nov-dec 2015 - pécs city guide

Pécs City GuideNov-Dec 2015 / Issue 08 / Free

INSIDEChristmas gift guide, Indoor activities, Filter, Almalomb, Mongooz and the Magnet + much more

DOU BL E

I S S U E

06-72/222-222, 06-72/333-333, 06-72/555-555, 06-30/9333-333www.volantaxi.hu

VOLÁN TAXI... fast, inexpensive, safe

Ticket- and season ticket pricesAdultWeekdays (Tue – Fri): HUF 900Weekends (Sat – Sun): HUF 1000Student/retiredWeekdays: HUF 700Weekends: HUF 800

Season ticket (10 entrances, valid weekdays and weekends too)Adult: HUF 7000Student/retired: HUF 6000

1+1 COUPON

www.psnzrt.hufacebook.com/pecsisport

It can get hot on the

ice!You can slide for half of the

regular price on the newly revamped Pécs Ice Rink!Cut out the coupon at the

bottom, that gets you a free ticket for a purchased one. The offer is valid until the

24th December. Ice skating gets another twist thanks to great events:

Ice disco on 5th December and

Pre New Years Eve party on 30th December with fireworks and tombola.

OpenMonday: closedTue – Thu: 9am – 11.30am and 12.30pm – 3pmFri: 9am – 11.30am, 12.30pm – 3pm, 5.30pm – 8pmSat, Sun: 9am – 12pm, 1pm – 4pm, 5pm – 8pm (during the winter holidays on weekdays too).

More information:www.psnzrt.hufacebook.com/pecsisport

Showing this coupon (original, cut out from this magazine) makes you eligible to have a free ticket for your already purchased ticket at Pécs Ice Rink.

Nov-Dec 2015 Pécs City Guide 3

HI, we are getting closer and closer to the end of the year again and I have to admit that this was a wonderful first year for the magazine. But we have to take a little rest. That’s why we decided to have a double issue again. Just like in the summer. If we count the double magazines as two we see then that this

should be issue ten already. That’s a great number and I hope we can have the same amount of magazines in 2016, too. Right now, we think that the next Pécs City Guide will follow in the end of January or in the first weeks of February. We will let you know as soon as possible via our Facebook

page. In case you don’t follow our updates there please like us, you will get much more information about the city. You could also check our website at times, since the articles published online are not always the same as pub-lished in the mag.

Feel free to contact us at: [email protected]. Thanks for your attention, and see you next year.

Ervin Gűth, editor

Contents In Brief 4 Wolf shot dead, Roses are coming 6 New bus fleet, Running track open, Ain’t love in the air Features 8 Christmas gift guide - Part 110 Christmas gift guide - Part 212 Indoors14 Three times squared Drink&Dine 16 Villányi Franc18 Soup & Sand-wiches, The craziest cheese burger20 Almalomb, Halászlé22 Filter, Murphy’s Pub closed, Best Turkish coffee To Do 24 5 things to do 26 Art Moments, Ode to Joy, Delaney Davidson 28 Mongooz and the Magnet, Homage a Lantos, Ellipsis Essentials 30 Heritage

Contents&Co

Pécs City Guide/Nov-Dec 2015 The free, insert magazine of Dunántúli Napló in English. Editor-in-chief/Publisher: László Póré Managing editor: Ervin Gűth Contributor: László Nógrádi Published by Mediaworks Regionális Kiadó Kft. Baranya Megyei Irodája Sales manager: Gyöngyi Nagy Phone: +36 72 505 060, +36 30 9971 006 E-mail: [email protected] Printed by Érdi Rózsa Nyomda, Érd ISSN 08659133

1812 16

8

24

4 Pécs City Guide Nov-Dec 2015 pecscityguide.com

In Brief

On the sunny Saturday of Octo-ber 31 an official warning was pub-lished on Facebook at noon stat-ing that a wolf escaped from Pécs Zoo and no hikers should go to the Mecsek hills until further notice.

Miklós Szatyor, director of the zoo said that a couple of days earlier three wolves arrived from Italy to their facilities. One of the animals got scared from the noisy environ-ment, since Pécs Zoo is still under reconstruction, and climbed a 2.5 m high fence and escaped.

Police and Pécs Zoo employ-ees were searching for the wolf and people were banned from the woods. That said, nobody really cared, because of the good weather Mecsek hills were full of hikers.

On Sunday police gave up search-ing but Pécs Zoo staff made traps. In the late afternoon just before dusk hikers sighted the wolf and alarmed the zoo. The director of the zoo had to shoot down the animal since he couldn’t let the wolf escape again.

The drama lasted only two days but there are several controversies. For example it’s still unclear why new animals have been brought to Pécs Zoo if there are very noisy works in progress. Animal rights activists asked the question why the director did not use a tranquillizer gun? (Experts say the risk of miss-ing the shot would have been much higher.) Meanwhile the Hungari-an Zoo Association suspended the membership of Pécs Zoo.

WOLF SHOT DEAD AFTER ESCAPING FROM PÉCS ZOO

A wolf escaped from Pécs Zoo and had to be shot dead to avoid human causalities. There are several unclear circum-stances and investigations in the case are still open.

