When I read this post by Amanda about her time in the town of Eger in Northern Hungary, I honestly (and perhaps a little ignorantly) couldn’t believe somewhere so gorgeous existed in Hungary. I had felt extremely underwhelmed with my first visit to Budapest and Lake Balaton was like a terrible British seaside resort from the 60′s.
Sadly, I couldn’t think of a single thing that I truly loved about Hungary.
When I started researching Eger, I knew it would be my best hope of changing my mind about the country. It looked just like the kind of Eastern European town I love – a compact, walkable old town with tons of beautiful, colourful buildings, lots of castles and a rich history.
Although I was surprised to learn that the main reason for people coming here is NOT to look at the pretty buildings.
They come here for the wine.
Eger is said to be one of the top wine regions in Europe and it’s why most people choose to spend a day or two there.
Unfortunately, I think wine tastes like vinegar and can’t drink it without gagging, so winetasting was off the cards for me. I would be spending my day in Eger wandering up and down cobblestone alleyways, people watching in small cafes, admiring the stunning architecture and drinking beer.
Yes, I drank beer in Eger.
…And I loved it.
In fact, Eger ended up being one of the highlights of my time in Central and Eastern Europe. It made for a peaceful break from the chaos caused by rushing around huge cities trying to cram in all the main attractions. You can see the entire town in half a day and spend the other half lazily wandering around some of the most gorgeous buildings in Europe.
Eger definitely has a lot more to offer than good wine.
My trip through Central and Eastern Europe was made possible by the lovely people at Interrailnet.com.
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Wow, I just LOVE the view of the church! It looks amazing. What is it called?
Ele recently posted..Why I Say NO to Halloween Craze
Isn’t it so beautiful?! It’s called Eger Minorite Church :)
Glad to hear you found a Hungarian city you like!! Eger is beautiful, but I hated hearing more German being spoken than Hungarian when I visited.
Sarah recently posted..Seven Reasons Why I Want to Live in Budapest
Me too! And there’s a big surprise coming in Monday’s post about another place in Hungary I fell in love with ;)
So glad to hear you loved Eger (and that I helped convince you to go there!). It looks like you had much better weather than I did there, though… I’m jealous!
Amanda recently posted..My One-Night Stand With Parga
Yes, we had lovely weather thankfully! :) If it hadn’t been for your post we wouldn’t have visited :)
I love the combination of yellow and orange color of the place. Despite this beautiful place, I am delightful with its wine which they are famous for.
Agh, Eger looks gorgeous! You’re making my decision-making process for where to go in Europe a whole lot trickier. I was thinking about Budapest, Debrecen and Pecs in Hungary, but now I feel I must visit Eger and sample copious amounts of wine to make up for the fact that you didn’t drink any there.
Tom @ Waegook Tom recently posted..The Fantasy Five: The USA
I think a stop in Eger is in order now for moi! Fine wine and a beautiful city is just something I can’t resist. Thanks for sharing.
Late to the party, but worth mentioning that my mom went to college in Eger (her family is from and still lives in Miskolc, an hour over the mountains). When I told her it’s now a trendy place for tourists to go for the wine she was amused because like all Hungarians we know the wine in Eger is nowhere near the best- it got pretty destroyed in quality during the Commie days, so that honor belongs to the Tokaij region.
But that’s further from Budapest and more rural, so no one knows what they’re missing. ;)
Yvette recently posted..Mantua, Italy- A City with No Tourists