Hungary - Eastern Europe - page 370

synagogue was built in 1869, and the original rich oak interior survives to this day.
Next door is the former Jewish school of Pécs, now a Croatian school. Before World
War II, the synagogue had over 4,000 members, of whom only 464 survived the
Holocaust. Every year, Pécs's small Jewish community commemorates the 1944
deportations to Auschwitz on the first Sunday after July 4.
Regular services are held in the smaller temple next door at Fürd ó 1 (there isn't a
sign; go through the building into the courtyard and cross diagonally to the right) on
Friday at 6:30pm.
Kossuth tér. 1-3. & 72/315-881. Admission 200 Ft ($1/50p). May-Oct Sun-Fri 10am-5pm. Closed Nov-Feb.
SHOPPING
A short stroll through the center of town makes it clear that Pécs is prospering. Several
pedestrian-only streets make shopping in Pécs a favorite activity. For a more exotic
shopping experience, visit the Pécsi Vásár (Pécs Flea Market) . At this crowded,
bustling, open-air market you can find everything from antique china and silver to
Turkish T-shirts and Chinese baby booties. Tables of homemade preserves and honey
stand alongside boxes of used car parts. The main attraction, however, is the animal
market, where people sell puppies and kittens out of the trunks of their cars. You might
also find chickens, rabbits, and even pigs and horses for sale. The market is open every
day, though Sunday is the biggest and best day (particularly for the animal market).
To get to the flea market, take a special bus, marked VÁSÁR , which departs from the
Konsum shopping center in the center of downtown Pécs regularly. You need two
standard city bus tickets for this bus; these are available at newsstands and kiosks or
ask the bus driver. You can also take the no. 3 bus from the Konsum (only one ticket
required), but you'll have to walk some distance from the stop to the entrance of the
flea market.
OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES
If you are visiting Pécs in the summer, you are bound to feel the heat. Cool off in
the waves at Hullám uszoda (Wave Swimming Pool) on Szendrey Júlia utca
( & 72/512-936 ). Admission is 600 Ft ($3/£1.55). The pool is open daily from 6am
to 10pm. Another swimming pool complex, which belongs to the university, is at
Ifjúság útja 6 ( & 72/501-519, ext. 4195). There is a wading pool for kids as well as
a 25m (82-ft.) lap pool. Admission is 300 Ft ($1.50/80p). After swimming, treat
yourself to some of the best ice cream in town, right down the street at Egerszegi
Cukrászda.
Pécs is home to perhaps one of the most appealing neighborhood playgrounds in
all of Hungary. Napsugár Játszókert (Sunshine Playground) is on Vadász utca, a
short bus ride from the city center. Built in 1997 by a foundation and with donations
from the community, this small grassy playground has a quaint, friendly appeal. There
are chunky wooden climbing structures, slides, seesaws, swings (including an infant
swing), a sandbox, and picnic tables. To get there, take bus no. 27 from the Konsum
to the “Ledina” stop.
WHERE TO STAY
You can book a private room through Mecsek Tourist (see “Essentials,” above) or
Ibusz, Király u. 11. ( & 72/212-157; www.ibusz.hu).
If you're in the mood for a funky little hotel right in the center of town, try the pop-
ular Hotel Fönix , at Hunyadi út 2 ( & 72/311-682 ). This unique hotel, just off
the top of Széchenyi tér, has 14 rooms and 3 apartments, each one with oddly angled