EGER

Hello, luv!

Hi there!

My name is Martha and I am a single, retired woman from the Denver area who is a big fan of Rick Steves tours. Since my first trip to France in 2012 I have been hooked! I am in love with England and decided to take the Villages of Southern England tour in the fall of 2018.

Day six: Traveling across three countries

This was a transition day for us. Nice long hours to watch the scenery out the window while we let Mitch do the driving. Because we did not have an overnight in Slovakia I hadn't given it a thought. But, I should have, it was beautiful. I loved seeing the rugged Tantra mountains in the distance and the small villages we rolled through.

We had a lengthy break for a picnic lunch in the Slovakian town of Levoca. Luckily for us it was May 1st and a celebration going on in town. It was fun to see families out having a good time on a beautiful Spring day.

At one point in Slovakia we passed a gypsy community in the shadow of the mountains and George took the opportunity to explain both the culture of that group of people as well as how they interface with the society at large. We would see more in Hungary as well.

On these long bus days we stopped every couple hours for a "comfort" stop. George welcomed us to Hungary at one of those stops just over the border. He was enthusiastic about his home country!

Dinner that night was a buffet of Hungarian wine and foods. I was surprised to find that goulash was actually more like a soup than a stew! Beef and potatoes in a lovely broth. Tour member Brian was happy to demonstrate an alternative way of ingesting the local wine!

Day seven: The delights of Eger, Hungary

Our hotel was in the vineyard country outside of Eger. I enjoyed getting up early and strolling around the peaceful area.

In the morning some of the group members hung around the hotel while others took a quick bus ride into the old town for a couple hours. I opted to explore the town and enjoyed the square and small streets. I stopped at the local street market (strawberry season!) and a couple churches. A nice, mellow place to enjoy some gelato as well!

When our group got back together we took another quick bus ride to a local school where we sat in on an English class, chatted with the students, and had lunch in the "canteen." It was so interesting hearing about the educational system and seeing it in action!

We had a lot of fun at our last stop around Eger at a vineyard. We tasted a group of the wines, were serenaded by a gypsy violinist, learned some Hungarian folk dances, and toured the caves.

George tasted while our driver, Mitch, looked on.

The musician flirted with sisters Sue and JoJo.

Sara laughed as Dan tried the dance!

After the wine, the bus ride to Budapest was very relaxing. More than a few tour members were able to catch a quick nap in the 90 minute drive.

When we arrived at our destination George gave us a quick orientation to his hometown and we had dinner together at a lovely restaurant near the Danube.

Lessons from Eger: Seeing the classroom was so enlightening. This country with it's difficult language recognizes the importance of communicating with the people of other countries and widening their global perspective. They begin English lessons from the first grade and the children are mostly fluent by the time they graduate.

Hello Budapest!