Well I made it to Hungary. The town of Sopron is definitely off the beaten path (which I love). It’s like they developed this little Baroque town just for tourists. I learned that many Austrians come across the border to here to get their dental work done very cheaply (so maybe I’ll have them check out that filling of mine! Lol)
I also learned this town has been around since the Roman times when it was a stop along the Amber route of trade between the Adriatic and Baltic seas. They have some Roman ruins here called the forum of Scarbantia that go back to the 2nd century during the reign of emperor Hadrian. So this place is old!
They have a tall watch tower that was used to alert people to fires. I included a pic of a stone carving of Hungaria, the female embodiment of Hungary (I love the guy’s head underneath that looks like a German soldier with that helmet!) I also included a pic of a sculpture of two figures, one of which is a woman breaking barbed wire which symbolizes the Iron Curtain coming down in 1989. And just so you don’t think I’m prejudiced by only showing Christian churches, I also included a pic of an old Jewish Synagogue. It’s a museum now and sadly they had pics on the wall of local Jews killed during the Holocaust.
I included a pic of the cute courtyard of my hotel. I’m hoping it will be nice enough tomorrow so I can have my breakfast out there. And finally to end my day, I tried a bowl of Hungarian Goulash. You can’t tell by the pic but it was chock full of all kinds of stuff and it was so tasty! And everything here is so cheap. I had the goulash, a salad, bread and a drink for $8!!
So that’s all for now. I may do some hiking in the hills around the town tomorrow if it’s nice. Hope everyone had a great Tuesday!
Jeff
PS: So town-wise I’m at the half way point in the trip. Been to 9 towns and have 9 left. But still have the biggies left (Budapest, Vienna and Prague). Been gone exactly a month and have about 37 days left. It’s been an amazing journey so far. Hope you’re enjoying it!
The Wandering Italian 