England Greenwich

It's about time to write my last winter report. My summer adventures are beginning shortly and I'm visiting new beautiful places. Greenwich. 

This name reminds us of the time and it's true indeed. We had a half an hour journey by train and by bus. Of course, you can travel by boat or by tube from London, too. ( We also have a plan, to take a boat tour here in summer) Our plan was to look at many interesting things, but it happened differently :) Although we started with sunny weather, the sky was getting cloudy on our way to the Observatory. 

 The building stands on a hilltop and can be seen all over London in good weather. First you can see a big watch at the entrance and the certified English length measurements in front of the main gate. 

If you enter to the yard, there runs the Meridian line, the 0 degree longitude. You can stand with one of your feet on the Western, the other on the Eastern side of the globe. 

 Otherwise, the line of Meridian is built through all of England. I have already seen it in East Grinstead, where a part of the line runs through the town hall building.  The museum has a very rich exhibition. 

 You can be see the oldest structure of clocks, the first telescopes, the discoveries of the old sailors, the device of planet researches and the atomic clocks. 

 As usual in England, a significant part of the exhibits is interactive, you can test, press move, which the children really enjoyed. (Of course, many adults can try them, too). You could take photos without a flash in the museum, but it was so dark in most places, that you couldn't enjoy them. You can spend a lot of time here but we bought tickets to the show of the Planetarium and we needed to go on. The Planetarium wasn't a big deal techniqually, no better than in Budapest but Zs. really liked it, because he has never been in such a place. The presentation showed the stars and planets on the December sky. I didn't understand everything, but the astronomer was very funny and everyone was in a good mood. 

After that we looked at an interesting photo exhibition. When we went out of the building late afternoon, there were dark clouds, heavy rain and wind storm so we finished our excursion and we ran to the bus station. I would like to go there this summer, because Greenwich has a lot of interesting things to offer still.

I could write about the Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park ( This is the biggest Christmas Market in London which is actually an amusement park with food and drink), about a Christmas afternoon performance in a school, about the Christmas customs, but I think they have become outdated. I hope I'll be more diligent in summer.

PAPRÉT

We were able to go to the nature long ago because the weather was bad. On

last Saturday - although  the forecast  promised better weather  -  promised

+6-8 degrees -  it seemed tempting.  So we left in the nice weather for Paprét

in  the morning . This small section of the Blue Trail was missing, so we chose 

this small hike. We went from Szentendre to the bus stop Pilisszentlászló-Hegytető.

On the top of the hill  it was  foggy, rainy and there was a lot of snow,  that 

disappeared already  in  the city. 

We went on the red path about  3 kms to the forester's house in Paprét. 

All the time  it was raining  hopelessly. 

At the forester's house  we looked for  a stamp, and then we turned back on  

the blue trail to the village  Pilisszentlászló. 

As we descended the snow melted, and  became many small streams.  

And of course all the water flowed down on the hiking path.

When we arrived at the village  our shoes, coats, backpacks, gloves, and all 

stuff were completely wet. We waited for our bus in  Gesztenyés Pub. There

wasn’t   anything to eat or hot drinks. We were lucky that we took with us 

hot tea and sandwiches. 

Of course, the homeward journey  wasn't pleasant, our wet clothes kept us 

cool. I desired  a hot shower at home only.

Long weekend in November

We had a trip  to North Hungary, among the hills of Cserhát for 4 days. Perhaps  it was  the last beautiful autumn weekend. In the mornings  was  cold  and foggy the weather  but in the early  afternoon it was 20 degrees and clear blue sky already.

 We walked for two days, and the other two days we went to the  countryside by car. Our

accommodation was a well-equipped, spacious apartment in a little village  called

Nográdsipek. 

The owners were a very pleasant couple. On Saturday, - after our arrival - we walked to  Hollókő. The path  was 13 km long. On the way we visited the castle as well.  

Hollókő is a beautiful, world heritage  village, there are  famous traditional costumes and typical palóc houses. 

Many  people walked on the streets in  the fantastic weather. We went back  to our accommodation by bus. We had to change to another  bus in Szécsény, so  we had dinner here. 

On Sunday we  looked up  another hike on the map to the Tábi reservoir. At first there  was a  good marked trail , but  the signs disappeared  later, so we needed  to navigate  with a map and compass. Fortunately, we  found  the  lake in a beautiful valley. 

Many people were angling  on the shore.

 We started back  in  another path ,  on the way we enjoyed the beautiful views and beautiful autumn colors. On Monday, we travelled to Mátraverebély by car, here we visited the old holy place Szentkút. 

We met many pilgrims. The next stop was Sámsonfalva.  we saw  an interesting geological

formation 

and the  nearby beautifully situated, small village Nagybárkány. From here we drove to  Alsótold, to the Bableves csárda,  where we spent some  time.  

After we came back, our  hosts  were waiting for us and we grilled in the open air.

 On Tuesday,  we stopped  on the way home  in  many small villages of Cserhát and we

 looked around, and then ordered a late lunch at the Lake Bánki.  It was a very nice

long  weekend.

