Stroll around Szeged with Kirana as the warm city that she now calls her home bids her a beautiful goodbye.
The winter breeze swept through my face as I stepped out of bus number 72. I exhausted the bus to its last stop that day, Széchenyi tér station. I found myself doing my last me-time here – walking alone reminiscing the memories I attained in a city called Szeged, my “second home” for the last 4 months living as an exchange student. Every path in this city centre is the witness of my story. It was not always filled with pleasure. But, looking back on the days I spent in this city, I felt very blessed. I was blessed by the warmth this city has given to me from the first day I stepped in until today, the last moment in the city called “the city of sunshine”. This nickname definitely suits Szeged literally and figuratively.
Szeged got this name because this city is exposed to the highest sun intensity throughout the year. That is why Szeged is warmer than other cities in Hungary. This definitely helped me a lot as a tropical person. But on the other hand, apart from this literal warmth, Szeged also had a warm and calm atmosphere. This atmosphere is very salient because Szeged is just inhabited by a small number of people. And lucky me, there are so many kinds and friendly people there.
The beautiful architecture of the buildings in Szeged that is influenced by Art Nouveau also warms the atmosphere of this city. It is why just like that day when I felt down and drained, I decided to take a walk by myself along the city centre – enjoying the antiquity and beauty of these buildings and managing to relish my “healing time”.
I started by visiting Reök Palace, then down to Ungár-Mayer Palace, the rectorate building of the University of Szeged, and finished my journey at Votive Church in Dom tér.
Sure enough, there is no such thing as healing time without sweets to lighten our mood. That’s what makes Szeged a perfect place for healing since it has so many cafes and bakeries that serve delicious yet gorgeous desserts. And without us knowing, there I was sitting in my favourite cafe named The Donut Box. There I wrapped up my last healing time strolling around Szeged sweetly.
The sun had already set when I came out of the cafe to head back to my dorm. As I pictured that moment perfectly, I felt like it was a perfect goodbye from Szeged.
But, I was wrong. This city offered a more perfect goodbye the next day, exactly on the day of my departure to Indonesia. Like a miracle in December, Szeged is snowing -earlier than was expected.
Created by: Anastasia Kiranahita Santikajati
Kirana is an Accounting graduate of Universitas Sebelas Maret. She has an unlimited social battery. If you’ve already known her well, she is a very talkative person both in written or oral especially when it comes to her fav movie ever.