Rain day in Kalocsa

September 5, 2015

I woke up to steady, pouring rain. The forecast was for rain all day. Tomorrow looks much better.

With no schedule to meet, and no other reason to make myself miserable, I asked about staying at the pension another night. "Oh, yes, no problem, it will cost less, 6000 Ft instead of 8500." That's about 21 USD instead of 30. Breakfast is extra. This is a nice, well kept place with AC and TV. The TV even has BBC and CNN in English, although I didn't realize it last night.

It's Alexandria Panzio, and if you happen to find yourself in Kalosca, I would recommend it. When I checked in they gave me a choice of a larger room with 2 beds and a shower, or a smaller room with a bathtub. I went for the bathtub. My bike is locked in the garage.

I did go out during a lull in the rain. I visited the pedestrian street, with lots of statues

and went to the Kalosca Porcelain factory for a tour. I had a personal tour, conducted in Hungarian, and it was brief but interesting. The porcelain is hand painted. First the pattern is drawn in pencil, then the outline is painted with special ink. The piece is fired so the outline can't smear. Then the colors are painted with a mixture of water, oil, and a colored powder that I understood contains porcelain also, and the piece is fired again. They mold the porcelain also. They pour a very soupy mixture into the mold, let it sit and then pour out the mixture to leave a hollow 3D piece. It shrinks considerably when fired, before a glaze and then paint are applied. There is a gift shop run by the woman who gave me the tour. I tried to explain that I was traveling by bike and couldn't carry anything, but ended up buying a small keychain, more from politeness than because I wanted it. The tour wasn't free, but they made an effort to be sure I understood even though they didn't speak English.

Painting the outline of the pattern over the pencil drawing.

Showing me a porcelain mold. This is for a souvenir shoe.

Some of the more formal pattern in the gift shop. Even this is painted by hand.

I went to dinner at Mediterranean restaurant, about a 20 minute walk from the pension. A little dog followed me for 15 of those 20 minutes. My dinner had lots of grilled fresh vegetables, something I've been missing. Most meals have potatoes and perhaps some kind of salad, often marinated. It was tasty. It was drizzling on the walk both to and from dinner, and the sun never did break through the clouds today. I think it was the best decision to stay put today, but I'm anxious to get moving tomorrow.

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