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My Travels in Hungary

My travels in Hungary began when I was in elementary school, when I had to travel to my grandparents’ house every summer for vacation.
My travels became more varied when I was in middle school. We traveled all over Hungary.
During my university years, I got to know the sights of Budapest.
As an adult, my husband and I traveled all over the country. We visited fairs and motorcycle rallies.

My travels to Hungary as a high school student

Excursions

My travels in Hungary began more interesting during my high school years. That’s when I went on the most trips. We visited countless places with the school, saw and heard so many things.

A group of young people are wandering through an old village. Only their backs are visible. On the left is a very old house with a thatched roof.
Walking through the villages.

Sometimes we stayed in hotels, other times we slept in farmhouses. Those who couldn’t fit inside slept in the barn, on straw. Sometimes we visited cities, other times we explored the countryside. Sometimes we climbed mountains, and sometimes we climbed castle walls.

Young people walk one after another along the narrow path along the castle wall. The castle wall rises high beside them. They try to cling to the castle wall.
Climbing the castle wall

These my travels in Hungary also deserve a special place on my website.

Locations: Sopron, Keszthely, Gézaháza, Csesztnek, Székesfehérvár, Kőszeg, etc.

Construction Camps

In Hungary every year, high school students were required to participate in a construction camp. These were usually held in the fall, during grape harvest season. But I also have memories of a camp in March, when it was 30 degrees Celsius. Unbelievable.

I am standing between rows of grapes, bending down to pick a bunch. In front of me is a bucket, behind me, in the next row, another bucket is tipped over.
Grape harvest – I am left alone in the row

In addition to harvesting, there was grape tying, grape picking, nut cracking, and apple picking.

A young woman wearing a hat and gardening trousers stands with her back to the camera, trying to reach the nuts on the tree with a wooden stick.
Nut cracking

The most interesting parts, however, were the evening programs and the heartfelt conversations that took place at night.

Locations: Bácsalmás, Kígyós, Tajó.

My Travels in Budapest’s Attractions

Budapest has given me countless experiences and knowledge. I went to high school and university here. I worked here for more than 10 years.

Parliament-It was a special experience in my childhood when children wthered around a huge Christmas tree. After the celebration, we were allowed to walk through the ornate rooms and see where our fate was decided.

Margaret Island – First meeting with a native English speaker here.

Four young girls are standing in a park on Margaret Island, two of them are squatting. A man is standing in the middle. There are benches in the background on the left and a fountain on the right.
English meeting on Margaret Island-my own photo (1974)

And also where they tried to teach me to swim (unsuccessfully).
Buda Castle District – Historic part of Buda, UNESCO World Heritage since 1987.

The Danube, with the embankment, houses, and trees in the background. Above it rises Buda Castle, stretching almost across the entire picture, with a dome in the center.
Buda-Castle

City Park – Heroes’ Square, Zoo, Széchenyi Baths, Museum of Fine Arts, former Amusement Park, boating in summer, ice skating in winter.
Museum of Applied Arts – Impressive domed building I saw daily as a student; visited the exhibitions a few times.
Vajdahunyad Castle – Replica of the Transylvanian original, now home to the Agricultural Museum.

In the foreground is a lake, trees on the left, and the multi-towered castle in the background.
Vajdahunyad Castle


Museum of Fine Arts – Built in Neo-Renaissance and Neoclassical styles. It looks like an ancient Greek building.
Amusement Park – No longer operating; had an Enchanted Castle, mirror maze, wooden roller coaster, and huge indoor carousel. It is said to have welcomed guests for 200 years.
Capital Circus – Saw a show once as a child.
Zoo and Botanical Garden – I visited here many times during my childhood, and later with my own children. Notable entrance with two huge stone elephants.
Heroes’ Square – Site of socialist-era May Day parades.

A monumental memorial with columns arranged in a semicircle, divided in the middle by an obelisk. On top of it stands an archangel, below which are equestrian statues of the Seven Leaders. On both sides of the colonnades are statues of historical figures. At the top of the colonnades are allegorical figures.
Heroes’ Square

ELTE Botanical Garden – Known from the novel The Paul Street Boys.

Népliget – People’s Park-During university, physical education classes were held here. I learned how to play tennis and volleyball.


Citadel – On Gellért Hill, with the Liberty Statue, UNESCO site since 1987.
Fisherman’s Bastion – A must-see in Budapest, next to Matthias Church.

A fountain in the foreground. The three pointed towers of the Fisherman's Bastion in the background.
Fisherman’s Bastion


Matthias Church – The most beautiful church I’ve ever seen.

Elizabeth Lookout, János Hill – Last time I climbed it, I had no trouble; today it would be harder.
Normafa – Budapest’s sledding and skiing area.
Cogwheel Railway – Used often in winter when buses struggled on icy roads.
Szabadság Hill, Sváb Hill –This was my workplace when I was still an assistant nurse. The hospital moved from the city center to the top of the hill, into a beautiful castle-like building. I even helped with the cleaning (removing paint from the windows) during the move. I found an article about its condition before the renovation. (But it is only in Hungarian). In the end, I couldn’t work here for long because of the distance, as I had to commute for 4 hours a day.

Keleti Railway Station – It is a huge, monumental building. Start of summer vacations to my grandparents’.

Climbing the stairs, part of the station's enormous facade comes into view. On either side of the semicircular glass section are two bastion-like structures. At the top is a group of statues.
Eastern Railway Station


Nyugati Railway Station – This is no small railway station either. The iron roof structure was unique at that time. When I arrived here, my vacation was over.

Farkasréti Cemetery – A famous cemetery where famous people (writers, actors, artists) are buried. One of my uncles is also buried here.
Fiumei Road National Graveyard – One of Hungary’s most important cemeteries.

