Totallympics Annual International Song Contest 2022

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On the Hungarian National Blue Trail

Írott-kő (Geschriebenstein) and the Kőszeg Mountains

 

 

We begin our journey on the Western starting point of the trail, Írott-kő, the highest point of both Western Hungary and Burgenland, right on the Austrian-Hungarian border. "Írott-kő" means "written in stone" in English. The name supposedly originates from stones of an old border between two noble families, the Batthyánys and the Esterházys. You can continue your hike here to Austria on the Alpannonia hiking trail.

 

Írott-kő

 

As you can probably guess based on our glorious alpine skiing results, the mountains in Hungary are more like hills compared to the Alps or the Carpathians, and Írott-kő isn't an exception with its 884 meters height. But it was part of the Iron Curtain not that long ago, so there's something special about how you can go for a nice hike and cross a border that once separated the world. You won't find anything resembling the Iron Curtain here, just the 100-year-old border stones that were placed in 1922, two years after the signing of the Trianon treaty. 

 

Kőszeg Mountains

 

You might wonder where the name "Kőszeg" comes from. It's the name of a city next to the Mountain, and it means "stone nail" in English. Around 10 thousand people live in this small city and sure enough we got a castle in here. We don't know when exactly the Jurisics Castle was first built, the first mention of the castle goes back to 802. The name of the castle comes from its Croatian Captain Nikola Jurisic who defended the castle with 700-800 Croatian soldiers against the Ottoman army in 1532.

 

 

The trail goes south to reach Lake Balaton, I hope you like castles because there are more of them along the way. The most notable one is the Castle of Sümeg, which was built in the mid 13th century by Béla IV of Hungary.

 

Castle of Sümeg

 

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On the Hungarian National Blue Trail

Lake Balaton

 

 

We don't have the pretty Mediterranean coast of Croatia, but who needs the sea when you got Lake Balaton! The lake, which is often called the Hungarian sea, is the largest in Central Europe and it's Hungary's #1 tourist attraction outside of Budapest. I sure have spent many summers at this lake which has always provided a cheap vacation destination for many Hungarians. Everyone must have some fond memories of this lake in Hungary, we have all been there, we have all ate at least one lángos at Balaton. 

 

 

But what else can you do at Lake Balaton besides, you know, go to the beach and eat a lángos? Well, there are many events you can partake of, one of our largest music festivals, the Balaton Sound takes place during the summer at Zamádi every year (when there isn't a pandemic). We got sport events as well, like the Balaton Cross Swimming, a 5.2 kilometers long open water swimming even where you cross the Balaton, from Révfülöp to Balatonboglár. And the largest Hungarian sailing race of the year is also unsurprisingly at the Balaton, the Blue Ribbon race, which was first held in 1934.

 

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Lángos with cheese & Ketchup in Balaton yummy

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On the Hungarian National Blue Trail

The Regions of Lake Balaton

 

 

The hiking trail enters the regions of Balaton at Keszthely and then goes East, North of the lake. One of the main attractions at Keszthely is the Festetics Palace, which I am sure the Giro will show you during Stage 3. The Palace was built during the 18th century. The baroque style palace is now the home of a museum and it's also a hotel. You will also find a lookout tower as you move along the hiking trail that bears the name of Festetics, you can view Balaton and its surrounding mountais at the Festetics lookout tower.

 

Festetics Palace

 

Festetics lookout tower

 

We will hike north of lake, through the Bakony, a mountainous region. Here you will come across more castles (wow, what a surprise!) and also the Zirc Abbey, which was established in 1182. The abbey has a marvelous library of 60 thousand highly valuable books.  Next to Zirc you will find the Devil's ditch (Ördög árok), which part of a chine in the Bakony. Close to it you can also come across a small, natural waterfall during the rainy season.

 

Devil's ditch

 

Vértes and Gerecse are the next regions that the trail crosses before reaching Budapest. Vértes is most notable for a military victory against the German army in 1051 which happened here. This was a significant victory for the Hungarian Kingdom which was still in its infancy, they were able to protect their land against German invaders thus signaling that Hungarians are strong enough to push back against a larger invading force in the Carpathian basin. 

