Not Really a Bulgaria Trip Report, but Maybe

Hungary certainly seems more prosperous than either Bulgaria or Romania, certainly cleaner and towns seemed to be much better looked after than here in Canberra, even though we do have a tram.... sarcasm alert on....... :)

We did however ventre into a village that was the complete opposite, without wanting to make any comments that may be regarded as politically incorrect, I would have guessed, given the attire and conditions that it was a 'gypsy" village. :(

We saw protests in Sofia with regards to Bulgaria converting to the Euro, some say that since Croatia adopted the Euro that prices have increased there and inflation is happening.
I mentioned before that there seemed to be very many expensive vehicles in all countries, including Serbia, even quite a few wearing Ukrainian plates.

SWIMBO's mother, although ethnically German was born in what is now the Ukraine. Kryvyi Rih was the centre of a large Mennonite community.
We saw a car with Ukrainian plate at Rila Monastery so got talking, seems their parents were from the same area of Kryvyi Rih.

I asked a little about their situation, it seemed they were living out of their car, they said the were Ukrainian by birth, but Russian in their head and soul, whoops, SWMBO'd said the look on my face was of shock or horror, or of not expecting that answer.....

 
Eager to get to Eger, stayed at a pension just out side the castle walls, very impressed with the pension and the owner.


Very interesting read. Eger - Wikipedia

There was a wine festival happening, so quite a few people, we didn't get to that, nor did we visit the castle as it was too damned hot, have I said that before? :) We were also a bit castled out, Eger Castle

Would like to go back one day. So after a rest it was a bit of a wander around, as usual many things happening in the town square.

An seemingly minor issue we had was that the 'Waze' maps we were using, didn't like us going down motorways, even though we told it we had a vignette. Plus the traffic on the highways was more than I would have liked and multiple speed zone changes. Although oncoming vehicles and waze were good at notifying of cameras, and surprisingly hand held radar guns, haven't seen those for years.....

Screenshot 2025-07-26 153908.pngScreenshot 2025-07-26 153920.pngScreenshot 2025-07-26 153932.pngScreenshot 2025-07-26 153942.pngScreenshot 2025-07-26 153952.pngScreenshot 2025-07-26 154000.pngScreenshot 2025-07-26 154011.pngScreenshot 2025-07-26 154120.pngScreenshot 2025-07-26 154129.png
 
Last edited:
Eager to get to Eger, stayed at a pension just out side the castle walls, very impressed with the pension and the owner.


Very interesting read. Eger - Wikipedia

There was a wine festival happening, so quite a few people, we didn't get to that, nor did we visit the castle as it was too damned hot, have I said that before? :) We were also a bit castled out, Eger Castle

Would like to go back one day. So after a rest it was a bit of a wander around, as usual many things happening in the town square.

An seemingly minor issue we had was that the 'Waze' maps we were using, didn't like us going down motorways, even though we told it we had a vignette. Plus the traffic on the highways was more than I would have liked and multiple speed zone changes. Although oncoming vehicles and waze were good at notifying of cameras, and surprisingly hand held radar guns, haven't seen those for years.....

View attachment 460176View attachment 460177View attachment 460178View attachment 460179View attachment 460180View attachment 460181View attachment 460182View attachment 460183View attachment 460184
I ead your Wiki link for Eger. It certainly seems to have been a magnet for invasions and sieges.
 
From wiki.

While István Dobó and his soldiers managed to defend the fortress in 1552, in 1596 the captain at that time and the foreign mercenaries under his rule handed it over. This was the beginning of the 91-year-long Turkish rule in Eger. The Eger minaret, which was built at the end of the 17th century, preserves the memory of this period. Among all the buildings of this type, the minaret of Eger is found in the northernmost point of the former Ottoman Empire. During the Turkish occupation Eger became the seat of a vilayet which is a Turkish domain including several sanjaks. Churches were converted into mosques,[<em><a href="Wikipedia:Citation needed - Wikipedia" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed"><span title="This claim needs references to reliable sources. (February 2020)">citation needed</span></a></em>] the castle rebuilt, and other structures erected, including public baths and minarets.

The rule of the Turks in Central Hungary began to collapse after a failed Ottoman attempt to capture Vienna. The Vienna-based Habsburgs, who controlled the rest of Hungary, apart from Transylvania, steadily expelled the Turks from the country. The castle of Eger was starved into surrender by the Crusader army led by Charles of Lorraine in 1687, after the castle of Buda had been retaken in 1686. Eger was relieved from Turkish rule in December, 1687. Although the reoccupation was effected by a siege (which starved out the defenders) and not by a bombardment, the town fell into a very poor state. According to the ... records there were only 413 houses in the area within the town walls which were habitable and most of these were occupied by left over Turkish families.

