Gyor and Pannonhalma

My next stop in Hungry was to visit the Pannonhalma Abbey and I made a point to get there in time for the 11:20 tour in English.

When I arrived I was informed that the first complete tour would be at 1:oo and the only English tour was at 1:20 since the church is in use on Sundays. If this info is on their webpage then I somehow missed it.

I had planned to visit Gyor after visiting Pannonhalma Abbey but since I had a couple of free hours I decided to take a stroll around Gyor first and return to the Abbey prior to the tour.

I found my way to the center of Gyor, found a parking place and think I paid the machine the correct amount for parking. Not sure I needed to pay for parking on a Sunday but better safe then sorry. Dealing with parking is one of the thing I dislike about having a car on a holiday. The other is not having a beer until the end of the day and am sure I will not drive any more.

The picture is of the Carmelite Church in Gyor. Mass was taking place when I stopped in so I only viewed the interior or the church through the glass from the vestibule. I have sat in the last pew of a few churches when services were taking place but the last row appear to be full this time so I just stayed satisfied with the view through the glass. On exiting the church a nice man I think told me that the service would be over at 1 PM but this is a guess since I did not understand a word he said. I used the only Hungarian word that I master on this trip koszonom (thank you) and continued on my stroll.

Gyor still has some of its city walls but the area right outside the walls appeared to be going through a restoration so was not that attractive. The other side of the wall was very pleasant and attractive but devoid of people.

I visited the Gyor Basilica and it was not full of worshipers so was able to get a picture of the interior.

It was not a lot of time in Gyor but if I wanted to visit the Pannonhalma Abby I had to keep it short and was a bit worried I might get lost on my way back to the Abby. I only made one wrong turn and caught it as soon as I made it so arrived with 20 minutes to spare.

Pannonhalma is on the list of UNESCO World's Heritage Sites. I have been to a number of sites on this list that are really must see things and a couple that have not impressed me. I decided that I am not going to keep track of the places I have or haven't been to on this list. I am bad with lists and tend to try and check things off a list. Travel is so much more than just checking items off of a list and worrying about what you mist on your list.

The part of the Abby that most impressed me was the library.

The tour guide did not really seem to be enjoying his job and I am sure that is part of the reason for my lack of enthusiasm for the Abby. I did learn the room that monks live in is called a cell. I don't think I want to become a monk and live in a cell but some monks do make alcohol. They make wine at Pannonhalma Abby but think a Belgium monk's life is better for me. Belgium monks make beer and life in a cell may not be bad with enough good beer.