Posts tagged Hungary

Walking The Balatonszárszó Poetry Trail, Hungary

SÉTA A BALATONSZÁRSZÓI Vers UtcÁn

Balatonszárszó is a small town on the south side of Lake Balaton in Hungary. It’s my wife’s original home town and her parents still live there so we visit every summer. As well as enjoying the lake there’s a lot of walks in the area. This is one of 2 very short sign-posted walks in the town.

The Poetry Trail opened in 2020 and is a a shorter complement to the Way of Renewal. Like the longer route, this one takes the form of a short walk around the town passing several information signs. There’s also 3 sound boxes on the route where you can hear short recordings of the featured poets.

Unlike the Way of Renewal there’s no English translation available, so unless you have a Hungarian friend you may not get the most of the text. While Google Translate can work out the text it’s still not great with the nuances of Hungarian poetry.

Start: Sign #1 outside József Attila Memorial House, Balatonszárszó, József Attila u. 7 8624
Finish: Sign #8, József Attila Memorial, Balatonszárszó, Csokonai u. 1 8624
Distance: 1 km (0.6 miles)
Elevation change: +/- 7 m
GPX File: get via Buy Me a Coffee
Other routes touched (walk): Balatonszárszó megújulás útján (Trail of Renewal)
Other routes touched (cycle): Balaton Cycle Route
Links: Article on balatonszarszo.hu, Lake Balaton, Balatonszárszó

Stop 1: Ars Poetica / Képversek

Location: outside József Attila Memorial House, Balatonszárszó, József Attila u. 7 8624
Poets mentioned: Arany Janos, Josef Attila, Ady Endre, György Rónay, László Gyarmati, László Nagy, Fodor Ákos

Stop 2: Hangulatok

Location: In Erzsébet Park between Josef Attila u and Kölcsey Ferenc u
Poets mentioned: Dezső Kosztolányi, Jenő Heltai, Ferenc Móra, György Faludy, Sándor Kányádi, Miklós Radnóti, István Csukás, Árpád Tóth

Stop 3: Extravaganza

Title in English:
Location: At entrance to Erzsébet Park on Kölcsey Ferenc u.
Poets mentioned:

Stop 4: Szárszó / Idő

Title in English: Szárszó (town name) / Time
Location: Near the Fountain (Szökőkút) at the intersection of Ady Endre u. and Fő u.
Poets mentioned: Árpád Tóth, Aranyosi Ervin, Jenő Dsida, Sándor Márai, István Csukás, Rónay György, József Attila

Stop 5: Asztali örömök

Title in English: Table pleasures
Location: At entrance to the market on Ady Endre u.
Poets mentioned: Aranyosi Ervin, Sándor Petőfi, Dezső Kosztolányi, József Attila, István Csukás, Ady Endre

Stop 6: Balaton

Title in English: Balaton
Location: At entrance to Tóparti Park on Mikszáth Kálmán u.
Poets mentioned: Dániel Berzsenyi, András Fodor, János Vajda

Stop 7: Hetedhét országon is túl

Title in English: Beyond the seventh country
Location: In front of Csukas Theater, Jókai Mór u. 2
Poets mentioned:

Stop 8: Legendás versek

Title in English: Legendary Poems
Location: At eastern entrance to Tóparti Park on Csokonai u.
Poets mentioned:

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Richard gower28 August 2020Trek, Lake Balaton, HungaryComment

Walking The Tihany Legends Trail, Hungary

Séta a tihanyi legendák ösvényén, Magyarország

View from the northern point of the trail

Start & Finish: Benedictine Abbey of Tihany, I. András tér 1, Tihany, 8237
Distance: 5 km (3.1 miles)
Elevation change: + / -112 m
GPX File: get via Buy Me a Coffee
Other routes touched (walk): Visszhang ut (Echo Trail), Levendula ut (Lavender Trail)
Other routes touched (cycle): Balaton Cycle Route
Links: Lake Balaton, TIhany, Tihany Abbey, Balaton Geopark

Tihany is as small village on the Tihany Peninsula that juts out into Lake Balaton in Hungary. We visit there every summer when visiting the lake to see Timea’s parents. From the Benedictine Church in the centre of town you can pick up one of 3 walking trails of varying length. Trail 1, the Echo Trail, is really short and you’ll pretty much have done it by accident if you wander around the main streets in town. This 5k route is a good choice and takes you on a scenic hilly trail to the north of the church. You can pick up a paper map for all 3 trails from the Tourist Information Centre.

Starting from the church, the first part of the route takes you on a small loop of some monuments before heading north to the Echo. Here you’ll find a spot where if you shout loudly you’ll hear an echo bounced seven times off the church and surrounding buildings. Unfortunately there was building work happening when we were there which was absorbing the echos. From here take the winding Garay János Utca down to Tihany Harbour.

