Northern Hungary - Eger, Szentendre and the Danube Bend

After our first night in Hungary, which we spent in a very small village (Gönc) near the Slovakian border and where we were awakened by never-ending church bells at 5 o'clock on Sunday morning (Who on earth had the idea to stand right next to the church? :)), we headed to Eger, one of the most famous cities in Hungary. In Eger, you can find a beautiful old town, many wine shops, and the city's fortification system, where an important event in Hungarian history took place. In 1552, 1500 Hungarians successfully defended the city against 40,000 Ottomans (Turks), who had already conquered much of present-day Hungary at that time. Eger still stands for the successful defense of the nation and the halting of the Ottomans towards the north and east. However, in 1596, the Ottomans returned to Eger and this time they managed to conquer the castle and the city, marking the beginning of nearly 100 years of Turkish rule in Hungary. Today, you can still find a minaret of an old mosque in Eger, and there are also Turkish influences in the Hungarian language, as we were told.

On our way through northern Hungary, before our longer stay in Budapest, we stopped at the Danube Bend. Here, we spent a wonderful afternoon in the winding alleys and along the Danube river of Szentendre, the "too cute for words" freethinker city according to the Lonely Planet. It is worth a recommended day trip for every visitor to Budapest!