In the shade of a few large lime trees a blue-green Dutch caravan, without a car, is parked at a simple parking lot. There is a playground with sturdy wooden climbing frames, swings and slides. The place is surrounded with walled houses, behind which there are fields filled with summery crops. Birds are singing, crickets are chirping. The sun shines brightly, the air is warm and heavy. » Lees meer…
“SZia Pecs, Európa Kulturális Fövárosa!” The caravan, Dachs and I have returned to Pécs for the start of stage II of The Caravan Hitchhiking Project, after a three-months intermission. And this time I am able to properly pronounce my Hungarian introduction sentence. After my first press conference in Hungary a few months ago, the local press happily cited my struggle with their language. » Lees meer…
This winter, Utrecht musician Tjerk Ridder traveled through Europe, hitchhiking with a caravan, but without a car. Destinations: The European Capitals of Culture 2010: Essen/Ruhr (Germany) and Pécs (Hungary). But the actual project goal was the journey itself. And this journey was – to put it mildly – overwhelming. And so was the media attention. Ridder made it to the national TV news in five different European countries and even became close to being a national TV star in Hungary. » Lees meer…
On the way home, while miles are passing by between Prague and Utrecht, I have a lot of time to contemplate on all experiences and encounters of part I of the project. Starting with the departure from Utrecht Dom Square in Mayor Wolfsen’s car. My first wintery week in The Netherlands ending with the warm welcome in Limburg. The grand opening of Ruhr 2010 at Essen Zollverein. » Lees meer…
The caravan leaves European Capital of Culture Pécs at 3pm on Saturday afternoon. It sits behind the car of Remco Timmermans, who offered his third lift during my journey here. The trip from Pécs to Utrecht starts with a trip to Lake Balaton, which now looks more like an ice skating rink than the watersports destination that it is in summer. From there we continue the trip accross the Slovakian border towards Bratislava. » Lees meer…
Today I visited the Tile Museum in the town of Erzsébet, just outside of Pécs. This may sound a little boring, but once you see the collection of colorful mosaics and original old floors it is actually quite beautiful. In general I very much enjoy the Hungarian decoration, houses and furniture. » Lees meer…
A few nights ago in the middle of the night I re-read all my blogs and realized what I have experienced since my departure from Utrecht on January 3rd. So many stories and encounters, over and over, every day. So many things have happened during my ‘Tow Bar Wanted’ tour so far that it is impossible to describe them all in my blog. » Lees meer…
This afternoon I saw a Tweet about food from Remco Timmermans, with a link to a presentation by Jamie Oliver, earlier this week. I watched Jamie talk about healthy and fresh food as a cure for the top diseases in Western society, just after visiting the local indoor produce market here in Pécs, where I had purchased fresh peppers, carrots and cucumbers for lunch. » Lees meer…
The view over Baranya province is gorgeous from the 200 meter high TV tower, that was built on a hill in 1973. You can see the Mecsek Mountains, the hills that run from west to east. Then there is the large crater of the former open mine and, behind the city, the great plains that continue south, into former Yugoslavia. Pécs truly is the link between Western Europe and the Balkan, the East. » Lees meer…
The caravan has been at Pécs Dom Square for almost a week now, and slowly a daily routine has evolved. In Germany and Austria we had a lot of media attention, but the Hungarian press beats them all. No day goes by without journalists knocking on the caravan door. It is a challenge to provide new and original answers to the same questions and to find a special connection with each individual reporter.
Yesterday we were invited to Pécs City Hall. City Hall was built in the early 20th century, directly at the main square, Széchenyi tér. It has a dignified classic character. High ceilings, charm, style, but also some of the waggishness of the pre-communist era. » Lees meer…
Yesterday evening Peter Bijl and Jo de Viet, Utrecht city marketing manager, arrived in Pécs. What started as a nice dinner at Simon and Kata Wintermans ended up in a nightly snowball fight on our way back to the caravan. Today we have a guest-blog by Jo de Viet:
Just over 29 years ago I spent a year studying in Hungary, three months of which I spent in Pécs. Communism caused greyness, the air was black of brown coal, but the people were nice as ever. » Lees meer…
Today I was invited to the annual song presentation of the Pécs Szent Mór school. First noticeable detail is that this catholic school offers both elementary and higher education. Another detail is that the school – apart from offering regular subjects – pays a lot of attention to expression and music. The song presentation is both intended to train the students singing skills, and to also teach the children to listen and get used to performing in front of audiences. » Lees meer…
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. » Lees meer…
In the morning there is a knock on the caravan door. Two policemen: “Who are you and what are you doing here?” After an explanation and a phone call to the police headquarters, a short stay at Hungary’s most famous square is permitted. To my relief the policemen leave with big smiles on their faces.
Not much later Zsolt Lipi’s Landrover appears. Zsolt is a friend of Simon Wintermans’ and he offered me a ride from Budapest to Pécs. » Lees meer…
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