 

Alcsút Arboretum at Vértes

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On the Hungarian National Blue Trail

Hármashatár Mountain and the panorama of Budapest

 

 

Nice, we have arrived to the capital! The trail doesn't exactly go into the city, but if you have visited Budapest you know that Buda is quite mountainous so there's plenty of opportunity to hike near the city. One of these "mountains" is Hármashatár-hegy, where you can see the panorama of Budapest. This panorama, no matter where you see it, here or at some other high point in Buda, is one of the city's most protected sights. We don't have skyscrapers because the city won't allow it, they have to preserve the panorama as it is.

 

 

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Let's Rest for a Bit

 

 

You should take a short break once in a while on every hiking trip , constantly moving from one place to another is quite monotonous If you never catch your breath. So sit down, breathe in the fresh air and listen to some music, this the opening ceremony of a song contest after all. Our next performers are the most successful Hungarian artists of the annual TISC editions. Gergő Rácz and Reni Orsovai were 8th in the 2020 annual edition of the contest and now there are back with their 2021 single, A titkod nem leszek!

 

Gergő Rácz x Reni Orsovai - A titkod nem leszek

 

 

 

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On the Hungarian National Blue Trail

Visegrád and the Danube Bend

 

 

V4, assemble! It’s time to cross the Danube and leave Western Hungary behind. Here we are in the former capital of the Hungarian Kingdom, Visegrád and one of the most well-known sights in Hungary, the Danube Bend. Sure, it’s only a curve of the Danube, which was created by volcanic activity 15 million years ago, but the sight is truly majestic, no matter which season of the year you visit it. Next to the Danube is Visegrád and its citadel, which was built 800 years ago. The town is the symbolic capital of the Visegrad Group, an alliance of four Central European countries, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia.

 

Danube Bend

 

Visegrád Citadel

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On the Hungarian National Blue Trail

Hollókő

 

 

As we leave Visegrád and its region, the Börzsöny, we slowly reach Cserhát, the next region of Northeast Hungary. The most notable place of Cserhát is Hollókő, an UNESCO World Heritage site. Hollókő is a Palóc ethnographic village, its name means “Raven stone” in Hungarian. Visiting this village is like traveling back to older, simpler times, many of its current houses were first built in the 17th century. Remember that Easter video I shared with you a few weeks ago? Yep, that was from Hollókő. The Easter festival is one of the village main events. And yes, we got another castle here because of course we do.

 

 

Hollókő

 

Castle of Hollókő

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On the Hungarian National Blue Trail

Kékes, Mátra

 

 

The next region is the Mátra, where you can hike up the highest point in Hungary, to the Kékes. You need some proper gear for this hike, it’s like climbing the Himalaya. I mean, it’s 1,014 meters high, bring your oxygen tanks, you fools! Joking aside, it’s a nice hike and it’s also the most challenging one in Hungary, which doesn’t say much to you if you hike in Austria for example, but, you know, this is what we got here. There is a ski resort here which is sometimes active during the winter and also a TV tower, which also used as a lookout tower for tourists. On the top of the mountain you can find a stone painted in the national colors of Hungary signaling that this is highest point in the country.

 

Kékes

 

The stone on the top of the mountain

 

 

Before we move on I have to mention that the Kékes is also the most challenging finish of the Tour do Hongrie, this is where the overall classification is decided. Attila Valter had his big breakthrough moment here in 2020, he won the Tour de Honrie with an amazing finish and then one year later he became the most successful Hungarian cyclists at the Giro.

 

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On the Hungarian National Blue Trail

Lillafüred, Bükk

 

 

After the Márta we come across the Bükk. You can climb similarly high mountains here as in the Mátra, but I have decided to visit a different kind of place this time. North of Miskolc you can find a resort called Lillafüred. It’s one of the most beautiful places I have ever visited in Hungary, we got a 20th century palace here, a hanging garden, a waterfall, three caves to explore, a large lake, and many other places. And also the Lillafüred Forest Train which can help you visit various locations near Miskolc.

 

 

Lillafüred and the Hámori lake

 

Lillafüred, hanging garden

 

The Forest Train