National Park

We will to hike to North-Hungary.

The Aggtelek National Park lies in the Gömör-Torna Karst region, an area rich in unique natural and cultural assets, 50 km northwest from county seat Miskolc, near the Slovakian border. It is the first Hungarian national park to be dedicated to the protection of abiotic values, superficial land formations and caves. The subterranean natural treasures, namely the caves of the Aggtelek Karst and the Slovak Karst were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1995.

The primary task of the National Park is to explore, protect and preserve the natural and cultural assets, and also to develop ecotourism.
One of the most endearing treasures of the National Park is the Baradla Cave, which is the biggest and the most magnificent cave in Hungary. Excavations in and around the cave have proved that it has been a shelter to man for more than 7 000 years. Recently we have opened some other unique caves to visitors, for example, the Imre Vass Cave, the Béke Cave and the Rákóczi Cave.

Baradla Cave is the most significant and the most spectacular cave not only in the region, but also in Hungary. As all the caves in the Aggtelek and Slovak Karst, the Baradla was also entitled to a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1995. Baradla Cave is the longest cave in Hungary. Its total length, considering also its Slovakian part, is 25,8 km. Its Slovakian part is called Domica, its length is 5,3 km. Its natural entrances situated next to Aggtelek have been known and used by humans for several thousands of years. The main passage is nearly 7 km long, it can be found between Aggtelek and Jósvafő. Its average width is 10 m, height is 7-8 m forming huge underground halls at some places.

The first record of the cave was published in Basel in 1549. The first map of the Baradla cave was printed in 1831 in Hungarian and German, a result of Imre Vass’ research. The first major construction project was carried out in 1806 when Palatine Joseph visited the cave. The number of visitors increased with the opening of a new artificial entrance at the so-called Vörös-tó (Red Pond). Further attempts to enhance tourism were initiated in the 1920s when the Jósvafõ exit and the interior walkways were completed. The most impressive change occurred when the electrical system was installed in 1935 and the visited sections were illuminated.

Subotica - Serbia

In October I went to Subotica one Saturday.



My workplace organized the trip. I don’t like to travel with a group. I like to organize it myself. In a group then we always need to wait for someone or there’s a programme that is not very interesting for me. I have never been to Subotica, so I was happy with this opportunity. I knew it too late, that this journey is mainly shopping in the market. We had only a few hours to visit the city, but it is worth seeing. There are some very beautiful art nouveau buildings and an atmospheric city centre.



We could see inside the town hall with a travel guide.





Surely I will to go once more to see everything better.

Balaton highlands

Last weekend we travelled to the Balaton highlands once more. We were unlucky, because the vintage festival was reorganize for the next weekend. Saturday morning we left Budapest by car. Our friends travelled by train. We met in Balatonszepezd.



Former fishing-village of 420 inhabitants built on hills along the shore and surrounded by hills and forests. Stewards lived in the village in the 13th century, later on it was the domain of local nobles, of Veszprém Episcopate and of Somogyvár Benedictine Abbey. The inhabitants suffered a lot from the Turkish invasion were completed with German colonists in the middle of the 18th century. Szepezd beach was established by Vince Víriusz on his own domain at the centenary who gained distinction at the time of phylloxera epidemic in the protection of vineyards and in domesticating new species. First Statutes of Bathing Association of Víriusz Domain is from 1933. Roman Catholic church (the only votive church of the area) was built in the 13th century in Roman style, upon the pledge of fishermen got into a storm. The small church is erected directly above the shore on a hill, for a long period of time its white tower had showed the way home to fishermen. The Reformed church and the Evangelic one both built at the end of the 18th century in late Baroque style are located opposite to each other in the centre of the village. A former mansion of dr. Gyula Sebestyén professor of ethnography built in Irish style in Szepezdfürdő, today it is a hotel. A huge sand-stone rock scribbled all over with Székely runic writing called Heathen Stone can be seen in the garden of the mansion. Temporary exhibitions in Szepezd Gallery (Árpád street) in summer. The Roman Catholic church is floodlighted. The traditional vintage procession and merry-making is held in the village in the middle of September.

We put down our luggage and we started beside the lake bank at Badacsony.



For hundreds of years poets, novelists and painters have been calling the Badacsony and its vicinity the most beautiful landscape in Hungary. One of the greatest achievements of the Hungarian nature conservation movement is that the basalt quarries opened here in 1903 have finally been closed down. The famous playwrighter Ferenc Herczeg made powerful efforts in the Upper House in the 1920s to have them closed. A press campaign was also launched, but the last quarries where only finally closed in 1964. Those on the Gulács and Tóti Hills were abandoned at the end of World War II and in the early 1950s. The Szentgyörgy and Csobánc Hills are more fortunate: their basalt was not found suitable for building purposes, so there are only small wounds on their flanks. The basalt mountains of the area are not only unique and picturesque geological relics, they are also the habitat of many rare plants and animals. In addition to the natural values it is worth to mention the vineyards dating back to the Roman times, the architectural relics of the hills and villages: ruins of castles, churches, palaces, as well as the relics of popular architecture.


