Sopron, the “most loyal” Hungarian town

I guided several tours in the Northern part of Hungary this summer and Sopron has become my guest’s most popular destination, honestly, I can understand why. That’s the reason why this visit is part of my new tour to Győr and Sopron. The little town is situated near the border to Austria, a beautiful Baroque town rich in medieval architecture.

We refer to Sopron as to the most loyal Hungarian town because its citizens rejected the offer of Austrian citizenship in a referendum after WW1 when two thirds of the Hungarian territories got detached from our country. The anniversary of the referendum is celebrated every year.

During the tour we visit 13th century churches with Romanesque and Gothic structure, the Fire Tower, which is the town’s symbol since its construction in the 1600’s and apartment buildings from the 18th century. You’ll see where our great king Matthias was accomodated when he was besieging Vienna in 1482 and where Franz Liszt gave concerts in the 1800’s. I’ll also show you the ruins of the ancient Roman settlement, you can see the ruins of the town hall and the market from the Roman era.

 

 

A Must-See: Memento Park

We toured the Memento Park today, an amazing exhibition “in the shadow of Stalin’s boots”.

All the Communist monuments of Budapest were taken from our streets after the political changes as they reminded our people of the dictatorship, of the despotism of the Communist leaders. Instead of destroying them all – which idea was by the way supported by many of the Budapesters – some of these statues were installed in a thematical statue park in the 22nd district of Budapest. According to the conceptual designer, the “park is not about the statues or the sculptors but a critique of the ideology that used these statues as symbols of authority”.

I remember very well many of these statues standing on our streets, most of them had special nicknames and funny stories were also created about them. I’m happy to share these stories with you and tell you about the monumentality of the arts during the Communist era where the main objective was to create new idols to be adored by the proletariat. I’ll also tell you why you can see only the boots of Stalin, and I’ll introduce you to the ideology of the era which ended recently, some 28 years ago.

Hungarian Wines – the Villány Wine Region

Probably the most beautiful wine country in Hungary, Villány offers great quality red and rosé wines and exceptionnal wineries with an amazing view over the surrounding hills. The number one domestic stronghold of wine tourism is the Villányi Borút -Villány Wine Trail- which was the very first Wine Trail brought to life in Hungary. Book the “Pécs and Villány Tour by Car” if you want to see and to learn more!

The area altogether is about 1800 hectares, the climate is of sub-mediterranean character with a hot summer, mild winter and a lot of sunshine. The southernmost mountain of Hungary protects the grapes from cool north winds.

Excavations prove that the Romans cultivated grapes in the area some 2000 years ago. As far as we know our ancestors started winemaking as early as in the 1060’s. Villany wine region had its first golden age during the early 1800′ after the arrival of German settlers. They introduced advanced agricultural know-how, technics and a new grape, known today as Kekoporto, which became number one in the region’s wine making.

During the second half of the 20th century the Villány vineyards were nationalized, the legacy of the quantity production will probably continue to be felt for decades in plantations with low densities and widely paced rows, originally designed to accommodate oversize tractors. It’s easy to see the differences between a collectively cultivated tract and a privately owned plot even today.

The Villány vine varieties and wines are Kékoportó, Kékfrankos and Cabernet Sauvignon, Hárslevelű. Italian Riesling and Leányka.

Villány winemakers are among the most successful participants in Hungarian and international wine contests and exhibitions. Wine producers and cellars of Villány have been awarded the titles “Wine Producer of the Year” and “Wine Cellar of the Year” several times.

 

A beautiful day touring Eger and the Eger wine country

We’re just back from another great countryside tour. We visited Eger, a small town today with exciting history. The Eger Castle witnessed the extreme courage and patriotism of its defenders who withstood the Ottomans’ 5-week-long siege in 1542.

We started by discovering Eger’s Basilica and the University, which is home to the Camera Obscura, Eger’s Eye, probably the most interesting thing in town. There are only 3 camera obscuras around the world, it’s so much fun to spy on what’s going on around the city.

We took a pleasant walk in the old town and tasted some Lángos, which was delicious. We visited the castle, the scene of the fight in 1552, I was telling stories from ‘The eclipse of the crescent moon’, a Hungarian novel about the great victory of the Hungarian defenders of the Eger Castle.

After visiting the local wine museum in the afternoon we drove to the Valley of the Beautiful Women and tasted the best red and white wines of the Eger wine country.

The Herend Porcelain

Hungary is very famous for porcelain production, one of the greatest manufacturers is Herend. The factory has been producing porcelain for almost 200 years. The factory is based in the little village of Herend, near Veszprém, I’d be happy to include the visit of the factory when we are touring the Lake Balaton and its surroundings.

