Monday, June 26, 2006

Hungarian Countryside - Wine, Hot Springs & Palaces

Most visitors to Hungary do not venture beyond Budapest or, at times, the Balaton. A real waste, because Hungarian countryside is a delight. With good roads and varied landscape, you are in for many an enjoyable surprise here: former landowners' palaces, hot springs where you soak full-body in hot mineral water, pretty villages on undulating hills, vineyards, lovely roadside restaurants, akin to the French rustic auberges. The language may be a doozie, but everything can be solved with body language and a phrasebook - I swear by mine!



Just a few things we enjoyed on our countryside drives in Hungary:

  • soaking in the 4 square kilometers of radon water of the world's largest thermal lake in Hévíz;
  • kicking back in the Hungarian Baroque town of Keszthely;
  • lavish wild game dinners at the Bacchus Restaurant (things like deer's leg in blueberry sauce!);
  • staying 2 nights at the Wine Museum;
  • the gracious Festetitcs Palace and its peaceful park;
  • boat trip, midday dips and the sunset on the Balaton Lake;
  • visiting Imre Kálmán's hometown of Siófok;
  • driving around in the
  • Hungarian countryside full of undulating hills, windmills, white chapels, tranquil rivers, red-roof and thatched houses, wine cellars and hot springs;
  • the magnificent Esterházy Palace which would not be out of place somewhere in France;
  • the twee town of Sopron and savoring scrumptuous Hungarian cakes on its main square;
  • garlic soup served in a bread bun

  • ***




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    Budapest - Szentendre - Siófok - Keszthely - Hévíz - Ptuj - Nova Cerkev - Celje - Predjama - Trieste - Duino - Izola - Gorizia - Bovec - Bled - Ljubljana - Maribor - Graz - Sopron - Fertöd -Törökbálint - Budapest

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