Hungary - Eastern Europe - page 371

walls and sloped ceilings. The rooms are a bit cramped, but all are clean and have
refrigerators and TVs. Each room has a private shower, but only eight have their own
toilets; the common facilities are well maintained. The three apartments have full
facilities and their own entrance off the street. A double room costs 11,000 Ft
($55/£28), a room without a private toilet is 9,500 Ft ($48/£24), and apartments go
for 19,000 Ft ($95/£49). Rates include breakfast. Call several days ahead to reserve a
room. Credit cards are accepted.
If the Hotel Fönix is full, the management can book a room for you at a pension
that they operate called Kertész Panzió, at Sáfrány u. 42 ( & 72/327-551 ).
WHERE TO DINE
Bagolyvár Étterem HUNGARIAN Bagolyvár, a large, classy restaurant, serves
delicious, hearty food in a fabulous setting, high in the hills overlooking the city. The
view is excellent, the service is equally good, and there's a well-stocked wine cellar.
Note: The same owner operates a second restaurant, Dóm Vendégl ó , in the city
center, at Király u. 3 ( & 72/210-088 or 72/310-736). Dóm Vendégl ó was recently
expanded to include a fine pizzeria building ( & 72/310-736 ).
Felsóhavi Dúló 6/1. & 72/211-333. Reservations recommended in summer. Main courses 1,000 Ft-3,000 Ft
($5-$15/£2.60-£7.70). AE, DC, MC, V. Daily noon-midnight. Bus: 33 from in front of the Konsum shopping center to
the last stop.
COFFEEHOUSES & ICE-CREAM PARLORS
Pécs offers numerous places to enjoy coffee and sweets. Try Mecsek Cukrászda, on
Széchenyi tér 16 ( & 72/315-444 ), for a quick jolt of espresso and any number of sin-
fully good and inexpensive pastries. For a more leisurely coffeehouse experience, try the
Royal Kávéház, at the corner of Király utca and Széchenyi tér ( & 72/210-683 ). There's
outdoor seating, but the renovated Art Deco interior makes sitting inside worthwhile.
For ice cream, Capri, a very popular shop at Citrom u. 7 ( & 72/333-658 ), 3
blocks south of Széchenyi tér, serves various sundaes as well as cones. Some locals,
however, claim that the ice cream at Capri is inferior to that of the Egerszegi Fagy-
laltozó, on Rókusalja utca ( & 72/256-660 ), a 15-minute walk from the center. The
owners of Egerszegi also own a second, easier-to-reach place at Bajcsy-Zsilinszky u. 5
( & 72/327-540 ). Our favorite for sweets and ice cream is Magda Cukrászda , at
Kandó Kálmán u. 4 ( & 72/511-055 ). This is a bright, bustling neighborhood
cukrászda, where the selection and quality of cakes and ice creams is superb (though
ice cream is not sold during the winter). Notable ice-cream flavors include poppy seed,
chestnut, blueberry cream, cherry cream, and cinnamon. The slightly out-of-the-way
location (near the train station) apparently hasn't deterred customers at all. The store
is open daily from 10am to 8pm, in winter to 7pm.
SZEGED: HUNGARY'S SPICE CAPITAL
168km (105 miles) SE of Budapest
Szeged (pronounced Seh -ged), the proud capital of the Great Plain, is a hot and dusty
but hospitable town. World famous for its paprika and salami (Pick Szalami), Szeged
is also home to one of Hungary's major universities, named after Attila József, the bril-
liant but disturbed interwar poet who rose to artistic heights from a childhood of des-
perate poverty. As a young man, he was expelled from the university that would later
change its name to honor him. Driven by private demons, Hungary's great “proletar-
ian poet” committed suicide at the age of 32 by hurling himself under a train at Bal-
atonszárszó, by Lake Balaton. József failed to achieve wide recognition during his