Herend porcelain has won several prizes at different expos and exhibitions. After a famous Herend set had been presented at the London World Expo in 1851 Queen Victoria ordered a dinner set, the pattern got named in her honour “Viktória”.

The visit of the Herend Porcelain Museum is very interesting, the “Mini-Manufactory” displays the porcelain making in a series of rooms; visitors are shown the preparation of plaster casts, shaping, piercing, flower making and the various painting techniques. After the visit you’ll be invited for a coffee or tea served in Herend porcelain.

 

 

Day trip to Bratislava

We just spent a beautiful day in Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. It’s only a 2-hour drive from Budapest, and is the only capital in Europe bordering two countries; Hungary and Austria.

We started the tour at Slavin, at the memorial dedicated to the liberation of Slovakia in April 1945. We took a pleasant walk around the Bratislava Hrad, the castle which looks like an upside down table, the towers of the castle are so similar to table legs. Unfortunately the castle was almost entirely destroyed in a fire 200 years ago, still, the view from the top of the hill over Bratislava is really pretty.

We toured the quaint little old town, visited St. Martin’s Cathedral and the gorgeous Cardinal Palace topped with a giant  cardinal’s hat. We discovered the town’s unique statues, the Man at Work, the Paparazzo and of course Napoleon’s soldier, too. We also enjoyed a traditional local lunch on the main square before returning to Budapest.

 

Hungarian Wines – the Etyek-Buda Wine Region

The wine region is very often named Budapest’s vineyard because of its closeness to the capital city. It was officially formed in 1997 although local wine production originates from the Middle Ages. Due to calcareous clay soils the region is famous for the production of high acid sparkling wines.

Because of the region’s ecological environment the most important characteristic of the wines are their imparting, vibrant acidity. The best-known white types are Chardonnay, Sauvignon and Pinot Gris. Red wines are still an exception in the region but you can taste some interesting Pinot Noir and Cabernet, too.

Local winemakers are absolutely charming and would be happy to offer you not only their best selection of wines but a light lunch, too, join my “Etyek Wine Tour” to see and taste more!

 

 

Budapest Spring and Easter Fair

Don’t forget to check out the Spring and Easter Fair on Vörösmarty square, it’s open until the end of April. You can buy local, artisanal handicraft products, pottery, ceramics, jewellry and leather products. There are workshops and concerts every weekend. Also, you can taste the most fantastic treats of the Hungarian cuisine, traditional Easter dishes as ham and knuckle, and great cakes, including of course the festive  chimney cake.

 

Lake Balaton Tour

Hungarian people named the lake Balaton the Hungarian sea almost a hundred years ago. That’s where most of us spend at least a few days in the summer, go camping for a school excursion or ice skating in the winter. That’s also where many of our friends from East Germany spent their summer vacations during the communist era, but that’s an entire different story.

The lake is about 80 km long, it’s the  biggest freshwater lake in Central Europe. The water is of a very beautiful green, and is smooth and silky, no wonder that the neighborhood is the number one tourist destination of locals. It’s a holiday resort, the paradise of sailers, windsurfers and kiters, the venue of a few great summer music festivals and a perfect quiet place for chilling out.

The Lake Balaton Tour takes you to the pretty Northern shore of the lake, a mountainous region with extinct volcanoes, highlands and several wine regions. The tour also includes rarities of the Hungarian architecture, I show you around the medieval castle of Nagyvázsony, the castle-town of Veszprém and the elegant Festetics palace of Keszthely. We visit charming little towns, like Tihany, which is said to be the richest Hungarian town and Balatonfüred, where we can take a little walk at the marina.  let’s not forget about food and drink, I’ll introduce you to local farmers of the Kál basin and winemakers of the Badacsony wine region.

 

Budapest Art Nouveau

Why do I like Art Nouveau so much? Because it’s probably the one and only architecture being different in the different European countries. Every country has a special, unique and very characteristic style and it’s nicely reflected in the cities’ architecture.

I very often guide tours of Budapest Art Nouveau buildings (Art Nouveau walk), I find their architecture, their ornaments and their stories absolutely stunning. The most important caracteristics of the Hungarian Art Nouveau are  the asymmetrical shapes and curved lines, floral and plant-inspired ornamentation, animal patterns and the rich use of mosaics and ceramic tiles.

Although the period of the Hungarian Art Nouveau didn’t last too long, the colorful and richly ornate buildings looking like jewellery boxes dominate our cityscape even today. The most beautiful furnitures, tea sets and pieces of art can be found in the House of the Hungarian Art Nouveau – Magyar Szecesszio Haza.

 

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