Veszprem

Today began in the beautiful Hungarian town of Veszprem. My hostess laid out a beautiful breakfast spread, with assorted meats and cheeses and vegetables. I loved a smoked cheese and these tiny wedge cheese called Medve featuring a little bear on it. Their ad campaign actually was “my friend the Medve bear”. It was a beautiful creamy cheese and comes in several flavors. We also had a few special carbs. One was Kifli, a Hungarian Crescent roll essentially. It had a cute spiral shape, and the dough reminded me of a rich milk dough. It was delicious with butter and jam and even plain! The other was a lovely pastry filled with a sweetened farmer’s cheese called turos bytub. . It was delightful and light and sweetened just to perfection. Washed down with a latte, it was the perfect start to the day. 

Today was dedicated to exploring the town. We walked up a hill to the castle complex. The Catholic church is an influential stakeholder in this area, and it was reflected in the buildings and monuments. We saw a statue of St Benedikt on a cliff overlooking the city. Then we walked to a square featuring a holy trinity statue. While portions of the area were closed for renovation, we could see the ancient history of the place throughout. We entered a church, a museum, and saw an incredibly rare and ancient Hungarian coin on display. The views from every angle of this compound were absolutely incredible, looking out over the seven hills the city is built on and to the outlying mountains. We also climbed up the fire watch tower and got an even more incredible view of the city. In 2023, Veszprem was a cultural capital city, and they had some exhibits still left from that. We could hear music and see video clips of the celebrations from then. There was a photo gallery showcasing people from here. And my personal favorite display: several refrigerators lined up in a circle. Opening each one revealed a creative display, including topics such as the history, Hungarian inventions, popular foods, the agricultural ties, and the future. It was an incredibly thoughtful and interactive exhibit.
My host and I toured the dungeons of the castle, sans the little ones 😆. It was a unique look into a prison that has operated for centuries and closed only in 2003. It showcased torture instruments and included writings from prisoners there.

In between, we stopped for delicious lemonades and concluded with lunch. I had a lovely catfish soup. It was a clear soup base, with gorgeously cooked pieces of catfish, and delightfully seasoned. It was served with a few slices of hot pepper on the side, and I did make the mistake of just eating a slice 🥵
After lunch, we walked next door to an ice cream shop. I had fruit ice creams, including a refreshing ginger blend in an absolutely stunning waffle roll. We also got little pirouette rolls in our ice cream.
Lunch had been along a babbling brook, and the kids and I happily put our feet in the bracing mountain creek water. Post-ice cream found us in the snail stream- a tiny water path connecting us from a spiral water feature to a small fountain. We walked a ways in the warm shallow water, careful not to slip on the algae in the bottom. It was wonderful to feel the warm water on my feet and be once again in the water. Walking back home, we stopped at the Island of Lovers. There was a giant metal heart and we got some fun pictures there.

Today also included a trip to a good sized supermarket. My hostess kindly indulged me walking down many aisles. She selected a bottle of her favorite red wine (incidentally from her hometown region) as well as a white wine  from Hungary. We tried the red later, and it was light and crisp, and perfect to wind down a summer night. She pointed out many things in the store, from the butcher section, to the frozen and refrigerated as well. The kids helped me select an assortment of Balaton chocolates and Haribo. I also got a tube of my hostesses favorite paprika paste. It was a metal tube reminiscent of tomato paste, but with a Spiced paste of cayenne and red peppers. The name translates to red gold.  It was absolutely stunning with a plain egg or bread or a piece of the bear cheese. I was very grateful I bought a few tubes to take home! I also picked up a few spice mixes to try on meat at home. 

Hungary is a beautiful country with stunning views and food, and I’m so grateful to be here.