Cobblestoned streets of Baja

This post needs a nice introduction, and not a kind of rant... but what can I tell you...? As I start to write this post, my left leg is swollen. Around my ankle. Although I walked in a town in Hungary in the morning today, and in the afternoon on one little island in the middle of the Danube (no more spoilers at the moment), my leg is not swollen due to a lot of walking. I wish it was just that but on that afternoon excursion on the river, I was bitten by an insect.

It was a Tabaninae (I hope it is the English translation, could be also called horsefly) that decided my leg would be the best source for an afternoon blood intake. I got a reaction to that bite; my leg is red, swollen and very itchy. Ok, the rant part finishes here hahaha, now the real thing - the walk in this city, Baja.

If you were around my blog last year in the summer, then you can already recognize this magnificent building. The town hall of Baja, in southern Hungary. The yellow facade is full of eyes, as I like to call the windows sometimes. ;)

But also, many eyes can watch the square and the streets around from these windows; who knows what they have seen since 1744 when this building was constructed. I have always liked the four little towers that crown the building which btw looks like a castle. It is not by chance - it indeed was a palace, The Grassalkovich palace. It was built in the Baroque style and later got classicist and Neo-Renaissance influence.

What you can see around The Grassalkovich palace is that all the pavements and streets are cobblestoned. It gives a so special touch to the city centre, as if time stopped here. Just these cars spoil the ambience. 😂

Cars everywhere... as this square, which also leads to another building I like in Baja, Danube Wellness Hotel, is used as a parking lot. It is not the nicest version of a square but at least people can park here in the city centre for free.

The only protected area from vehicles is this monument, in the middle of the square. It is the Holy Trinity statue, which also gives the name of the square - The Holy Trinity Square.

More cobblestones? Yes, here they come; if you find yourself here one day, you can walk on them in all the surrounding streets!

Using cobbled stones for building roads had many benefits; even when the asphalt arrived some cities decided to leave the old cobblestoned streets. They drain the rainwater immediately, and I suppose it also preserves the historical appearance of a city.

Around the Franciscan Friary just the pavement is made in a similar way, but the road is already asphalted. Although, it would be cool to see the streets in that old way like around the town hall.

My last stop in today's Wednesday Walk post is this park full of horse chestnut trees. Horse chestnuts are not suitable for human consumption (that's a pity, as I like chestnuts 😁). When we were children, we used to collect this type of horse chestnuts in autumn and make crafts from them. Cool that I spotted these trees, even though we hadn't stopped here for a long time. I was still in good condition to walk, before the afternoon insect incident. 😅