Eger, Hungary (3/4)

I marched directly from the train station to the first hostel on my list. Eger was the only destination on my trip where I had not made a reservation. I had attempted a phone call two weeks earlier, but the individual did not speak a shred of English.

The hostel turned out to be a pink guest house that had been cheaply decorated sometime in the 70’s. But with my own king-sized bed, kitchen, dining room, and bathroom, I was not about to complain. I asked the man how I should check out and he replied, “No problem!” Confused, I asked the man if it was ok for me to check out at 5:30AM, and his reply was again, “No problem!” I chuckled to myself but understood where he was coming from. I had, on occasion, feigned understanding without actually comprehending a word that was being said.

I walked into town and noticed a gathering of astronomers and foil-filtered telescopes. A thin cloud cloaked the sun’s intensity and I glimpsed upwards. There was a partial solar eclipse in progress! I stole a glance through one of the telescopes. A white crescent was surrounded by darkness. Although the image was sharp, I was unable to make out any interesting detail.

Not far from the square sat Eger Cathedral. The cathedral’s façade was unlike any other. It was meant to be baroque, but was strangely flat. The inside was decorated with an unattractive palette of colors. I was the only visitor, which, in retrospect, is not surprising.

I stopped at a kebab shop for lunch. In Central Europe, kebabs refer to chicken gyros. A man with a dark completion carved meat into the pita and carefully added condiments. This kebab trumped all others. It was flavorful and juicy and, in short, perfect. The man behind the counter seemed bored and eagerly made conversation. It turned out that he was from the West Bank, which explained the quality of his kebabs.

My final major destination in Eger was the castle. I was virtually the only one there. I roamed around the stone wall to the turrets and trod over the lush grass. The grass was wonderfully green and the sky was a stormy grey. A cool breeze passed over, somehow completing the feel of antiquity. After soaking in the castle’s aura, I wandered through its museums. The collection of paintings was actually rather extensive. I wondered how my $2 ticket could possibly pay for the six staff members I saw manning their museum.

I took an evening stroll through the Valley of Beautiful Women—an area of Eger laden with wine cellars:

On my way back, I smelled strange smoke. I rounded a curb to find a car with smoke billowing from the hood. A man was pulling a briefcase out of the driver’s side window, so I backed away from the car to watch. The man paced around frantically as the car windows began to pulse with orange light. Soon flames poured out of the windows. Finally, a Hungarian girl arrived with a cell phone and called the fire department. Others drew their cell phones from their pockets, but instead of calling the fire department, they held them at arm’s length and took photos. I followed suit:

The police and the fire department arrived ten minutes later, and I stood stupefied as the man with the briefcase walked away from the scene without a leaving trace.

A cold, dark rain fell upon Eger's cobblestone streets that night, but I relaxed in the warm, dry, comfortable bed. It had been a long day, and I was asleep within minutes.