Quite often the highlight of our day is something completely unplanned and just a wonderful surprise.
This morning we had a knock on our door at 7am, and a couple of builders asked if we could shuffle so they could park their work vans for a job opposite. We happily obliged (its illegal to wild camp in Hungary so we shouldn’t have really been there, but the campsites are closed now, so we try and park discreetly).
I drove us 10 minutes down the road to Gemenc National Forest and we took the pups for a walk along the muddy Porboly Lassi trail. I spotted a few green boars sprayed onto the trees and just took it as a warning they were around- Mark had glimpsed one by the roadside last night.
Then we rounded a corner and to our surprise saw a fence, which we guessed was for deer…until we saw a couple of wild boars come running over. They were really inquisitive and not at all perturbed by our dogs who were desperate to meet them. Then 6 little babies came out from the under growth! They were so adorable. It was a handful holding the dogs back so we didn’t stay long but what an amazing start to the day – my first wild boar 🐗 (p.s. please be careful boar can attack dogs in the wild).
Riding the high, we made coffee and drove on to Pecs. From my research it was clear a lot of the attractions focused around the Zsolney ceramics family. I confess I wasn’t familiar with them, though I really should have been, their work is magnificent!
We visited the Zsolney Culture Quarter and Mausoleum, both of which were breathtaking. If they could add tiles and ceramics they had, even the chimneys were decorated. Plus the bright array of colours certainly brightened up what was a rather wet and overcast day.
They had created a large number of different glazes and techniques such as beehive, tiger glaze and the beautiful iridescent shades. And been inspired by all manners of different cultures and styles over the years.
To honour such a creative family every person who worked in the factory helped design and create the families Mausoleum which sits atop a hill overlooking the factory and city. It’s a wonderful resting place and the attention to detail is second to none.
Wandering into the city itself we visited the main Széchenyi Square. The classic architecture frames a central mosque, and there is another example of zsolney’s work in the water fountain.
Although there is another Zsolney museum, we decided to go to the Victor Vasarely Museum, whose optical illusion artworks are a bit different from the usual art exhibitions. My personal favourite was a textile piece by Clare Vasarely.
The cathedral has a beautiful set of ivy gates with a peace dove, and nearby are three distinct sculptures – Romeo on a balcony, a set of organ pipes and Propatria 1941-45 WW2 memorial. The latter was opposite a dog shop so we popped in and bought the pups some antlers for xmas…though we might have to give them early as they are arguing over the last remaining nyla bone
Despite the fact that flab has bust out of my only pair of jeans, I couldn’t resist the delectable cakes on offer at LYR vegan cafe. Surely my slice of cranberry cake counts as a fruit portion?
To round off our day we drove up the cities steepest hill to see TV tower which looked rather eerie in the fog. Hopefully it will be a bright clear day tomorrow and we can climb to the top for some glorious city views.
SofaWolves 