Blanca & Ian's Travels

Hungary

Trip Report - 2007

Aggie-sheg-a-dra
(Or something thing that . . .)

Budapest, Eger, Győr, Sopron, Vienna (Austria)
with lunch in Warsaw

Győr

Day 7 Wednesday June 20 - Day 10 Saturday June 23

We left Eger just after breakfast around 9 AM.  As I mentioned above, we had had a very early wake-up with that very loud couple whining about their car at 5:30 AM.  Once again we decided to take a slight detour rather than just a M3 scream.  We headed west from Eger aiming towards a ruined castle that I found in my Rough Guide.  It is just outside Sirok which was only 20 km away.  The road to get there wound up & down through the big hills of the Mátra range.  Very beautiful country.  From the town of Sirok, we followed the Var (castle) signs to a parking area.  We could see the castle on the hill above us.  The 20 minute climb up was easy, on a paved pedestrian-only road with the last bit on cobbled stones.  Once again, the heat was rising, so I'm glad we were doing this in the morning.

Wow.  A view for miles in every direction.  And the ruins would warm any romantics heart.  A 13th Century castle that has been in ruins since the Turkish occupation.  On a crag of rock with a view for miles.  There are some carved passages with ladders to get to the remaining heights so you could poke around. I loved it.  And there were only 2 or 3 other people wandering around so it isn't on the tourist path.  There are no services except in the town below.

Sirok's 13th Century Castle

We then meandered down to the M3, gassing up the beast (with 'benzene' as they called normal gas - 95 Grade - 294.50 Ft per litre) & buying a toll pass (under $10.00 CDN) at the same time.  From there, it was an easy run into Budapest.  Our goal was to go straight through Budapest.  On surface roads of course, since as I mentioned before, there aren't any highways that loop around or through.  Well, goals aren't always attained that easily.  I missed one crucial ramp heading left that I saw as we zipped by & then we were dumped into traffic heading towards the Margit Hid - rather than the Erzébet Hid which had been my preference. We crossed into Buda & then just followed the cars in front of us who seemed purposeful.  Maybe purposeful but certainly not going where we were.  We were map challenged for this part of town & we kept driving & driving until we realized that we were lost.  No streets were on our map & no signs were visible for the M1 which is the highway west.

Time for help.  A stop at a gas station revealed that we were way out of our way.  Thankfully we got great directions & with only 3 or 4 street combinations we found our way from outer Pest, into a forest, through Budkeszi, past hookers in bathing suits standing in remote driveways to our destination:  an M1 onramp.  Whew.

Once on the M1, it was smooth sailing.  The hills around Buda continued west until Tata which made the drive quite scenic.  But it was just like driving in any country on any highway.  Like elsewhere in Europe, people drive reasonably fast.  My 130 km/hr was average on the M-Series.  But slower is OK too, just expect to be passed by everybody.

As we approached the first of the Győr interchanges, we could see a line of big hills (Sokor) to the south including the one with the Pannonhalma Monastery - very visible 20 kms away.  We exited off the M3 & found our way to Győr - Ménfőcsanak, our destination.  This is a southern rural suburb of Győr.

For this part of the narrative & for the next couple of day's descriptions, I will take a different approach & I won't have a  blow by blow.  This was family time.  We ate family meals & not in restaurants.  We stayed for 2 nights with Babi (bub-by) & her husband Béla (bay-la).  Babi is a cousin on my wife's mother's side & they went with us to visit that side of the family with some site seeing thrown in.  Then for another night, we stayed with Feri & Erika (our Budapest guides) in their flat right in Győr & rushed around visited my wife's father's side.  With a little sight seeing also.  But I have never, nor would I have ever thought it possible, kissed so many men's, women's & children's cheeks in such a short period of time.

Here's the deal.  Hungarian style.  You call ahead that you will be visiting.  When you arrive, you go through a round of kissing & handshakes & hugs.  Then you are ushered into the kitchen or sometimes the living room.  You sit.  The host instantly brings out a silver platter with drinks & glasses.  Since we were heat wave summer time, it was always a cold or cool fruit drink and/or pop & water.  Always.  And then they ask if anyone wants coffee (kav-vey) or wine (bor).  I'm sure that pre-0 Tolerance days, the wine & shots of fiery Pálinka flowed often.  Kind of like we used to do the same with beer.  And of course, food arrives instantly too.  Most often just pretzels & similar munchies but sometimes cakes or strudel etc.  That is considered the minimum in Hungarian hospitality.  For any guest.  When you leave, you repeat the round of kissing & handshakes & hugs.  With everybody.  This was family.