TULIPS GONE, ROSES COMEFor five years Pécs was a city full of tulips thanks to the Netherlands and the Tulipécs project. The project ended last year and it seems that roses are going to take over the city.

Founded by the Dutch foreign ministry, the Tulipécs project, which started in 2010 brought about 30,000 tulip bulbs to Pécs every year. Most of the bulbs were plant-ed in public spaces in and around downtown. Some of them were just given away for free to citizens.

The project ended but it seems there is another project on its way. Roses have been planted around the city on 2,800 square metres, a lot of these are brand new rose gar-dens. One of the biggest will be at Tettye Park.

The new chief gardener of the city said in a Hungarian interview that they will concentrate on plants that deliver a more Mediterranean feeling. These works eg. the plant-ing of 1500 trees and 2000 bushes has already started this fall but the first achievements of the project will be visible next year.


Advertising

English Speaking Babysitter Needed!We are looking for child care for our three adorable children. Our daughter is eight years old, the twin brothers are five and a half. We would like to find a girl who has conversations in English with them, plays and sings songs. We need someone reliable, responsible, and has some experience in child care.

It would mean 3-4 hours

in weekday afternoons

on a regular basis, rarely

in the evenings.

For more details please contact us at:

[email protected]

Your whole day is a rush, and you still have to learn?

The party was great yesterday, but today you want to relax?

Why do six students of ten order cleaning service by us? We get done everything: cleaning, groceries, washing, ironing, window cleaning!

www.cleaning4you.hu


In Brief

RUNNING TRACK NOW OPEN

Ski walkers, back extensions and many other outdoor fitness train-ing equipments help you get in or keeping your shape at the latest park of the city. The Central Wake-board track may be closed until April, but the facilites around the center can be used. Even at nights.

Although there are quite a few problems: getting there ain’t easy, there are no trash cans, and the toi-let can be accessed when the wake-board track is open. We hope all of these can be solved in the near fu-ture, since the running track and the equipments are great.

Although the wakeboard track at Tüskésrét started operation in August, the 1.2 km running track around the lake and the outdoor fitness facilities were finalized only in November.

THAT’S NOT LOVE IN THE AIR

The winter air is sometimes unhealthy and even dangerous in Pécs. Doing outdoor sports regularly? Keep an eye on warnings.

This is not a problem in Pécs only, 9 other Hungarian cities have very bad air during winter times. There are several factors involved but ex-perts say that the biggest problem is the usage of solid fuels for heat-ing like charcoal and wood.

This becomes a real threat for your health when there is no wind for days and small particles mix with air humidity. Doctors gave out warnings on four days in the first week of November, but it’s quite sure that there will be more.

FAREWELL BLUE AND YELLOW. BUT HELLO GREEN

We don’t know for sure yet, but a fleet of 115 buses has been bought by the city’s public transport com-pany Tüke Busz. The Volvos aren’t new at all, they have been doing their job on the roads of the Neth-erlands for a couple of years, but are in a quite good condition. At least this is what the representives of Tüke Busz say. They say also, that every bus of the fleet has to be checked thoroughly and also re-sprayed. In the upcoming months less and less blue and yellow buses will drive on the roads of Pécs since the “new“ ones get a greenish col-our. The complete exchange will hopefully end coming spring. Mean-while a new roadmap and timetable is in the works passangers will see improvements soon.

Graphic via idokep.hu

The public transport sys-tem of Pécs had to cope with some serious problems in recent years. Will the “new” fleet of buses prevent break-downs we know from 2014 and 2015?


FAREWELL BLUE AND YELLOW. BUT HELLO GREEN

Advertising

T h e t im e l e s s c l a s s i c s

F A S H I O N S T O R E I R G A L M A S O K U T C Á J A 1 4. OPEN:M-F:10AM-6PM SAT: 9AM-1PM

DEPOT OUTLET NEW

FALL AND

WINTER

COLLECTION

Pécs Tesco 7632 Pécs, Makay István str 5; Open: Mon-Sat 9am-8pm Phone: (72) 214-365 Cell: (30) 471-4011

OPTIKA PLUS+Take a look to see better!

Avoid waiting in line! Get an appointment for a free eye examination here:www.ingyenszemvizsgalat.huOur o� er is valid until Nov 30th 2015. More details in our shop!

Complete eyeglasses with single vision, thinned lenses starting from HUF 14 990Complete multifocal eyeglasses starting from HUF 26 990 Normal thickness, beveled and scratch resistant lens.

Complete glasses include chassis, lens and polishing.

Take a look to see better!

www.optikaplus.hu


Feature

THE CHRISTMAS

GIFT GUIDE TO PÉCS

OFFLINE

Christmas is coming, and looking for presents doesn’t have to be stressful. Pécs City Guide helps you to find the perfect local gifts for your loved ones. Part 1.

ChocolateWherever you are, whoever you

want to surprise craft chocolate is always a great choice. It is unique and you can assume that it’s quite good. Like in the case of chocolates made and sold at Csoko-Láda.

