(W)international hints: Christmas preparations
Even though the exam period is upon the students of the UP, it is the right time to start the last-minute preparation for Christmas: buying gifts and getting in the mood while enjoying the special festive events of the city. It is always a good idea to take a break from monotonous studying sessions and visit the Christmas market while walking around in the centre.
It is said to be the most wonderful time of the year, which should be spent with family and relatives in a joyful atmosphere. However, many students who come from countries far away from Hungary have no opportunity to go home for the holidays, therefore they have to make the most out of their extended stay in Pécs.
Christmas markets are essential parts of the advent season. Just as in the last few years, the biggest market of Pécs is located at the Széchenyi square between 28 November and 24 December, where you can find everything nice and tasty related to Christmas - including the huge pine tree decorated with thousands of shining lights. Among others different handmade gifts, sweets, decorations and of course a wide range of holiday treats are waiting for those who visit the booths placed at the main square. Of course, the winter tale mood wouldn’t be complete without floodlights giving a beautiflu glow to the streets in the entire historic downtown.
If you get hungry while walking and shopping, there is a wide range of merchants offering delicious Hungarian foods and beverages. If you really want to try some authentic Hungarian holiday treats, here is a little hint for you:
If only two very dominant warm meals should be named, fish soup and stuffed cabbage with sour cream are definitely foods that you can find on every traditional Christmas menu. Home-made salty snacks are also consumed in large amounts during the holiday season. The most famous of all is pogácsa (very similar to scone, often topped with cheese), best eaten when it’s warm and soft. However, there is also a wide variety of sweets that you can only buy around Christmas time, such as bejgli (sweet pastry roll with poppy seeds or walnut filling), szaloncukor (bon-bons with different fillings, wrapped in shiny paper) and of course traditional gingerbread. It is not typically a sweet treat, but also freshly roasted chestnuts is sold on the streets, filling the air with its irresistible scent.
Of course, not only foods, but certain drinks are essential parts of the Christmas markets’ gastronomy. The worldwide popular mulled wine (in Hungarian forraltbor) is the local sibling of German and Austrian Glühwein. Similarly, krampampuli, a special kind of grog has also Nordic origins. If you don’t want to drink any alcohol, a hot coffee, tea or cocoa can always warm you up inside out.
We hope you can find the time to walk around to buy some unique gifts while trying some familiar or some entirely new Christmas treats!
We wish you good luck for the exams, Merry Christmas and a Happy new year!