From the harbour walk north-west for ~1km, then carefully cross the main road to a small parking area. Here you can take a footpath that rises steeply through the woods back up the hill. Through this wooded part you’ll find Balaton Geopark signs giving information on the area. The most interesting find here are the Monk Cave Dwellings. These are man-made caves (allegedly) built for Russian monks brought from Kiev by the wife of Hungarian King Andras in ~1050. A few are easily and safely accessible from the path.

After the caves, the path continues upwards towards the north west. At the highest point there are outstanding views of the north end of the peninsula. From here the path turns southwards and descends back towards the town and the end-point at the church.

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Richard gower15 August 2020Trek, Lake Balaton, HungaryComment

Walking The Balatonszárszó Trail of Renewal, Hungary

Séta a BalatonszárszóI megújulás útján

The Way Of Renewal was established to mark the 500th anniversary of the Lutheran Reformation. Along the 3.5 km walk you pass by 10 large signs giving descriptions in Hungarian on reformation themes. Each sign has a QR code that takes you to a web-page with an English Translation. These links are also shown below, along with an extract of the first part of the English translation.

Start & Finish: Sign #1 on north-west side of Fő u. near railway crossing, Balatonszárszó
Distance: 3.5 km (2.2 miles)
Elevation change: +/- 19 m
GPX File: get via Buy Me a Coffee
Other routes touched (walk): Balatonszárszó Vers Utja (Poetry Trail)
Other routes touched (cycle): Balaton Cycle Route
Links: Way of Renewal, Lake Balaton, Balatonszárszó

Stop 1: The Way of Renewal

Location: North-west side of Fő u. near railway crossing.
Extract: The consequence of human life is being on the move. We always go somewhere. Many times we physically take action, sometimes we are only figuratively on the go in the walk of life. The road is sometimes smooth, but there are also bumpy sections. We may ride miles lonely, but again and again, travel companions join us for shorter and longer times. The goal of this journey is the road itself – this is the year-to-year opinion of the growing number of people who start the pilgrimage. And indeed, the experience of being on the road makes us mature, forms our bodies, souls, and spirits. We can get rid of unnecessary pounds when go out for a walk or a hike; get rid of heavy loads and packs that are painful to carry. We can abandon the unneeded, which hinders our fulfillment, which makes harmony impossible. Instead we may find ourselves refreshed, cleansed and relieved.

Full text at: https://www.megujulasutja.hu/1-en?language=en

Stop 2: Ecclesia semper reformanda

Location: Opposite main entrance to Csukás Színház on Szabolcs u.
From previous sign: Walk North-East on Jókai Mór u. turn left onto Szabolcs u.
Extract: Since members of the Church are imperfect, therefore the Church, unfortunately, is also imperfect. From time to time, the church leaves the path proper living, teaching, and everyday practice. The reformers raised their voices against this in the beginning of the 16th century when they realized that the Bible's guidance and church life were not in harmony with each other. The severe overtones of the church of that time prompted them to focus on the essence – on the One, which only matters in the Church: to God. This has been half a millennium ago, but we still feel its impact and actuality today.

Full text at: https://www.megujulasutja.hu/2-en?language=en

Stop 3: Scripture is available

Location: North side of Móricz Zsigmond u. before Harka u.
From previous sign: Continue north on Szabolcs u then right onto Móricz Zsigmond u
Extract: The first Christians took the mission of Jesus seriously: "Go then, and make disciples of all the nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." The disciples spread the gospel of the resurrection of Jesus Christ to many people. The centuries have passed and the official ecclesiastical language became Latin. Until the middle of the XX. century, Latin was so widespread as English is today, and knowledge of Latin was part of basic education. Before the Reformation, the Bible was only available in Latin - for a few people, as ordinary people did not know Latin. The reformers realized 500 years ago that the ordinary people, the members of the Church did not understand the Latin mass, and they did not have access to the texts of the Scriptures and its explanation for their lives. Luther and his followers wanted to make the Bible accessible to everyone and they wanted to help people think for themselves, using their free will, and make decisions on their own. This was the greatest achievement of Reformation.

Full text at: https://www.megujulasutja.hu/3-en?language=en

Stop 4: Marriage, family

Location: Inside gate of Balatonszárszó szabadstrand, Móricz Zsigmond u
From previous sign: Continue east along Móricz Zsigmond u
Extract: When a man and a woman find each other and engage to each other, they get married. Starting from here, the married couple lives together. As the name 'married couple' indicates, it consists of two people who complement each other and form a couple. It is a divine vocation of man and woman to become a husband and wife, father and mother. They can realize this if they may count on each other and one can fulfill his/her own role with the kind support of the other one. Someone may only become a good wife by her husband's powerful support and vice versa: a good husband is formed by his wife's co-operation. Well-functioning marriage is a place of spiritual growth, and there is a perspective of spiritual enrichment and fulfillment, provided both parties do his/her own stuff for this purpose – and if they both renew from time to time.