They opened their first shop at Zsolnay Cultural Quarter and are now present in Király street too. Here is not enough space listing their product range and all the fla-vours availble but I’m quite sure everybody can find something appealing and interesting in the shops. Not to mention that you can sip great coffee while picking your favourites. Csoko-Láda Király str 1 and Zsolnay Cultural Quarter. Open: Tue-Sun 10am-6pm.

Aszpik

Community market ASZPIK craft market at Csi-

nos Presszó is your best source of small, handcrafted and unique a accessories, and several local goods that are available here regularly. You can find necklaces, jewellery, clothing next to artisan soaps and homemade chili paste. The atmos-phere is great and you won’t regret going there even if you don’t buy anything.

The market is open one Sun-day each month but in the Christ-mas season they will gather every weekend. Also a lot of other events like workshops will take place and you can create your own hand-made present here. ASZPIK craft market Csinos Presszó (Várady Antal str 8). Open: Sundays 9am-3pm.


Feature

THE CHRISTMAS

GIFT GUIDE TO PÉCS Zsolnay Festival

Local design Afroholic, Chic Street Design,

Great Minds and Licorice. These four small local brands started something new a couple of months ago and they together opened a shop at Király street. Sure their stuff was available online and at local design markets, but a shop is also a reliable and personal way to

sell products. And downtown is just a great place for that.

For example the girls at Licorice create jewellery and accessories from recycled materials like plas-tic from bike tubes, that sounds a little bit odd but looks cool. Great Minds is the project of local artist and designer Balázs Bubreg, who makes the almost famous Sweet Like Pécs and Pécsies bags and

hoodies, that are much better sou-veniers from Pécs like those you can get at souvenier shops.

But the four brands don’t want the store just for them, they are willing to share the place with other de-signers from Pécs, so it is always in-teresting to take a look inside. Monokrom Design Store Király str 33. Opern Mon-Fri 11am-6pm, Sat 11am-4pm.

Did you know that several skin problems can be cured by natural soaps?Treat yourself every time with our special natural soaps.

www.ikonszappan.hu


Feature

No time at all? You just can’t make it to shops and markets in the regular opening hours? Let’s try to find some interesting presents from Pécs online.

Balázs Gróf caricatures One of the best known Hungarian comics artists Balázs

Gróf, who is living in Pécs, made several animated music videos and has proven several times that he has the tal-ent for creating caricatures of ordinary people too. All you need is to submit some photos, give a short descrip-tion about the person to be caricaturized and he will gladly answer and sometimes ask questions. Caricatures start from USD50. More info: grofbalazs.hu

THE CHRISTMAS

GIFT GUIDE TO PÉCS

O N L I N E

Smart Eggs One of the best known Hungarian inventions

is the Rubik’s cube and the smart egg can be seen as a close relative to it. Smart eggs are logical puzzles. The first smart egg was in-vented by Hungarian architect András Zagyvai who made handcrafted wood-en eggs. After his death a company from Pécs started product development and now there are several types of smart eggs available. The handsized eggs are basical-ly labyrinths that you have to enter with a wand and find a way by pulling and push-ing. There are severaly difficulty levels. The company behind smart eggs has competi-tions for solving the puzzle worldwide, work-ing together with Rubik’s cube competition or-ganizers. More info: smarteggtoy.com

Blanka Gajcsi jewelleries We wrote about Blanka Gajcsi in the October issue of

Pécs City Guide in detail because of her crowdfunding project 1000 wishes. But let’s not forget that she is a great jewellery maker living and working in Pécs. Her online catalog of works is quite up-to-date and is a great place if you are looking for unique rings, pendants, earrings or other small jewelleries. She usually works with silver but other components may occur. More info: gajcsiblanka.hu


Advertising


Feature

Play badmintonDid you know that Pécs has

one of the best badminton halls in Hungary? Thanks to a secu-rity company based in Pécs that has a badminton loving CEO, the MultiAlarm Sport Association can train under ideal circumstances. And this has several benefits. For example the badminton players from Pécs are quite good, and on the other hand everyone interest-ed in the sport can use the nine badminton courts available in the air-conditioned hall.

The courts are available from 8am-2pm and 7pm-10pm. One hour costs between HUF1000-1500 depending on court number and dayiteme. It’s great if you have your own equipment but you can also get rackets on location.

That said, there are several prob-lems: the location of the hall isn’t ideal at all and it’s a little bit hard

to find free courts in the last min-ute. And even more problematic is that you can only book a court via their website that is quite a mess in English. But you also have to see the bright side of this all, at least there is a private sport facility available for everyone interested in playing badminton. More info: multialarmse.hu

INDOORSCold, bad weather is upon us but you don’t have to spend your spare time in your room or in a pub. You can train your body, brain or reaction time by doing the following leisure time activities in Pécs. And these are quite fun.

Escape if you canBased originally on point and click video games ParaPark in Budapest was the first real escape game that started the craze in 2011. Describ-ing the gameplay is simple but the game isn’t. You are locked up in a room and you have to find clues and solve puzzles to get out with-


Feature

in the given timeframe. Being developed for several years Para-Park has the most refined game-play for their six rooms from which two are available in Pécs. Almost every minute is calcu-lated and the game master does only interfere if the players get

stuck. About 70% of the teams can get out. Language doesn’t play a huge role in these games. That’s why Para-Parks are opening worldwide: they have now franchise partners even in Australia, Chile and Norway. More info: paraparkpecs.hu

Go for the curvesSpeeding in Pécs is legal, until you

do it in a professional way. Road rac-ing is no go, but gokarts are the ideal combination of legit and affordable if you are in for some rush of adren-aline.

