We returned to Vác today, and despite the cold and ice everywhere, the sun was shining when we arrived. It did cloud up and start to snow on our way home, but we spent a pleasant couple of hours in what seemed like a totally different town.

This Neo-Renaissance building used to be the bishop's palace, then the Vác residence of Hapsburg Empress Maria Theresa in 1764. After that it was used as a hostel, a convent and a military facility. Since 1802 it has served as home to Hungary's National Institute of the Dear and Dumb.