Full text at: https://www.megujulasutja.hu/4-en?language=en

Stop 5: Community – responsibility

Location: North side of Jókai Mór u
From previous sign: Turn right onto Bulcsu u. at eastern end of Móricz Zsigmond u. Turn left onto Jókai Mór u. Continue north-east until Evangelikus Konferencia és Missziói Közpon.
Extract: Since the time of Jesus Christ, Christians are seeking the community with each other. Christianity is a community religion - God does not only need solitary heroes, but rather people willing to accept each other and to share their pleasures and concerns. Our relationship with each other Jesus taught Christians to love each other. This means that we seek the good in other people, since we were all made in the image of God. We accept the difficulties of life as God's trials, as he wants to educate and strengthen us with these. In the conflicts we are forgiving and peace-building, we abandon violence and retaliation. The Beatitudes „Happy are the poor in spirit: for the kingdom of heaven is theirs. Happy are those who are sad: for they will be comforted. Happy are the gentle: for the earth will be their heritage. Happy are those whose heart's desire is for righteousness: for they will have their desire. Happy are those who have mercy: for they will be given mercy. Happy are the clean in heart: for they will see God. Happy are the peacemakers: for they will be named sons of God. Happy are those who are attacked on account of righteousness: for the kingdom of heaven will be theirs. Happy are you when men give you a bad name, and are cruel to you, and say all evil things against you falsely, because of me.” (Gospel of Matthew 5:3-11)

Full text at: https://www.megujulasutja.hu/5-en?language=en

Stop 6: Creative knowledge

Location: North side of József Attila u.
From previous sign: Cross railway line on pedestrian crossing, follow path up hill through trees to József Attila u. Turn right.
Extract: It was one of the earliest achievements of Reformation to provide new intellectual possibilities for the everyday people of the Middle Ages.

Knowledge is power. It can be any kind of knowledge we have not already learned. To read and write, master crafts, learning languages or just reading the Scriptures.

It is necessary to learn to acquire knowledge, especially at an impressionable age, that is, in childhood and at a young age.

In the first years of the Reformation, pupils studying in in Germany and Switzerland from all over Europe, took the new doctrines into their home country. Universities of this time were the strongholds of renewal. They were soon followed by reforms in the lower schools. Elementary schools and grammar schools were mostly owned by the church. The ever-expanding network of Protestant schools provided the opportunity for more young people to have a high level of knowledge.

Full text at: https://www.megujulasutja.hu/6-en?language=en

Stop 7: Restart every day

Location: North side of József Attila u.
From previous sign: Continue south-west along József Attila u.
Extract: It happened with a seven-years-old boy in 1916 in a remote country: he went to school where they heated with a stove during winter. In the morning the students had to light the fire in the stove one hour before the lesson. One day he came with his brother to start the stove, but there was an explosion and the school started on fire. The boy was transported to the hospital with extremely severe burns. From the waist down, not only his skin but also his muscles were burned. He was between life and death for a long time. Once his mother and the doctor talked and they did not know that the boy was hearing them. The doctor said, "He doesn't have much chance to survive." The boy heard and said to himself, "But I want to stay alive." A few weeks later the boy left the intensive care unit and once again they believed that he was asleep. The doctor said to his mother: "We didn't believe he was going to survive, but unfortunately it is certain that he will remain lame till the end of his life. He won't be able to move his legs. They need to be amputated." The little boy said to himself, "I must walk!" Fortunately his mother did not let the doctor amputate his legs.

Full text at: https://www.megujulasutja.hu/7-en?language=en

Stop 8: Church Buildings

Location: Outside main gate of SDG Family Hotel and Conference Center, Csárda u. 41
From previous sign: Take a left footpath heading south-east and turn right onto Nárcisz u. Continue to SDG Family hotel on the junction of Nárcisz u. and Csárda u.
Extract: The church building is the place to meet God. It is important for the community and for the individual because there is a soul in it. It was built humbly, with active engagement and sweat. Regardless of whether it is a centuries-old building or a new modern temple. "The greatest beauty of a church building is that it belongs to God. It is His house. The House of Glory. The Holy Spirit's workshop. The interior beauty of the temple lies in the fact that it becomes the property of man. There is happiness, but also a commitment to say "my church". We feel that it is not a legal but a spiritual possession. The temple becomes mine only by constant use. The beauty of the temple shines to me when I can happily say "all my life ..." In youth and in old age, in dreams, in bitter awakening, in effective work, in humiliation and under the cross, I must always live in the Lord's temple. Only in this case can I say: my church. " (Béla Kapi, Lutheran bishop)