Although some outdoor tracks are operating in the warmer months (one near Vásártér and one across the main sports hall) if you want to dash around no matter what the weather, KartAréna may be just the place for you. The track (built and operated by an active racer) can be found in Megyeri út in one of the storage halls, a couple of minutes from UP.

Once there, a typical dash-around would cost a couple of thousands for 5-15 minutes, but the best is to gath-er a bunch of friends and organize mini races. Keep in mind that these are not bumper cars though - the speed is serious and the G-forces will surely teach you all the driving skills. One more advantage: no mat-ter how small a car you own, after some laps in one of these gasoline torpedoes, even your Lupo will feel like a real Phaeton. More info: kartarena.hu

Photo: Gábor Kovács

Looking for excitement? You do love speeding without limits? Come with your friends or alone, and test yourself!

Pécs, Megyeri út 59. | Phone : 06 (30) 751 33 34

Our 1700 m2 big indoor go-kart track is waiting for you every day of the year. Drive our high quality 200 cm3, 6,5 HP Honda. Automated race time tracking.


Feature

1935After the 1st world war the city

has been in a great economic crisis and not only because of the Ser-bian occupation. The square was still used several times as a mar-ket square, in fall and winter even firewood was sold here from horse carts. As you can see, the bell tower behind the mosque was still stand-ing. A small casual stream was running overground, canalization did hide it later. Photo: fortepan.hu/Tibor Erky-Nagy

1954Fortunately, the second world

war didn’t leave its mark on the city. That said, the 1950s were the darkest years of the communist era. Almost everything was run by the state and people suffered be-cause of the lack of everyday goods. Mainly buses and and electric trams were on the roads, but horse trams were still in tact. No more markets here, the transport hub role became the most important. Photo: fortepan.hu/Tibor Erky-Nagy

1968The biggest economic boost in

the history of the town took place in the 1960s when uranium min-ing brought moderate wealth to citizens. In spite of communism commerce, art, cultural and night-life flourished. More and more cars appeared on the roads and the city center became mainly a parking lot. The tram lines have been closed and 1968 is the year when the construc-tion of the TV tower started. Photo: fortepan.hu/Lechner Nkft.

THREE TIMES SQUAREDThe ever-changing face of Széchenyi square always adapted to the citizens’ needs.

During the ages it used to be a market place and later an important traffic hub. It has been transformed several times in the 20th century alone.


Advertising

Cellarium Restaurant SPORTS PUB

One of the best and most popular places

in Pécs has been renewed.

Gastronomic pleasures wait

for you at Cellarium

Have a beer, have fun with your friends while

watching your favourite game or sports channel.

Reserve a table: 72/314-453 | Pécs, Hunyadi st 2 www. celleriumetterem.hu | Facebook: Cellárium étterem és söröző


Drink&Dine

The world of superb wines is not only about making quality al-coholic beverages but creating brands too. And this is what the Villány wine region is determined to do with the Villányi Franc.

The Cabernet Franc has found its natural home in Villány. And this is not a marketing slogan invented by wineries here, but what the renowned English wine critic Michael Broadbent wrote in Decanter magazine after vis-iting Hungary in 2000. Not only wineries from Villány but more and more customers belive him.

Villány became the county’s most popular red wine region in the 1990s when international varieties like Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon gained much more ground. The Cabernet Franc is usually used in blends, especially with those mentioned above and together they create the Bordeaux style. The most popular wines where CF is used on its own come from France’s Loire wine region (Chinon).

Te wineries of Villány believe that the terrain here is more than excellent for the variety and the success is guaranteed if they try hard enough. That’s why they started something new a couple of years ago. Working together they created the criteria for a new brand that is called the Villányi Franc.

But having a wine made up of 100% Cabernet Franc from Villány is just not enough, it has to qualify in other aspects too. It takes a lot of devotion from the very first moment to create a wine that is allowed to have the name Villányi Franc. Quality in the vineyards is crucial.

That said, not everyone is that enthusiastic about VF and there are some - usally small and middle sized - win-eries in Villány that don’t think that creating a new brand for the Cabernet Franc is worth the hassle. A lot of them have their own name and own brand and don’t want to confuse their customers. Others are waiting. Waiting if the campaing and the brand is really going to be successfull and are willing to join only then.

‘Au Bistro’ by Jean Béraud

VF


Advertising

Where can wine lovers find your products in Pécs?

We recently opened our latest Bor-katedrális Wine Shop in Pécs, and welcome our returning and new cus-tomers at Rákóczi str 6/1, too. Our wine shops have an exceptionally wide range of products, more than 50 different, self produced wines are available. These are mainly high qual-ity bottled wines, that are grouped according to different topics into dif-ferent wine families. These are the Villány’s Wines Of Protected Origin or Traditional Varieties Of Pécs, and the Dessert Wines Of The Mediterranean. But we also do have wines in 2l plas-tic bottles.