Istvan Dobo statue: Not sure about the green paint, it was on several things.


Screenshot 2025-07-26 160707.pngScreenshot 2025-07-26 160719.png

The minaret, you can climb it, maybe 10-15 years ago I would have tried, not now. Not such a good shot, given the light. :(


Screenshot 2025-07-27 121637.png

Screenshot 2025-07-26 160953.pngScreenshot 2025-07-27 122007.pngScreenshot 2025-07-27 122047.png

Not sure about the above sculpture, couldn't really find anything about it.
 
We, well her, had to try a traditional Hungarian cake, fortunately not my thing, but the little taste I did have was ok. A selection! She said it was good.

Screenshot 2025-07-26 160215.pngScreenshot 2025-07-26 160226.png


The counter staff recommended this one.

Screenshot 2025-07-26 160252.png




Turkish Bath remains.

Screenshot 2025-07-26 160051.pngScreenshot 2025-07-26 155954.pngScreenshot 2025-07-26 160002.pngScreenshot 2025-07-26 160009.pngScreenshot 2025-07-26 160018.pngScreenshot 2025-07-26 160024.pngScreenshot 2025-07-26 160040.pngScreenshot 2025-07-26 160107.pngScreenshot 2025-07-26 160127.pngScreenshot 2025-07-26 160135.pngScreenshot 2025-07-26 160145.pngScreenshot 2025-07-26 160154.pngScreenshot 2025-07-26 160610.pngScreenshot 2025-07-26 160748.pngScreenshot 2025-07-26 160807.pngScreenshot 2025-07-26 160816.pngScreenshot 2025-07-26 160823.png

Sorry if there are any duplicates.....
 
Last edited:
Last from Eger, whew everyone says..... Way more to see, maybe next time, but not in July.

The red was ok, the restaurant guy said it was his favourite vineyard, I have the name somewhere, the maker spent time in NZ and now does things how he wants to, he hates all the other stuff that goes with making wine. apparently.

Screenshot 2025-07-26 160833.pngScreenshot 2025-07-26 160859.pngScreenshot 2025-07-26 160913.pngScreenshot 2025-07-26 160930.pngScreenshot 2025-07-26 160938.pngScreenshot 2025-07-26 160945.pngScreenshot 2025-07-27 131634.pngScreenshot 2025-07-27 131640.pngScreenshot 2025-07-27 131653.pngScreenshot 2025-07-27 131701.pngScreenshot 2025-07-27 131709.pngScreenshot 2025-07-27 131717.pngScreenshot 2025-07-27 131746.pngScreenshot 2025-07-27 131752.pngScreenshot 2025-07-27 131758.pngScreenshot 2025-07-27 131810.png
 
Not sure about the above sculpture, couldn't really find anything about it.
Not a lot of English clues (no Hungarian skills here) - it depicts Hungarian and Turkish warriors, by the artist Zsigmond Strobl Kisfaludy. (He was over 80 when this was completed!)
It was originally in a different part of town, being moved to its current location in 2015.

 
Not a lot of English clues (no Hungarian skills here) - it depicts Hungarian and Turkish warriors, by the artist Zsigmond Strobl Kisfaludy. (He was over 80 when this was completed!)
It was originally in a different part of town, being moved to its current location in 2015.


Thank you for the information. I really would like to go back, but not try to do to much. However I still want to do something like your current trip, sigh, too many places, too little time.
The lower red roofed building in the centre under neath the square tower was our pension.

That is a very good site, I'll have to take note of it.

Screenshot 2025-07-27 165039.png
 
Last edited:
Elevate your business spending to first-class rewards! Sign up today with code AFF10 and process over $10,000 in business expenses within your first 30 days to unlock 10,000 Bonus PayRewards Points.
Join 30,000+ savvy business owners who:

✅ Pay suppliers who don’t accept Amex
✅ Max out credit card rewards—even on government payments
✅ Earn & transfer PayRewards Points to 10+ airline & hotel partners

Start earning today!
- Pay suppliers who don’t take Amex
- Max out credit card rewards—even on government payments
- Earn & Transfer PayRewards Points to 8+ top airline & hotel partners

AFF Supporters can remove this and all advertisements

Become an AFF member!

Join Australian Frequent Flyer (AFF) for free and unlock insider tips, exclusive deals, and global meetups with 65,000+ frequent flyers.

AFF members can also access our Frequent Flyer Training courses, and upgrade to Fast-track your way to expert traveller status and unlock even more exclusive discounts!

AFF forum abbreviations

Wondering about Y, J or any of the other abbreviations used on our forum?

Check out our guide to common AFF acronyms & abbreviations.
Back
Top