Weekend in Pecs

We attended a ballet performance at the National Theater in Pecs on Friday night with our friend Bill Issel. The building is very impressive - inside and out - and we were excited to see Bolero and Carmena Burana performed in the historic building. In checking the schedule - we found that most of the other performances will be plays in Hungarian so we were really pleased that we saw a performance where language did not come into play. Dinner after the show was at the restaurant that is quickly becoming our local favorite. The main waiter Bolas already knows us. We lingered over our duck legs with pearl barley and strolled home in a rather substantial snow fall. Another great night. [Carol-yes, walking home at 11 o'clock with snow falling and filling up the squares and streets was magic.]

Wine Train to Villany

Saturday morning we woke up to clearing skies and even though the forecast was for more cold, snowy weather, we decided to head out to the little village of Villany. Many of the fine red wines that we have encountered since our arrival here come from this village. We heard that visitors could walk the streets and sample wines at many, many shops along the main street but we were told to be sure to find the restaurant/tasting room/hotels of the two best known winemakers - Gere and Bock. We caught the 1 PM express train (30 minute ride costing about $3 each) to Villany and enjoyed a conversation with a student from France who was on his way to Sarajevo along the way. [He was adorable.]

We had packed a couple of sandwiches, books, umbrella and other essentials for our outing and as we exited the train station I asked Carol if she had the map. Oops -
Oh well, we picked a direction and after about 30 minutes we came upon a statue honoring the grapes in front of what we think is the the town hall. [I want to add that nothing was around the train station and no one. A path veered off to the left down through some trees. I kept saying that I would feel better if I knew that we were going in the right direction. No one else was around. We came to some cement-block industrial type buildings with graffiti on them. It was like a ghost town, and I told Tom I felt like we were walking through some deserted movie set. It wasn't too much farther before we encountered the small village and its main street.]

A map was nearby and we walked on to Bock. There was a spa/restaurant/winery complex and we asked about a tasting. We settled in the restaurant area and were treated to six fantastic wines, wonderful home-made foccacia, and conversation with several interesting groups - a family staying there for a get-away weekend from Budapest and three younger folks who were doing some wine drinking (not tasting) for the day. We found out that they planned to be on the same train back to Pecs that we were going to catch.

After about an hour and a half and Carol starting to retaste the wines that our waiter left on our table, we [Tom] figured that a stroll around the village would be in order. We had a 5:30 reservation at the Gere restaurant and there would be more wine. Carol really liked [LOVED] the Bock wines as you can see.

[Inside the small dining room was truly like stepping back in time. Wooden beams, old tables, good smells coming from the kitchen, baskets of homemade bread, and all gathered at their tables talking to one another. You taste wine in the dining room, not in a tasting room. There was no tasting menu so we didn't know for sure what we would be sampling. The English speaking waiter seemed impressed that we were from California. He first poured us Chardonay and Rose (I usually run from this, but it had a little fizzle to it and was very refreshing). Then he started with the reds: a pinot noir, a syrah, two cuvees/blends, and Magnifico! All five were incredible! He also left the bottles after pouring. We were very well-mannered for a while and then I said to hell with this, and poured a splash more of syrah and cuvee in an attempt to decide what to buy. I have never been to any winery where I truly loved all five reds. Bock is considered Hungary's top winemaker at the moment.]


It was cloudy and sort of cold, but the fresh air was exactly what we needed to prepare us for our next gastronomic adventure. We met a few friendly dogs along the way and could only imagine how this village would come alive in the summer with tourists all around and especially during their Harvest festival.

At Gere, we were expected and our waiter had the timing in mind so that we could enjoy our dinner and make it to the train station at 7:49-for the last train. The three young people we saw drinking at Bock were in the attached bistro knocking back even more wine. [This friendly crew ordered bottles of wine for their table, not tastes. I saw at least three bottles on the table at Bock and more at Gere.]

We had what could only be described as a fabulous dining experience. A smoked trout salad, potato soup, rack of lamb and rabbit ravioli. And again, some really wonderful wines. [I ordered a pinot noir with my trout salad and a bigger red cuvee with my lamb.]

Picture of duck appetizer Is my face as red as the wine?

[The Gere restaurant is newer and more modern, and more in the center of the small town. The food is not rustic Hungarian cooking. You can see by the picture of the complimentary duck appetizer they brought us. Very nouvelle cuisine looking and fabulous food. How can we be having this kind of dining experience in a village of 800 people?]

It was then time to walk back to the train station and a light snow had begun to fall. We made it to the station in plenty of time but wondered about the three youngsters who were still drinking at Gere when we left. About that time, they came running up to the small station and jumped on board. We joined them on this one car train and prepared for the one hour return trip (more stops than the express). They turned out to be very interesting (and rather drunk). They had an open bottle of wine, but no cups so we passed the bottle around each swigging straight from the bottle like a group of winos. At this point, we may be winos. The trip back to Pecs passed quickly and we walked home in the snow - again reveling in our extreme good fortune.
[Time for a literary reference. Sitting next to these fun-loving, young Hungarians and sharing their bottle of red wine, I felt like Jake in The Sun Also Rises when he is on the bus with the Basque people in Spain and they pass a wine skin around. The five of us are the only ones in the lone train car. One of the cute guys was born in Columbia, served in the US military because he grew up in Kansas, and now lives in Budapest and works for NCR while sometimes doing stand-up comedy. I swear! The other cute guy lives in Pecs, is a student and lives with his parents. The young friendly female lives in Budapest and works for the United Nations. She gave us her cell phone number and said to call when we came back to Budapest. I have given my card to so many people at this point I will not be surprised to one day pick up the phone back in SLO and hear some Hungarian accent on the other end.]