WINE FOR EVERYONE (X)

What are the wines of the mediter-ranean dessert family?

We do not produce only red wines but a wide range of white varieties, with a lot of very aromatic varie-ties. Wines made of Muscat Ottonel, Tramini and Hárslevelű are mainly con-sumed and beloved by Hungarians as dessert wines. Our late semi sweet white wines were made also accord-ing to these characteristics, like our Mária Muskotály from 2014 and the Hárslevelű. Our sweet Mazsolabor, that has a Tramini base, is also a very exclusive product available in 0.5l bottles and it’s also a great gift idea. From our wines from Pécs I’d recom-mend to try our dessert wine that is made of Cirfandli.

Rumour says that you have some-thing new for the lovers of wines from Villány, too?

We have a lot of new wines from 2015 that were bottled for St Martin’s Day. From our local specialities line I have to underline our ADÉL Rozé, made of Portugieser. From our inter-national varieties I’d like to highlight our Chardonnay Barrique, that is a tra-ditionally barrel-aged white wine, and maybe a red one, our Cabernet Franc.

But we are also determined to give more prominence to other wine-relat-ed products from the region. That’s why we do sell local sparkling water, cold pressed grapeseed oil or even grape and pomace pálinkás in our wine shops.

Are there wine tasting events in your winery, too?

We warmly welcome everybody in-terested in our cellar. You can find the Borkatedrális Winery next to the main road at Villánykövesd. Our wine tastings include a wide range of our awarded wines. We can seat 10-40 people, appointment only. For more information send us an email to [email protected] or call +36 30 357 5471. See you there!

Borkatedrális Winery may have a long history, but it’s also a refreshing new spot on the map of the Villány wine region. After the latest re-newal they are following their own path, without forgetting the lasting traditions of the well-known Batthyány Win-ery. Executive manager Adri-enn Czigler tells us about the winery’s everyday life.

BORKATEDRÁLIS WINE SHOPS IN PÉCS:Nagyvárad str 11 (Next to Magda confectionery)Rákóczi str 6/1. (Close to Kórház sqr)Rókus str 7/A. (University district, next to Rókus promenade) Uránváros Market (Hajnóczy str)


Drink&Dine

ÍZES MAGYAR CSEMEGE HAS NOW A SISTER SHOP FOR SOUPSIt is not the first time that someone tries to serve soups and sandwiches at this venue but Ízes Magyar Cse-mege Sandwich and Soup Bar updated the concept in the most trendy way at Ifjúság str.

The team behind this new spot is not unknown in the city’s gastron-omy. They made soups and sand-wiches a success already at Széche-nyi tér, but the shop in the city centre has a quite different profile, being a great source of ingredi-ents too.

This time, just next to Block Coffee Room, at Ifjúság str 9, they use the available space in a very different way. No shelves at all, but tables and chairs make it a no-rush and cosy restaurant. Sure, everything is available as a take-away, but you can finish a lunch right on location in less then 20 minutes easily. This helps a lot to consider the soup and sandwich combination a healthy fast food option.

Like said, the main profile of the shop is making great sandwiches. They are available from early in the

morning and are accompanied by soups from around 11am.

The sandwiches are in buns ex-clusively made for the shop but oth-er ingredients used are also usual-ly local. We did test their sausage sandwich that has one of the best sausages in town right now.

Their soup menu (usually three options) is changing every day and has something for everyone. We were happy to see some traditional Hungarian soups but a vegetarian soup is always available too.

Also, in the little fridge you can find some exciting goods, like craft beer or the only Hungarian dairy products worth mentioning, the yoghurts from Cserpes.

Healthy fast food every weekday

THE CRAZIEST BURGER OF PÉCS CREATEDAT BOHEMIA

I have seen a lot of surreal stuff going on in Hungarian kitchens but this one is almost as absurd as deep fried Snickers. Bohemia Sörkonyha’s latest creation is quite unique, to say the least. They ex-changed the usual base of their burgers, the homemade bagel, with two thick slices of deep fried mozarella and put the Jucy Lucy patty between them. (For the re-cord: Jucy Lucy means that there is already a lot of cheese put in-side the patty, that makes it extra juicy.) But not enough: the mo-zarella incorporates small bacon pieces. Other toppings include caramellized onions, pickled cu-cumbers, BBQ sauce with pears and mustard, and lettuce. The usual small portion of coleslaw and not so small portion of fries is in the price. For HUF2200 it’s a great deal and I’m not sure if they counted the calories but I hope no dietitian sees this monster. In-stant heart attack guaranteed. The only downside of this great addi-tion to the history of mankind is that the burger is hard to handle. I couldn’t eat it like I usually eat burgers, but had to use fork and knife. The burger will be available for a couple of weeks for sure, but they told me if people are going to like it will be kept on the menu.


Advertising

New Mediterranean and international dishes every day.Starters, homemade flat breads, salads, grill foods and

a lot of fresh sea fish.Best wines of the region.

Blöff Bisztó, Pécs Jókai sq 5 | Phone: (72) 497 469


Drink&Dine

FINE DINING AT ALMALOMB IS REALLY WORTH THE TRIPA couple of years ago fine dining used to be almost non-existent in the region. This is changing slowly, thanks to establishments like Almalomb, that opened some months ago in Hosszúhetény.