The way was about 10 kms. We walked through the village Balatontomaj, saw
the Catholic Church Szent Imre and we went to the mooring.





There was a big crafts market here and on the lake bank there were many food stalls with fish meals, desserts, wine and fresh grape juice. We were bathing in the lake, after that we ate a delicious dinner. There was hot summer weather, about 30 degrees.
We went back to our accommodation by train.

On the following day we hiked in Káli basin. It is a very nice countryside. We walked
about 15 kms.




The most characteristic part of the Balaton Uplands was granted protection - perhaps at the last moment - when a protected landscape area in the Káli Basin was established in 1984 on an area of 9,111 hectares. Geological features of the area contribute to its outstanding natural values. Its geological structure is extraordinarily varied: we find Permian red sandstone mountains in the south, huge basalt mountains in the north, sandstone conglomerates in the west, limestone and dolomite in the east and in the middle of the basin. The basalt mountains stretch to the northern edge of the area in a broad plateau, to the valley of the Eger Creek. The bogs of the area are of outstanding botanical value. In the Sásd meadows west of Köveskál, we find the largest population of a rare subalpine primrose; this plant can only survive in cool and humid places. In 1992 nature conservation experts undertook habitat reconstruction by placing wooden locks here, to prevent the bogs from drying out. Since 1983 the directorate preserves the rich flora of the wetland of Tódi-kút in Kővágóörs by a water supply system operated by a wind mill. Floating sphagnum has survived from the Ice Age in two bogs of the basalt plateau of Fekete Mountain. There are several protected orchids, gentian and iris in the bog meadows of the mountain.

There were a lot of places with a beautiful view over the lake.


The end of the trip was in Nagyvázsony village.



The castle is the 15th century Kinizsi Castle, where Pál Kinizsi, King Matthias well-known general lived with his family. Next to the castle museum you can find a tourist hostel. In the neighbourhood of the castle the Post Museum and the Open-air Museum of Ethnography can be found. The former presents the development of telecommunication, the latter gives an insight into the life and running of the one-time flourishing trade guilds of Vázsony. The late baroque Zichy mansion and the ruins of the Paulite monastery are also worth visiting. Apart from the sights of the cultural heritage, Nagyvázsony offers wine tasting and the picturesque landscape awaits the lovers of horse riding, cycling, hiking, hunting and archery. Several cultural programmes are held in the town. In the summer season Castle festivity is held every day. The church concerts, the theatre performances, the knights tournament are popular programmes. Nagyvázsony is involved in the series of cultural programmes called the Valley of Arts.

Here we saw the castle and we went back by bus and train to Balatonszepezd.
On Monday there was a short walk only, because we needed to return Budapest in the afternoon. We saw the sights in Szigliget village.



The village of 1,000 inhabitants located in the neighbourhood of Badacsony was an island at the time when the level of water of Balaton was higher. Nowadays its area is a peninsula jutting out far into the lake. There are only a few places in Hungary presented with so much natural beauty as Szigliget. On its rocks you can see the more than 730-year-old castle built by the abbey of Pannonhalma in 1262. The houses of the village with thatched roofs are located downwards from the Castle, graded one under each other, in a semicircular order. New streets down in the valley hidden at the foot of Majális Hill, Kámon Stone, Soponya Top, ´Queen´s Skirt´ and Akasztó Hill, getting down to the lake-shore. A small village with a church had been developed under the Castle belonging to it as usual in the life of a border fortress. The Castle passed into royal proprietorship and then from 1521 for centuries it became the property of Tóti-Lengyel family. The Turkish tried to take the Castle on the top of the steep hill several times but they always failed, however, they burned down all the villages around it. At that time the Castle was the strongest point of the system of border fortresses at North-Balaton; it served the purpose of a harbour for the Hungarian "fleet". Upon the order of Emperor Leopold issued in 1702 the Castle was blown up. The characteristic structure of the village has been saved, the whole internal territory of the village is protected. The Tóti-Lengyel mansion under the Castle was built in baroque style, currently it operates as a restaurant.



From the village there was a very interesting study trail too.



If you take the circular study trail (marked with blue T signs) starting from the church of Szigliget, you can get to know the sights of one of the most beautiful settlements and its surroundings at Lake Balaton with the help of information boards in Hungarian and English. The trail was named after a rock-range revealing the signs of volcanism called Kamon-kő. The walkway runs through the lovely streets of the village enabling you to study the history of folk architecture, traditional viticulture and reed-farming, to look at the ruins of a church from the 13th century. The information boards in the forest present the development of the lake, the native flora and fauna, as well as the major stages of the geological past, the world of formerly active volcanoes. The study trail is 6 km long, the difference in level is 290 metres. This distance can be covered at a convenient pace in 2,5-3 hours including short breaks.




We had lunch at the foot of the castle and after that we went home.