Full text at: https://www.megujulasutja.hu/8-en?language=en

Stop 9: Human and nature

Location: North side of József Attila u.
From previous sign: Continue north along Csárda u. and take a left onto József Attila u.
Extract: We believe the whole world is God's creation: humans and animals, land and plants, Milky Way and the stars. When God created the world, God entrusted man: „And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to till it and to keep it"- we read this in the beginning of the Bible, in the book of Genesis, in the second chapter. According to this command, man is to care the world while utilizing natural resources for his benefit. Divine guidance for cultivation and guardianship means that we must treat nature as a careful host. We should not view nature as something to be exploited, but rather we should view it like a wise and forward-looking gardener who preserves natural treasures for future generations as well. Every day we experience that we cannot keep God's command. We all see the adverse effects of global warming, the negative weather changes and urban smog. There is a steady lack of water in the growing part of our planet, many species are extinct. The amount of exploitable minerals and fuels decreases, as well as carbon dioxide, emitted into the atmosphere, increases. This makes our planet less and less usable. There is an urgent need for global action to reduce environmental damage and stop destruction.

Full text at: https://www.megujulasutja.hu/9-en?language=en

Stop 10: Christian culture

Location: On József Attila u. outside József Attila Museum
From previous sign: Continue south-west along József Attila u.
Extract: The truly outstanding writers and poets have always been touched by the supernatural, the divine world. They sought answers to the tough questions of life and frequently called God as recipient with their poems. In the poetic form of human feelings and thoughts, divine poems were born.

In today's fast-pace world, it is a soul-stirring event, if we have a book of poems in our hands for even half an hour and let ourselves be filled up by their message.

Full text at: https://www.megujulasutja.hu/10-en?language=en

To complete the circuit and return to Sign #1 continue south-west along József Attila u, take a right onto Fő u. and cross the railway line.

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Richard gower7 August 2020Trek, Lake Balaton, HungaryComment

Kékes: Hungary High Point

Significance: Highest Point in Hungary
Parent Peak: TBC, possibly Javorie, Slovakia
Nearest Higher Neighbour: Javorie, Slovakia
Elevation: 1,104m
Date climbed: August 17th, 2014
Coordinates: 47° 52' 21'' N, 20° 0' 31'' E
Guidebook: Europe’s High Points (Cicerone)
Links: Wikipedia (Hungary / Kékes), Peakbagger

The highest point in Hungary is very easy to tick off as you can drive to the top. There’s a lot of hiking options around but Timea and I were on a driving tour of the north and east of the country and decided to do it as a drive-by. The summit is marked by a stone painted in the colours of the Hungarian flag.

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Richard gower17 August 2014Trek, Country High Points, HungaryComment

Cycling Lake Balaton, Hungary

Sunset view to the north coast from Balatonszárszó

Lake Balaton is the largest lake in Central Europe. Mostly unknown in the west, it was an important Communist-era holiday destination for Eastern Bloc families who couldn't travel outside the region. Once thriving resorts are now decaying, waiting for the economic regeneration of the capital cities.

My wife grew up in a small village on its banks and has fond memories of swimming at the village beach in the summer. We go back there at least once a year to visit family and travel around the area. It was only a matter of time before the 200km round-Balaton cycle route would lure me onto it.

I decided on a 2-day trip, using the Tihany Ferry as a means to get me home on the middle night. This gave me an 87m/140km Day 1 covering the south-west and a 48m/77km Day 2 on the north-east.

The route is really well sign-posted and difficult to get lost. There's a lot of nice lake-side towns along the route for stops. With a lot more time, a 4 day trip with overnight stops along the way would have been ideal. Even this 2 Day trip with an early start made for a scenic summer ride.

Day 1: The South West

Start & Finish: Szántód Ferry Station, Szántód, Tihany u. 9, 8622 Hungary
Distance: 140 km (87 miles)
Elevation change: +/- 815m
GPX File: get via Buy Me a Coffee
Other Routes Touched (Walk): National Blue Trail (Országos Kéktúra), Balatonszárszó Vers Utja (Poetry Trail), Balatonszárszó megújulás útján (Trail of Renewal), Tihany Legends Trail
Other Routes Touched (Cycle): 7A

Day 2: The North East

Start & Finish: Szántód Ferry Station, Szántód, Tihany u. 9, 8622 Hungary
Distance: 77 km (48 miles)
Elevation change: +/- 610m
GPX File: get via Buy Me a Coffee
Other Routes Touched (Walk): Maria ut Vaszoly Balatonalmádi, Tihany Legends Trail
Other Routes Touched (Cycle): 7A, 24

The Complete Route

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Richard gower25 July 2011Cycle, Lake Balaton, HungaryComment