We like to say that there is a gas-tronomic revolution going on Hun-gary. The key evidences for example are: more and more restaurants bet on local ingredients, cook based on seasons and the overall quality of foods is getting better. We’re still far away from what could be called an ideal condition, but we are al-ways happy when a new restau-rant promoting these values starts operation. And so does Almalomb in Hosszúhetény, only 15 minutes close to Pécs.

Once a water mill, now a wonder of great contemporary interior de-sign and accessories but also with great artifacts.

Personnel is very professional, they know how everything on the menu is made so you can ask them questions. I’m sure, you will get sat-isfying answers. The menu chang-es regularly almost every second week, like said, they try being up-to-date and do prefer using local

ingredients. Some of the goods are made directly in the restaurant.

They usually serve their own sour-dough bread with different spreads as hors d’oeuvres. The last time my starter was a brussel sprout soup with gorgonzola, and there was nothing wrong with that. The sous vide pork loin with pan roasted homemade gnocchi was just per-fect melting in the mouth. And the gnocchi had a great texture. The only problematic point was the des-sert: baked apples with oatmeal in vanilla cream. It was a little bit in-complete, in my opinion.

The prices are indicated with lines next to the dishes on the menu card, where one line means HUF1100. A main dish costs usually 2 to 4 lines, and it’s very easy to get to 7-8 lines in the end. With drinks this brings you to HUF10,000 per person. So, eating at Almalomb definitely does not belong to the cheap eats catego-ry but worth not only one try.

HALÁSZLÉ is The Ultimate Hun-garian Christmas Eve dinner.

Unfortunately, there are no res-taurants in Pécs making flawless halászlé (fish soup) on a regular basis. Fortunately, it is very easy to make it on your own, but keep in mind to use only good ingredi-ents. Fresh, good quality carp is

available usually at Lidl or Tógaz-da Halpiac. You will also need

qood quality paprika and special noodles, both available at Ízes

Magyar Csemege or Gastropolitan.

Ingredients for two:200 g fresh carp in slices, 1 tbsp

ground, red paprika, 1 onion (diced), salt, 1 l water

(+ noodles, bread, chili)

1. Cook onions Salt carp generously and let it sit for 30 minutes in the fridge. Meanwhile start cooking the

onions. Let it boil, no stirring re-quired.

2. Add fish Wash the fish, add to cooking wa-

ter and let it boil for 10 minutes.

3. Add paprikaAdd peppers and cook for anoth-er 15 minutes. Ready. You can eat it with separately cooked noodles

and/or bread.

Some cooks add a little wine to the fish since alcohol keeps the meat of fish together and its harder to

overcook.

HungarianFish Soup


Advertising


Drink&Dine

1. Duna Döner(Széchenyi sqr 8)

2. Juice&Co (Jókai str 1)

3. Balkán Bisztró(Ferencesek str 32)

4. Frei Cafe(Király str 7)

5. Sark Sofrasi(Rókus str 7/c )

*Editor’s opinion, based on price and quality. Each tested only once.

FILTER IS A UNIQUE COFFESHOP AND HAS ITS OWN TYPEFACE Great coffee houses grow nowadays on almost every corner in Pécs. And we are not a little bit sad about that. You can find the latest addition to this category, that is Filter, just next to the theater in Király str.

New line coffee is the latest trend in the world of the black beverage. Usually single origin coffees (mean-ing that the beans are from the very same location, usually from the same estate) are used to make very different brews known from earlier. At least, you shouldn’t expect the same experience like in case of a classic Italian style es-presso. No wonder since the meth-od of selection, roasting, grinding and brewing is very different. The result is usally a fruity, more acidic beverage.

Filter uses the coffees of a micro roastery in Budapest. They use dif-ferent Arabica varieties, different grinds for different preparation methods. Like Aeropress or Hario V60. Thanks to their great espresso machine the coffee made with high pressure is also quite interesting.

Filter differs from other small cof-fee houses in Pécs in several aspects. They have the longest opening hours and they serve a great selection of al-coholic drinks. Their range of wines is worth some extra words since they

offer wines from small wineries from all corners of Hungary that are hard to find elsewhere in Pécs.

And there are other things that make Filter quite unique e.g. they have their own font. Yes, you under-stand it right Filter is written with a typeface designed exclusively for the shop by a Hungarian artist. Oth-er interesting things include the kokedamas (moss ball) hanging from the ceiling that look like small living worlds on their own.

MUPRHY’S PUB CLOSED. AND THIS TIME FOR REAL

Murphy’s Pub is gone. Some are sad but even more people are hap-py since the place was open in spite the fact that it still has a debt of HUF 30 million. This became pub-lic in January but the restaurant and pub closed not until October. The city - owner of the building - couldn’t do anything and other ten-ants formed a coalition, talked of starting a protest and withholding rents. In the end this didn’t happen and Muprhy’s Pub left the building on its own.

