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| Inside the wine cellar |
Leaving Slovakia's High Tatra mountains, we travelled south to the Tokaj wine region which
stretches between southern Slovakia and northern Hungary. It is the oldest
classified wine region in Europe — older than Bordeaux in France, Porto in
Portugal, and Chianti in Italy.
In
Tokaj, we found a local winery called Tokaj and Co. We were able to arrange
what turned out to be, an amazing tour of their cellars.
The
cellars are made of tufa and date back to the 14th century. They went deep into
the ground and branched off in all directions for more than 2.5 kilometres.
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| Tokaj wine cellar purchase |
We
had a wine tasting, and the custom is that whatever you have left over in your
glass, you throw against the cellar walls. All the walls are mouldy and damp,
and have coins pressed into them. Supposedly, the damp helps the wine maturation
process. They must have had a lot of tastings down there over the years!
We
lashed out and bought an extremely nice bottle of their wine which we’ll keep,
or we may just have to drink it on some memorable occasion quite soon!
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| Slovakian village road |
Leaving Tokaj village, we asked a couple of locals for directions to the next village,
and they pointed us to a side road.
No
doubt they are still laughing, because we bumped our way for about 6 kms, down a
local back road that had more potholes than hard surfaces.
We
made it out of there, but we’re not sure if the destination village was worth
the effort, so we found the main road again and trucked on, muttering curses
about ghastly Slovakian roads.
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| White wine in a re-cycled plastic bottle from an Eger cellar door |
Very
soon after, we crossed the border into Hungary where the roads started to
improve slightly, much to our motorhome’s relief.
We
then arrived at the gorgeous town of Eger. We found Tulipán Camping Eger, a
nice campsite only 1 kilometre from the old city centre. It was green and
relaxing.
We found a hole-in-the-wall wine cave nearby, that provided tasting opportunities. There are many of them dotted around the area, mostly built into the town walls and running under the township.
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| Marg in Eger |
Needless
to say, we had to sample some. You try some wine from the barrel, then they sell it to you in recycled bottles. We ended up buying a 1.5 litre plastic Nes-tea
bottle, filled with the local white brew, all for 750 Florints – just under
NZ$6!!
Eger
is a very lovely city. It's known for its castle, thermal baths, historic
buildings, and red and white wines.
We
walked the cobbled streets, had coffee at one of its many kávé houses, and
visited the Castle of Eger, and a 17th century Turkish minaret that has
survived to the present time.
Reluctantly, we left Eger the next day, headed for Budapest. This proved to be one of the easier
big cities to drive into. Perhaps because our chosen campsite, Arena
Camping, was on the outskirts and directly off the highway.
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| Budapest - Queen of the Danube |
The
campsite was a pleasant haven of trees and quiet, until we discovered the
dreaded railway track just over the back. Maybe we are getting used to train
noises, because after the first night, it didn’t seem to be too bad (at least
not as bad as Vienna!).
The
next morning, we had a short walk and a quick metro ride into Budapest, 'Queen of the
Danube'. The city is split into two parts, on either side of the River – Buda,
with its hills and castles; and Pest, with its eclectic architecture.
We
wandered around Pest first, which is the larger side. In this area, we got to
the old inner city, and wandered around there for most of the day.
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Vigado Concert Hall
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We
walked Andrássy Boulevard which the Hungarians see as the Champs-Elysées of
Budapest. Nearby we found the Opera House, and the area around Heroes’ Square
which includes the famous Széchenyi Baths, and Vajdahunyad Castle.
We
really enjoyed the neo-Gothic Parliament building with its beautiful gardens.
We wanted to see inside this amazing structure, but unfortunately, we couldn't get
tickets as they were sold out!
We
also found the Vigado Concert Hall beautiful with Hungarian folk motifs,
crests, busts and statues of Hungarian heroes, all depicted in its design.
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| Lunch at Fisherman's Bastion |
After
wandering around for ages, and resting now-and-again at one of the many cafes,
we headed back to camp, tired but happy with our day.
The
next morning saw us back on the metro for another day in Budapest. Crossing the
famous Chain Bridge, we headed for the Buda side.
We
loved Buda. This old town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and full of lovely
cobbled streets, attractive coloured houses, and a medieval, neo-Classical
mixture of architecture, all set in the hills.
We
walked up and around Castle Hill, and spent some time wandering around the
large and imposing Buda Castle at the top.
Then
went to Fisherman’s Bastion. During the Middle Ages, a rampart on the site of
the current Bastion, was defended by the guild of fishermen who lived nearby.
Hence the name of the place.
We
enjoyed lunch sitting on the café balcony, overlooking the Danube, and the
beautiful parliament building on the opposite bank. It was a lovely place to
take a break.
Later,
feeling tired from all of our walking, we found a boat and took a cruise on the
Danube. The perfect way to finish the day.
We
loved all the old buildings, the history and the Danube, and are sad to move on. When we leave Budapest, we head south-west to Siofok, which is on the edge of Lake
Balaton.
This blog describes part of our 7 month campervan trip around central and southern Europe, which began in Germany.