Eger is a stunning town in the Hungarian countryside famous for its preserved Baroque elegance giving the streets and skyline the look of a jewelry box. Bathed in a prestigious and dramatic history featuring Ottoman battles and elegant wines, it’s easy to become enchanted the moment you arrive. 

Your Workation representative will meet you at the airport and take you to your accommodations in the heart of town. Find all the amenities you need for a successful work-life balance during your Hungary Workation package before stepping out into the streets to visit Dobó Square. The main plaza sits beneath the lurking walls of Eger Castle and glows with brightly colored buildings and a central bronze statue celebrating the 16th-century battle against the Turks. The plaza is a great place to get acquainted with the town and local life on your first night. 

Focus: Take one minute in your new accommodation to reflect on the fact you are in Hungary and Eger. How does your body feel? How are you breathing? 

Suggestion: Eger is home to a surprising number of award-winning and notable restaurants. Pick one and get to know the Hungarian dishes worth knowing. 

With a full day to explore Eger and enjoy your time walking the cobblestone streets, you can tour the town with a guide for a better understanding of the history, culture, and contemporary relevance of historical architecture. The castle is famous for defending against the Turks and while it eventually fell, the story remains popular with locals and nationals. Stand on the hill overlooking the town and walk among the renovated ruins. 

The medieval walls offer a fantastic view over the red-tiled rooftops and also offer a promising glimpse of the sunset to come. When you visit Lyceum, you can enter the university campus housed in a Baroque palace. Travel back in time in the library where the strong oak stacks hold more than 130,000 books and manuscripts practically glowing beneath the luscious ceiling frescoes. The dimensions of the artwork were designed to make the ceiling look as it was a dome. 

Focus: At the end of your day, journal your experiences and thoughts. Notice and label your thoughts without judgment.

Suggestion: For one of the best views of Eger, you can climb to the top of the Ottoman Minterat getting a great panorama and a sense of local history. 

You will have your first day of work when you can implement a ritual important to you that will help you focus. The ritual will be a combination of intention and routine that can help you get in the mindset for work no matter where you are in the world. After work is done, you can create another ritual to help you disconnect before enjoying your tour of the Town Under the Town. 

The network of cellars was created in the 17th century after Eger was taken back from the Ottoman empire. You can feel the cold air sweep through the tunnels and bounce off the stone as you explore a portion of the more than two miles of cellar systems. The cellars were in use until World War II. The pillars intersecting the 14 galleries can look labyrinthine. 

Focus: Practice mindful walking by focusing on the sensation of your feet on the ground, the way you breathe when you walk and how your footsteps sound. 

Suggestion:  If you have time, you can also visit the Archbishop’s Garden, which also acts as the largest park in town. 

Start the day with your ritual to dig quickly and deeply into work. You will find, the more you practice your ritual, the easier it becomes to settle into the right frame of mind. After work, disconnect from your projects and visit one of the thermal baths to experience the cultural activity, as well as the way the water soothes your muscles. 

Hungary is home to one of the largest deposits of thermal waters in the world and your time in the baths will allow the mineral-rich baths to relax your muscles, ease any aches, and even quiet your mind. Eger’s thermal baths have seven pools, a number of which have naturally occurring elements of radon resulting in a warm and revitalizing experience.

Focus: Focus on your breath and the sensations of the water as you sit quality for two minutes. 

Suggestion: If you prefer shopping to thermal baths, visit the Baroque buildings hiding boutique shops known for fashion, marzipan, and wine.

After work, you can visit the nearby complex of Noszvaj castle. Find a Baroque manor house with elegant winding pathways, shading trees, and an interior draped in Rococo frescoes. The palace grounds fell into disrepair after the Second World War and the damages it incurred after several renovations in the 1950s, the castle features five rooms gilded with period furniture open to the public. You can wander among the nearly two miles of trails in the garden park or simply marvel at colorful and grand visions of the world featured in the frescoes. 

Focus: Use your computer mindfully and with intention, taking breaks to stretch or breathe deeply. At the midday point, step away from your computer and phone for five minutes. 

Suggestion: Climb the minaret for the best views around the castle. 

By now, your ritual has become second nature making it easy to melt into work at the start of your day and disconnect at the end. To celebrate the end of your projects, visit the Valley of Beautiful Women, home to approximately 200 wine cellars and a favorite for wine lovers around Hungary, Europe, and the world. 

The combination of vineyards, cellars, and hills rolling into the countryside offer a relaxing atmosphere coupled with easy access to delicious wines capturing the local flavor profiles. Sample the traditional Bull’s Blood, a ruby red wine most often paired with red meat or spicy dishes. You can often notice hints of spices and stewed fruits, as well as chocolate. 

Focus: Pay attention to the smells of the wine in the glass, the flavors on your tongue, and the sounds around you. How do they all coalesce? 

Suggestion: Mustkotály is also a popular white wine from the region.  

Begin your ritual and start work early so you have plenty of time to visit Bukk National Park, home to pristine mountains, glassy water, and an incredibly Romantic atmosphere with a capital “R.” The forest trails fill with the smells of the hare’s-tail grass and Hesperia, as well as Austrian oak. 

Hanging gardens lead to the delicate Veil Waterfall, where the rapids practically spill down the terraced steps rather than crash. Overall, time spent in Bukk National Park is charming and relaxing as you enjoy the wildflowers in spring, snowcapped peaks in winter, and views of Lillafüred, the picturesque town standing atop a plateau with neo-Reneaissance magnificence.  

Focus: Observe the sights, sounds, and smells of your surroundings without judgment. Do you hear the bubbling water, the wind in the leaves?

Suggestion: If you have time to visit Lillafüred, you can enjoy the palace and access to the Szinva and Garadna streams.

On your last morning, you can take your time saying goodbye to Eger. Visit the cafes you prefer and enjoy the famous chimney cake topped with sugar and cinnamon. Your Workation representative will meet you at your accommodation before taking you to the airport for your departure flight. Now that you have a ritual to help you work from anywhere in the world, Instead of returning home, you can extend your time in Hungary or embark on a new Workation experience in Europe.  

Focus: Pay attention to your breath as you inhale and exhale before meeting your Workation representative. Practice this for two minutes.

Suggestion: Budapest may not be the closest airport to Eger but it may still offer the best access from your home. Check to see what airport works best for you when leaving Hungary.