Dripped, filtered or made under high pressure

The 5 Best* Turkish Coffes


Advertising


THINGS TO DO THIS WINTER

To Do

Ice skating at Pécs Ice RinkPécs is the only major city without an ice hall in Hungary, and that’s why

we are happy that the outdoor ice skating rink could be renovated and opened timely. The opening hours could be longer, and are a little bit com-plicated, but it’s a great start. If you don’t have equipment you can always lend Veress E. str 8. More: fb.com/pecsisport

Target shootingThis is the real deal. Target shoot-

ing is great fun, but you have to leave the city border. At this shoot-ing range you have the opportuni-ty to try several handguns (Glock, Beretta etc.) and rifles (Marlin, Remington etc) too. Pécs-outskirts More info: elmenyloveszet.hu/en

Skiing on MisinaDid you know that there is a ski

slope in the Mecsek? Ok, it’s not that impressive (600 m and 450 m tracks) , but there are about 30 days in every season when skiing is pos-sible here. You can get there by bus and a daily ticket costs HUF2500. Misina More: fb.com/pecsisipalya

Indoor ridingThe only indoor horse riding fa-

cility in the region can be reached by bus. They are open every day and you can not only try and prac-tice horse riding since riding po-nies is also an interesting experi-ence. To say the least. Pécs-Vasas More info: berek.org.

Playing paintballThis leisure time activity is one of

the best experiences when it comes to team building. There are sever-al opportunities in the region but next to Expo Centre you can play paintball and laser tagging too. A game starts at HUF1000/person/hour but ammo costs extra. Laser tagging starts at HUF2000/per-son/hours but there are not extra costs at all. Megyeri u. 32. More info: fb.com/Pb.Lt.Pecs

5

Hétfő: szünnap Kedd, szerda, csütörtök: 09.00 – 11.30 és 12.30 – 15.00 Péntek: 09.00 – 11.30, 12.30 – 15.00, 17.30 – 20.00 Szombat, vasárnap (illetve a téli tanítá-si szünetben, de akkor hétköznapokonUgyancsak minimális mértékben változnak a belépőárak is. Hétköznap (kedd

– péntek) marad változatlanul a 900/700 forintos belépő. Hétvégén (szom-bat-vasárnap) hat év után először emelkednek az árak, így a felnőttjegy 1000, a diák/nyugdíjas 800 forintra nő is): 09.00 – 12.00, 13.00-16.00, 17.00 – 20.00

Photo: Tamás Sóki (mti)


Advertising

Pécs, Rákóczi u. 46.

KERESKEDÕK HÁZA

RÓMAI FLOOR

INTIM SHOPINTIM SHOPINTIM SHOP

Everything,

that makes

a relationship

interesting

facebook.com/

IntimShopHungary

www.intimshop.hu

Dunántúli Napló Pécs, Jókai sq 9

Phone: +36 72/412-565Wide range of international newspapers and magazines

(English and German) available at our shop.


To Do

DELANEY DAVIDSON (NZ)Singer-songwriter Delaney Da-

vidson from New Zealand tours Eu-rope this November and his gig in Pécs should be considered a must for every music lover living here.

The songs on his seventh solo LP reflect life as a musician, leaving a lot of the more colorful storytelling for real life observation. A compact collection of 12 solid and succinct

Beethoven’s IX. symphony, also titled Ode to Joy became the EU’s official anthem in 1985 already. Sure, its success and populari-ty started much earlier, and it is played by symphonic orchestras all around the world since its de-but in 1824.

In the following almost two cen-turies it became one of the most well known pieces of music his-tory. Ode to Joy is almost every-where from feature films like Clockwork Orange to television commercials. It was even covered by the Muppets. It’s usually used to emphasize tension between the sweet and depressing side of ex-istence.

The Pannon Philharmonic Or-chestra, the residents of Kod-ály Centre, are accompanied by Anamarija Knego, Ivana Srbljan, Marko Fortunato, András Palerdi and the Hungarian National Choir.

The evening is started by Carl Rainecke’s Flute concerto where Éva Szabados (pic above) plays the main role. December 12, 6pm. Kodály Centre (Breuer Marcel street 4) Tickets: HUF1000-5990.

songs, that have an up beat drive and lightness previously avoided in his work. Suburban soul pop clas-sics, sit next to tearfully sentimen-tal glam travel ballads. Davidson feels this album constitutes one of his most realized and strongest thematic offerings. Nov 29, 8pm; Trafik (Perczel str 22). Free.

ART MOMEMENTS

The aim of the art festival taking place in Budapest, Debrecen and Pécs is to bring contemporary art closer to the domestic and foreign public and to provide a platform for emerging as well as the well-known artists.

This year’s program is about ‘Art Around Us’. A lot of people do not re-alize that art is part of our everyday life: it can be found on the streets of a city in a beautiful building, a well-

ODE TO JOY

done graffiti, a picturesque panora-ma. On the other hand, the events attempt to provide a different per-spective, an alternative key for the viewer by taking the pieces out from the glass cabinets and getting to know them on a more personal level.

In the group exhibition in Pécs you can see the works of five Ku-waiti photographers. Until Dec 8; Mon-Fri: 10am-6pm. E78 (Zsolnay Cultural Quarter) Free.


