Woke up this morning to a breathtaking view of … fog!

Back on the herd bus (goodie) after breakfast for the 45 minute ride to our first stop. Woman across the aisle from Ken has not stopped talking since we sat down. How can anyone have this much to say about absolutely nothing before 0800?!?

Csikos Horsemen of Kalosca

First stop: the Bakod Puszta Hungarian Horse Farm near Kalocsa. It’s a working farm on the Puszta (vast open plains) of Hungary. Think: Kansas. Herded off the bus and into a stadium, where we saw a demonstration the famous Csikos horsemen. These are traditional Hungarian herdsmen renowned for their exceptional horsemanship skills and daring riding techniques – like standing on top of two horses while driving several more horses ahead. I mean . . . it doesn’t look that hard. I could probably do it. 😉

Honestly, very impressive.

Sidebar: (true story) if you have your bachelor party in Hungary, you can get liquored up and try to ride horses standing up. I wonder how many Hungarian bachelor parties end in the emergency room.

Skipped the carriage ride (I was getting 2nd grade pumpkin patch field trip vibes), and walked through the barn. Saw some Hungarian Mangalica pigs (which we enjoyed in yummy sausage form a couple of days ago). Distinct because of their curly fur coat, they are regarded as a national treasure in Hungary. And – Ken made some new friends.

Back on the herd bus. Update: she’s still talking. She is verbalizing every single thought in her head. Baffling.

Next stop: Kalosca, the paprika capital of Hungary. I’ve had Hungarian goulash (aka paprika soup) for the past 4 days. I’m pretty much done with Hungarian goulash (and paprika) for a while.

Apparently, paprika liquor is a thing that exists in Hungary. Left it in Hungary.

And we’re walking. We’re walking. We’re walking really really slowly.

Organ Concert

Short organ concert at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Kalosca. My mom loved organ music, and whenever I hear it played in a centuries old church in Europe, well, I appreciate the time to be alone in my head. I miss my mom every day.

The interior of the cathedral was beautiful. I’m trying to remember if I’ve ever seen a pink cathedral ceiling?? I’m really bad at identifying architectural styles, so usually run a photo through Chat GPT. Chat GPT identifies this interior style as Rococo, which is interesting because everything else I read about St. Mary’s says it’s Baroque. I’ll let the art historians to sort that out.

Herded straight back onto the buses. No time to walk around the town. Disappointment.

Update: she’s still talking. A four year old on a sugar high has nothing on this woman. Complete babblefish. I don’t think her husband has said a single word all day.

Made the best of some ship time this afternoon (while others were out on excursions) by finding a quiet place to read my book.

Relaxing in the lounge tonight with a cocktail, and who sits down across from us? The babblefish. A solid 75 minutes of nonstop talking. About what? Dunno. I was doing a lot of smiling and nodding, but I have no idea what she was saying.

Except for this, the QOTD: “Oh, we LOVE traveling in England. Everyone speaks such good English.”

Tomorrow: Croatia.

Travel date: October 16, 2025.