German goulash soup in Pécs

Today ‘Tow Bar Wanted’ officially arrived in Pécs. This afternoon I was towed onto Dom Square by Dutch-living-in-Hungary Marjolein’s 4-wheel drive car. A group of students, locals and a busload of journalists gathered around the caravan. My first sentence in Hungarian: “Hello Pécs, European Cultural Capital” came out badly, but my song of praise ‘Domstad’, applicable to both Utrecht and Pécs, was received with much enthusiasm.

A few weeks ago at Oberhausen Marina I was given a massive can of goulash soup. I thought it would be fun to pass this on at this moment. With the note that the real Hungarian goulash soup would probably taste a lot better, but that this soup was the one and only German-Hungarian Cultural Capital goulash soup of 2010.

In preparation, Simon Wintermans had beautifully decorated the square with Hungarian and Dutch flags and he had even added colored tulips to the snowy surroundings. After the interviews, a photoshoot and meeting Dachs the entire pot of German-Hungarian goulash soup – 12 kilos in total – had been finished to the bottom. ‘Love goes through the stomach’ people say… Was it the cold, politeness or simply a good recipe? I have not been able to taste it myself, but the initial connection has been made. Now I am ready for my search to the spirit of Pécs!