Advertising

YOUR AD COULD

BE HERE

+3630/618-4772

EZ AZ ÖN HIRDETÉSE IS

LEHETNE

Let’s celebrate together!BACH:CHRISTMAS ORATORIO

20TH DECEMBER 2015, 7 PMKODÁLY CENTER, PÉCS

NORWEGIAN BAROQUE ORCHESTRAAND THE PURCELL CHOIR

MASTERS OF THE ORGAN

29TH DECEMBER 2015, 7:30 PMCATHEDRAL OF PÉCS

TICKETS ARE AVAILABLE ATPHILHARMONIA TICKET OFFICE KODÁLY

CENTRE, AT TICKET EXPRESS OFFICES, BEFORE CONCERT START ON THE SPOT,

ONLINE ON WWW.JEGYMESTER.HU SITE.

www.f ilharmonia.hu


To Do

HOMMAGE Á LANTOS

Ian O’Sullivan and Magnus Maloy formed the international band in 2014 in Pécs and Gábor Imre joined them some months later. They started with small gigs in venues all around the city but nowadays regularly perform in the Hungar-ian capital. Recently Mongooz and the Magnet released the debut stu-dio recording, that is a five-track EP entitled ‘the mongooz juice’.

They gained much popularity thanks to the Hungarian online talent show Ki Mit Tube where they made it to the final rounds this fall.

The renowned painter Ferenc Lan-tos passed away in 2014 and shortly after his death a permanent exhi-bition of his works opened at Király str. Lantos was not only a great art-ist but a great teacher and funded several schools in Pécs. Genera-tions of artists are thankful for this and in this exhibition the works of the master are displayed with those of more than 20 students, who are now successful artists. Until Dec 17; Mon-Fri 10am-6pm. Művészetek és Irodalom Háza (Széchenyi sqr 7-8).

They won a grant of HUF 2 mil-lion, that can be spent on e.g. cre-ating videos or supporting live gigs, but the help comes not only in cash, they’ll also get a mentor. Someone really experienced in the Hungarian music business.

Their next gig in Pécs can be one of the last shows before their big breakthrough, so go and see them even before it gets trendy listening to them.December 5. Pécsi Est Café (Rákóczi st. 46.) Tickets: HUF900/1200. More info: mongoozandthemagnet.com

Ágnes Péter has several works in famous Hungarian collections, several sculptures in public spac-es and she is an art teacher since 1992. She frequently uses wood, iron, steel, ceramics and glass in her art. Ágnes Péter left figura-tive art early and her monumental public works, and big sculpters too, deal with transcendent themes. The exhibition Ellipsis displayed in Pécs in the M21 gallery concen-trates on more natural and organic traditions.Until Jan 10, Tue-Sun 10am-5pm; M21 Gallery (Zsolnay Cultural Quarter). Tickets: HUF250/500

MONGOOZ AND THE MAGNET

ELLIPSIS


Advertising

Have a great time here!

End-of-year partys for up to

60 persons.


Essentials

Downtown Pécs is strongly saturated with history, so spectacular mon-ument buildings can be seen everywhere. The relics date back to the Roman times - you can find treasures even under your feet.

HERITAGE

If one considers UNESCO World Heritage sites, gigantic accoplish-ments of human culture pop into the mind like Taj Mahal, Machu Pic-chu or the pyramids but Pécs has contributed to the ever growing list of treasures also.

Dating back to the ancient times, various settlements used the gen-tly rolling hills of the Mecsek, by the times of the Romans Sopianae was a thriving ru-ral city. Although most of architec-ture was wiped out by the storms of centuries, some remained in good condition offering unique views into the past.

The world heritage site in Pécs dates back to the 4th century, when an early form of Christianity al-ready took over in the lives of lo-cals in the provinces of the empire. The most prominent examples are

the burial chambers that can be visited from a number of entranc-es near Szent István square. The roots of spirituality run deep in this area (even though in the sum-mer the most vivid open air parties also take place here), it is a baffling experience to watch the cathedral and imagine that people came here

to connect to the su-pernatural mere-ly decades after that in their belief The Saviour walked the Earth.

Walking will be the way for your tour as well, and going un-derground is neces-sary, but fear not, no

caves await. The archeological dis-coveries (first started accidentally by urban development works and excavations) are now carefully pre-served and built into an exhibition complex with a modern surround-ing. The remains of the ancient chapels and burial chambers can

be seen from up close supported by exhibitions (original artifacts, au-dio and video displays) that form a complete historical experience. The underground tour of the sites can be a nice day’s program in severe weather as well, you only need to be careful with the choice of shoes, as the metal grate walkways are hard to navigate in high heels.

The Cella Septichora Visitor Cen-tre - that also provides exhibition space for artworks and events - draws tourists by the thousands in high season but on a weekday before noon one should have enough space and tranquility that is required for a convenient visit. Sometimes (like on the Night of Museums or other special occasions) the sites are open into the night as well, making a visit an even more spiritual insight into the past. On top of all that, this year the Visitor Centre is celebrating the 15th anniversary of the world her-itage status with special programs on the way.

László Nógrádi

Go underground for a glimpse into the deep past of the city


HIRDETÉS

nov-dec 2015 - pécs city guide

Documents