I probably have mentioned it before, I must have at some point, but I’m proud to say that. Our VKV team (very kind volunteers) lives in a beautiful town of Szecseny. Some might have an opinion about the terminology I’m using, but it’s okay. So, since we have explored quite a bit here, we’ve decided to see what Hungary can offer. And Hungary can offer many things!
And thus, our first location was Debrecen.
Debrecen is the second largest city in Hungary, so I’m writing about it before the first largest city because…logic? Because logic fails me sometimes, that’s the answer!
Ah…what can I say about Debrecen…So much and so little at the same time. This city will always hold a special place in my heart. But what I can do, is to give out some insider information, along with some tips and tricks. I’m not saying it’ll be useful, but amusing to read. That I can provide!
We arrived in Debrecen on Friday evening. And since we were feeling adventurous and apparantly we assumed we were very smart, we thought it would be a nice idea to find a pub. As it turns out, finding a table in a pub on the Friday evening is not an easy task. On the bright side, we saw the night life of Debrecen! If I am to describe what I’ve seen, it would be like that: mostly the streets are empty, if you see a crowd…it must be a pub. And well, since there’s a crowd on the sidewalk…it’s probably full! BUT with the power of local knowledge we managed to do it! And let me tell you, it was such a fine choice! Artsy picture on top? It’s just a ceiling of that pub. The “Rock” pub in Debrecen. If you like rock, art, and cozy vibe, I would really recommend it! I think I enjoyed it the most because it reminded me of my favourite pub back in St. Petersburg. The music, the atmosphere…just a general vibe. And the highlight was the table football match. Quite randomly, some visitors of the pub invited us to play with them. We failed, they were too professional, but we failed gracefully.
Mafia goes to sleep, the citizens wake up. Let’s talk about what’s there to see in Debrecen. Whatever you read below won’t be the complete giude. Unfortunately I can’t talk about everything you can see and do there. But as some media outlets say…”Here’s what you can do in Debrecen in one day!”
And number one from my list will be the Great Reformed Church of Debrecen. Ever heard someone referring to Debrecen as “the Calvinist Rome”. I haven’t! Kudos to you if you have. The church was built in 19th century and it looks as you would expect a building from that period…neoclassical! But ah! The best thing about the church, apart from architecture is that you can go up to the roof and see everything from above. You can see all the beautiful historical buildings, all the bell towers of churches around the city, and the splendid contrast between the historical part of the city, Stalinist architecture, and newer buildings. If that doesn’t excite you, I don’t know how to proceed with this part of the story. Oh! Another facinating thing for me was the collection of post marks picturing Bible from all over the world. They have an amazing collection, and it was quite interesting to see the differences between the portrayal of it between the countries.
Another landmark we had a chance to visit was the University of Debrecen. Can you guess what was the name of it in the past? The Calvinist College of Debrecen. Makes perfect sense, right? The main building is very beautiful on it’s own. I’d say it is very baroque-ish. It gets even more beautiful when you go inside. There are two main features of the complex. The first one is the glass roof. You must take a look at the roof if you are somewhere nearby. Especially if it’s sunny. The sun goes through the roof and falls on the peacefully studying students. Making their day presumably much better. The second feature of the complex is the park. And if I was there in February, and I couldn’t see the fountains and greenery, I saw something better. The statues. I have absolutely no clue what they supposed to represent, but in my opinion, it’s a student’s life. One is trying to pick up his grades, another is working hard for the athletics scolarship, and the rest are just day-dreaming…or maybe they are thinking hard about their thesis. Both? Neither? And there are professors all around them looking very judgmental. Perfect student’s life description.
And last but not least would be the Great Forest Park. What memories do I have from the park? Well, the first thing that comes to mind is the location. It’s located right near the University, which makes it a great location for students to hang out after classes, to think back on their decisions, or to plan some great parties. Who knows what students may think of, right? Especially when the park is an artsy place. There are many interesting statues over there. Interesting? Is it the right word for this thing? Free-spirited, I’d say. I couldn’t find pictures of my own, so to give you an idea what I am talking about, here’s a fish. Still love the place though. Nevermind the statues, this place is cool and chill. If you want to have a deep breath after the long day, it’s the right place to go!
As I’ve mentioned before, I’m not done exploring Debrecen. I want to see what this city has to offer. So there absolutely will be Debrecen adventures part 2!
Adventures of a random volunteer 