Pecs Hungary

 

The first day aboard the lovely ship AmaBella, was a day of introductions to ship life, from a mandatory safety meeting, getting into the rhythm of the ship and to finding our way around the ship. I took a few wrong turns and ending up in the crew quarters. I was there no longer than three seconds before I was told quite forcefully by several crew members that this part of the ship was off limits.

The AmaBella is a small ship, it is 443 ft long and can carry 165 passengers. AmaWaterways, the cruise line, prides itself on customer service. There is normally one crew member for every three passengers although I think we only had 103 passengers on this particular voyage, so the ratio was even better. My room was quite luxurious with two balconies, each with floor to ceiling glass doors. The bed and the sheets were to die for. I think I could have spent the whole week just in my room watching the countries float by. If I had done that though, I would have messed the incredible wineing and dining.

The First Night Dessert (Food Art)

We left Budapest at midnight and cruised through the next morning to Mohacs (said Mohosh) Hungary. Everyday there were three excursions that you could do, usually a history type thing, a wine tasting type of thing or a hike or bike ride thing. I decided to do the excursion to the town of Pecs (said Pesh) which is about a half hour bus ride away from Mohacs. Pecs is the fifth largest city in Hungary, and it is home to the oldest university (as in founded in Medieval times) in the country. Pecs is so much more than a college town though. Pecs' motto is “The Borderless City”. In 1998 Pecs was given the UNESCO Cities of Peace for maintaining its cultural minorities and for welcoming refugees of the Yugoslav Wars. In 2010, it was selected to be the European Capital of Culture.

On the Cathedral grounds there was a row of statutes with various body parts falling off. 
Our guide called it the Night Of The Walking Dead Row.

Sts. Peter and Paul's Cathedral (Catholic)

Liszt on the balcony of the Bishop's Palace.
Liszt visited the Bishop in 1846.  He was known to be quite the Ladies Man.  

Early Christian Necropolis of Pecs
Discovered in 1782, Roman tomb

Love Locks
They have become such a tourist attraction that the city of Pecs
keeps adding more and more places for people to declare their everlasting love. 

A Christian church which started out life as a mosque during the Ottoman rule

The Town Square

Zsolnay Fountain with Eosin glaze.
Eosin is a multi-colored iridescent metallic luster glaze

I wish I could remember the story about this. 
 I think this area of Hungary has a yearly festival where people dress up like these figures and run around causing mayhem.  It is sort of like the Vulcans during the Winter Carnival in St. Paul, MN