Since I usually sat there in a stupor, I smiled & nodded & hand signed (charades style) with everyone. I started to get used to: yes = e-gan . no = nem , good = yol , thank-you = kis-eh-nem , thank you were more enthusiasm = kis-eh-nem sea-pen . Those are the basics in English-speak. And of course, cheers = aggie-sheg-a-dra - the subtitle of this literay mess. These are close enough to the pronunciation to be understood. Oh & while I'm at it, castle = var = var , downtown area = belvaros = bel-var-rowsh . You might also note that I added the double accents to the O in Gyõr. And it's dyur (not di-er).  Sorry about that earlier faux pas. It gets confusing.

So, for this part of my narrative, I will highlight the sites we saw that were of touristing interest & throw in some random pictures & observations of normal Hungarian life.

Around Gyõr

Pannonhalma sits on a large hill, the 'Sacred Hill of Pannonia' & was founded in 996, according to the brochure.  A Benedictine Monastery, winery & school, it's about a 30 minute drive south of Gyõr.  We arrived en mass including my wife's mother's 78 year old sister.  I was the driver for all of our expeditions.  We parked near the front gate & walked in.  Slowly, since we have an 78 year old in tow (the delighted & delightful Mag-da-nini).  And it's still about 1000 degrees out.  We were politely told to go to the visitors center partway down the hill.  Back in the car, down the hill & to the visitor's center.  Getting nicked for parking along the way too.  It seemed that there was a tour (necessary for entry) starting in English in 10 minutes.  Good for me, but not for others, but we decide to go for it rather than wait another 1 1/2 hrs for a Magyar version.  As it turned out, we had to walk back to the entrance via a forest walkway after a brief video.  Lots of stairs = bad.  However, Mag-da-nini persevered although we sure slowed down our group - about 15 people including us.

The monastery/school is actually quite stunning.  The views are spectacular.  You can see for miles.  The tour takes you into the gothic abbey church (my photos are blah), into the library & other areas - including the gift shop of course.  They are setup for tour groups but there were none in evidence mid-afternoon.  I didn't write down the admission price but it was expensive at 2000Ft each or something I seem to recall.

See http://www.bences.hu/en

Pannonhalma on the hill

Around Gyõr

We toured many small towns & villages around Gyõr during our visitations.  Almost all houses are close to the road & fenced with a gate for the car.  Garages are usually in the back.  As well as the garden.  Hungarians love gardening & often supplement their groceries by growing some of their own fruits & vegetables.  Of course in Communist days, it was necessary.  The authorities are trying to phase out poultry & livestock in the more citified areas.  In the towns, soviet-era apartment blocks are common.  Often, they are flats that people have purchased.  They too have window ledge gardens & the plants often creep out into the hallways & stairwells.  We ate well btw.

In the rural areas, storks are common found nesting on platforms built for them on hydro poles.  Pretty neat stuff.

The pictures below of Jobaháza are poignant.  That is the village my wife's family left in 1956.  The house was torn down at some point & is now just a field.  While we were there we ran into numerous people who knew our family or who were related in some way.  It was a great experience for me & something that my wife needed to do.

Babi's House in Gyõr suburbs

Gyõr

One of the real surprises on this trip was Gyõr.  From the investigations I had done prior to the trip, it sounded like it had a few sites to see but the town did not sound like it was terribly tourist 'useful'.  It is known as an old city, but one that is primarily industrial.  Audi is a large employer with its plant (and with its own tollway exit) where they make the TT.  If fact, Babi's son makes doors at this plant.  100 a day is his expected output.  He doesn't particularly like it, but it's a job.

So it was a nice to find out that the Belvaros - Gyõr's downtown sector is actually very nice.  At the confluence of 2 rivers, it has remains of the town fort, numerous great churches & a pedestrian shop area that sports gorgeous baroque architecture.  The rivers have great parks for leisurely strolls & picnics.  So, if you're coming to Hungary, don't just blow by Gyõr on the toll way.  It would be worth a night or 2 to enjoy the downtown area.  There are some nice hotel options & lots of restaurants & shopping.  And no, I don't work for the Gyõr Tourism Board.  I've included a lot of pictures because I am sure that few readers have even heard of the place.

City Hall