My Travels in Hungary to Fairs (Börzék)

My husband repaired vintage motorcycles for over 20 years, so we often attended motorcycle meets and fairs across Hungary.

The boundary of the village of Regöly is marked by a sign. Two motorcyclists can be seen in the distance, riding away. There is a stork's nest on top of one of the electricity poles.
Regöly motorcycle meetup – my own photo
Motorcycle meetup spot On the left side, there are several old motorcycles, and further away, there's an old white car. People are coming and going everywhere on the street. In the background on the left side of the photo, there are two tractors on the right side.
Motorcycle-meetup-my own photo

I was more interested in antiques and old books.

A finely crafted metal basket with a metal spiral handle. The delicate metals form a peacock feather-like pattern, giving it a lace-like appearance.
Little metal basket-my own photo
A brown old book with a gold-plated circular decoration on the upper part. Below this is a gold-plated semicircular inscription in Gothic letters: Otto Roquette.
My oldest book from 1859-my own photo
6 pieces of old metal jewelry, a pair of leaf-shaped earrings, 4 brooches: one with a white flower-shaped stem, one shaped like a red-stoned butterfly, one with small oval stones, and one with square blue marble stones surrounded by ornate metal.
All kinds of jewelry from the stock exchange-my own photo

I can say that during my travels in Hungary, I visited the entire country. I could give a separate presentation on this, as I have so many memories and photos.

Most of the picture is filled with people and cars at a fair. Huge fir trees can be seen in the background.
Szigetszentmiklós Veteran Motorcycle Fair – my own photo (2005)

Regular fairs (closed): Csepel-Rákóczi Garden, Campona Parking Lot, Szigetszentmiklós Kéktó, Lőrinci Market, Szolnok CORA Parking, Siófok.
Still active: Kecskemét Gokart Track Market.
Occasional fairs: Tiszakécske, Polgárdi, Gyöngyös, Bodrogkeresztúr (Motor Museum), Pápa, Lajosmizse, Mátészalka, Kaposvár, Agárd.
Motorcycle meets: Taksony, Kiskőrös, Regöly, Akasztó, Kunmadaras (24-hour vintage motorcycle race).
Parts trips: Pécs, Sárospatak (visited the castle), Orosháza, Kaposvár, Nyúl, Pereszteg, Hatvan, Siklós, Helvécia.

Other Travels in Hungary

Fertőd – Visiting the Esterházy Palace.

The ornate metal gate of Fertőd Castle, behind which the castle can be seen. The gate has three pairs of wings, with the two central wings slightly larger than the others. Each section of the gate is topped with a metal, branch-like decoration that rises high in the center to form a dome. There are stone columns on either side of the central gate section. On top of these are stone decorations resembling hourglasses, complemented by decorations similar to those on the upper metal section of the gate. One of the wings of the right-hand gate is open.
Fertőd castle-my own photo


Gyula – One week of spa treatments with children. The Gyula Castle. Unfortunately, by the time we returned home, all my poultry had been stolen.
Keszthely – Visit to the Festetics Palace.
Kecskemét – Cifrapalota, Katona József Theater. This is the city I visited most in my life: volleyball championships during high school, medical training, fairs.
Pécs – Mosque, Zsolnay Quarter, TV tower.
Tokaj – Cellar tour with cooked pork knuckle and Tokaji wine tasting.
Zirc – Natural History Museum, Arboretum.
Sopron – Firewatch Tower, Fabricius House, Sanatorium (visiting my father-in-law), built in an arboretum.
Pannonhalma – Abbey. One of the greatest treasures of its library is the founding charter of the Tihany Abbey from 1055, the first Hungarian language record.
Tihany – Abbey.

I took this photo of the abbey in Tihany during my travels in Hungary. A tall pine tree stands in front of two church towers. In the lower left corner, there is a metal non-figurative sculpture on a tall pedestal.
Tihany-my own photo (1978)


Galyatető – Childhood trip. Hungary’s 3rd highest point at 994 meters: lookout tower.
Balatonszéplak, Balatonvilágos and Balatonlelle – Childhood and youth holiday resorts by the “Hungarian Sea.”

A family of four stands on the pier, with Lake Balaton behind them.
With my family at Lake Balaton-my own photo (1974)


Eger – Castle. Turks, István Dobó’s heroism, remembered here.
Mezőkövesd – Matyó Museum, Agricultural Machinery Museum.
Nagycenk – Széchenyi Castle.
Balatonfüred – After my heart surgery, I spent 3 weeks here – an unforgettable experience. This will be a separate story.

The hospital is a three-story white castle building. In front of it are rows of flowers and trees leaning into the picture.
Balatonfüred State Heart Hospital-

my own photo (2022)
View of Lake Balaton from the harbor. In the distance, you can faintly see the hills of the Tihany Peninsula, with the Abbey at the top.
Balatonfüred – View towards Tihany –

my own photo (2022)
Decorative arcade row designed for flowers. Approximately 20 pieces in a row. The photo was taken standing under one of them. It is 6-7 meters wide and decorated with trees standing crosswise at the top. Plants grow up the sides.
Balatonfüred-Arcade row by Lake Balaton-

my own photo (2022)
People dressed in elegant old-fashioned long dresses parade down the street. One carries a large white parasol, another pushes an old-fashioned pram. Others watch them from the right side of the street.
Balatonfüred Reform Era Festival –

my own photo (2022)
Elegant old carriages on the street. Each one has two white horses tied in front of it. People dressed in elegant old clothes sit in the carriages. Others watch them from the right side of the street.
Balatonfüred Reform Era Festival 2 –

my own photo (2022)


Nyíregyháza–Sóstó Spa – Spa. My grandmother took me here when I was very young.

Are you curious about My Travels Abroad? You can check them out here.

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