Chronicles on the road: Debrecen
First-hand thoughts after visiting the second largest city in Hungary.
This weekend we’re hitting the road again, traveling through Hungary and Slovakia. The first day of our Eastern Chronicles road trip passed almost imperceptibly; after venturing for a couple of hours through the streets of Debrecen, here are some of our thoughts:
“It feels like a very quiet city. Although Debrecen is the second largest city in Hungary, it has more of a small-town feel. But this is not necessarily a bad thing; everybody is very nice, and they take their time to explain stuff to you — which is sometimes challenging, given that the Hungarian language is like no other and that English-speaking people are rare. All in all, an excellent first day.” — Stefan Szakal
“Debrecen has a bright past. It was the largest city in Hungary in the 18th century, and also the capital city of Hungary during the Revolution of 1848 and at the end of WWII in 1944–1945. This city may have lost its glory of old, but it continues to be an important cultural center for Hungarians. I’m pretty impressed with everything I saw today in Debrecen.” — Alexandra Palconi
“Strolling through Debrecen’s center on a rainy October day, all I could think was: “Now this is a beautiful city of fusion!” Despite the somewhat unpleasant mixture of drizzle and chill, the city itself is undoubtedly attractive. We walked up and down Piac Utca, completely mesmerized by the buildings on both sides of the busy tramways.
Evidently, the fusion of old and new was inescapable, becoming even more pronounced as I passed Art Nouveau buildings situated just across from a WW II construction, immediately followed by a pastel-pink super-square structure. To me, the most intriguing construction was a 1938 apartment block guarded by four workmanship statues; the Nazi influence was practically written on the walls. The building apparently had four floors, but the highest had no windows, and upon a closer look (yes, we went around the back) we discovered it was merely a façade, only pretending to house apartments. I am still thinking about that one.”— Alexandra Dragos
Tomorrow we’ll visit Tokaj (Hungary), as well as Košice and Prešov (Slovakia). If you have any tips on what to do, see, eat, or drink in any of these places, just drop us a line in the comments below.
Photo credit: Flavius Neamciuc
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