FLIGHT OF THE PHOENIX: Hungary to Slovakia

Hungarian House of Parliament made completely from marzipan!

The day did not start off in a good way. We were supposed to be picked up at 9am to commence our private tour of Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Our guide and van did not arrive until 0950. It was difficult to contain the group agro as we had been waiting by the side of the road in the cold for nearly an hour. Our guide, Peter, was also the owner of the company. He was very apologetic and we did believe that his reason was genuine. We were also accustomed to a very different style of guide in the form of Romanian George. Peter was no George. He was less of an intellect but more relaxed. He had a different sense of humour to George but was very attentive and responsive to our needs. He took our complaints onboard well and made no excuses. The rest of the day fortunately went smoothly!

We were taken to Szetendre, a small picturesque village on the Danube Bend. Usually teeming with tourists in summer, it was quiet and peaceful during our visit. We visited a marzipan museum which was a bit like an edible version of Madame Tussauds. Whilst we appreciated the creations, I'm sure that some of us would rather eat wax over marzipan, given the chance.

The Slovakian party bus!

They had marzipan creations of everything you can think of under the sun including Mickey!

The famous Queen Maria

Intricate nativity scene

Small workshop where a cactus is being made

The pretty village centre

Paprika! A hungarian favourite

Danube, or more accurately a small side stream

Lunch time!

Garlic soup. Yum!

Veal stew. Very tasty!

Marzipan "play dough"

Lara's creation. Not sure I'd want to eat it after it has been fingered by the children...

Our tour of ex-communist countries continued in the form of Slovakia. There was a noticeable improvement in the quality of the roads and general organisation in Slovakia. The roads in northern Hungary had been particularly poor. The journey of 180km seemed to take forever and it was dark when we arrived in Kosice. We were all glad to check into the known comforts and reliable standard of the Hilton Brand. Our hotel was just on the edge of the old town which made it convenient to explore.

Peter took us for a brief walk through the old town to our restaurant. Unfortunately dinner at Villa Regia turned out to be a very drawn out affair in an extremely overheated building. The service was SO slow which was a shame as the setting was charming & rustic, and the food was actually excellent. Both the duck and ribs that Malcolm and I ordered were one of the best we've had.