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I always find it interesting to learn
about a place that is very famous in one part of the world but
mostly unknown everywhere else. I never heard of Lake Balaton
in Hungary but, besides being Europe's largest lake, it was evidently
THE summer spot for Europeans, going all the way back to the Romans.
With mountains to the north and and curative hot springs off the
Western edge, many writers through history have fallen in love
with the majesty of Lake Balaton. Our reporter Anna Lengyel spent
an old-time vacation at Lake Balaton, literally soaking up the
stories of those who had summered there at various times through
decades past.
Memories of Balaton
By Anna Lengyel, 8/24/2001
We are in the middle of
a yachting race on the lake. This is one of the excitements Balaton
offers. The lake is shallow and when it is windy, it gets really,
really rough. Hear? Right now it is hard to believe how calm, how
velveteen, how smooth this water can become again, the minute the
wind has dropped. The ever changing surface, the ever changing colors
of Balaton...
Peter: "Well, Hungarians are so, they are so infatuated
with Balaton."
Peter is from England. For thirty years he and his Hungarian wife,
Andrea, have regularly holidayed at Balaton. Right now it is afternoon,
the air is hot and we are sitting on their terrace on the hillside
sipping wine.
Peter: "One year we were taken to this magnificent
place...acre and a half. With a vinyard, with this beautifully designed
presshouse and...it became mine! I became the wineman who was able
to go in with the pipette, and draw the wine.. It's a marvellous
place to be!"
It is, indeed. Wherever you look, there are volcanic hills. The soil
is actually red. Perfect for wine production. The vinyards around
us run down as far as the coastline. And deep below us there is the
lake glittering - inviting us for a swim.
Looking at these happy holiday makers, it is hard to believe that
it was once quite a privilige to be able to get to this place. We
are talking of the early fifties as Andrea, Peter's wife remembers
it.
Andrea: "You must remember how terribly, terribly
rare it was for anyone like us to go on holiday at all. It just
did not figure. But one day, my mother came home absolutely delighted
and said: kids, we are going on holiday, and guess where? God, we
were ecstatic...And she said: Balaton."
Well, this Hungarian sea has seen a lot. It witnessed government-supported
mass tourism - part of the communist ideology - which meant that everything
was simple and cheap. Shabby pavillions lined the beaches selling
their two or three kinds of meals or snacks. In the limited number
of restaurants the waiter was an absolute king. You had to ingratiate
yourself to him to get a table. But sunshine and the soothing lake
were guaranteed, and people were content.
And then, when the wall in Berlin was built, Hungary and definitely
Balaton witnessed many dramatic family reunions. Germans living
on both sides of the wall were actually permitted to use this resort
as a meeting place and they took this chance, of course, even if
their reunion did not last longer than a fortnight.
East German, Czech or Hungarian families often stayed under the
Same roof in the locals' houses , jammed together. As for the locals
they would all try to sleep in one tiny-tiny room. They'd rent off
the rest of the house room by room and the holiday makers would
happily or unhappily share the tiny kitchen , the Nonexisting bathroom...the
balcony and so on.
Peter: "It is a steep plot, yes, and a very heavy
wheelbarrow. But it keeps me fit...and then we get on the top of
my vineyard...One can feel very isolated here in the positive sense
of the word...the houses are not too close together and you have
plenty of space in which to breathe."
Looking down from here, it seems the place has remained untouched
in course of the centuries. Which is of course, not fully true. The
new 'capitalism' in the last 10 years has left its traces on the settlements.
Andrea: "What is really amazing for me is that
when we go cycling in tiny little villages that hardly ever had
any public places other than the village pub, would now boast several
guest houses, maybe a small hotel and certainly half a dozen restaurants
with good food, clean kitchen and real toilets..."
Peter: I'm proud to be able to be a co-owner of
such a vineyard, on a teacher's salary. In England, you know, this
would be a total dream. I often refer to this place as the 'poor
man's Tuscany.'"
I am sure not all Hungarians would find Balaton as cheap as Peter
does. And anyway, they have discovered the joy of spending their holiday
abroad - so the lake is perhaps not the absolute number one resort
for locals anymore.
Andrea: "But for me the new excitement is coming back
and finding all the new things every year and having to explore
very happily what has been created, and of course, being reunited
with my friends and i am very happy to be able to host a lot of
the reunions in this wonderful place."
At Lake Balaton, in
Hungary, I'm Anna Lengyel Nagy, for the Savvy Traveler.
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