested a restaurant on the banks of the River Tisza for dinner which specialises in local dishes . It was a five minute walk away and well worth it. We ordered goose liver to share to start with and for mains, I had the fish soup, Geoff had salmon and salad . I had imagined the liver to be pate but no, it was in chunks in goose fat- totally delicious spread on warm toast.
To be honest, the soup was much better than the one I had in Osijek but I am still not a huge fan. Marietta has since advised that I need to have " pontyhalászlé "
- yeah right!
The people of Szeged have been so friendly and welcoming. We have walked the length and breadth of the city today, admiring the architecture , visiting art galleries and of course sampling the local wine and beer which we can assure you is excellent, all to the strains of classical music. We already feel familiar with our neighbourhood and had no difficulty following the map left by Sandor.
(We received our second seniors' discount today, again at an art gallery when a delightful young lady queried our age..... Maybe it is something about art galleries? )
This afternoon we walked along the river and discovered a food festival . Food stalls cooking up fish soup, fish crackling, fillets, fried, grilled, then spicy sausages, chicken, kebabs, corn and lots and lots of paprika! Drinks were sold opposite , beer, wine, fruit and apple ciders, what a foodie heaven! We are returning for dinner tonight, I am giving the fish soup another go....
- comments
Lu Ha Ha!! Excitement all round then!! x0
Leila Did you find there was a different feel to szeged even though you were just over the border?