The village shop opened at 6:30 am so I was able to pop in for some breakfast materials and food for the rest of the day. After kefir (like yoghurt) and a chocolate croissant (not as nice as it sounds) I was on my way up the first hill, through the inevitable woods but reaching a decent view point just off the path. Then it was down hill again to a flat road section by a defunct railway (with warning lights still flashing on a level crossing) into Putnok. Managed to find a slice of cake but no coffee shop. Then it was up and over the next wooded hill, diverting to what was signposted as a castle ruins (with an L shaped symbol). There was a mound and some earthworks covered in trees but that was it...
The path then dropped into Kelemer (a coke and ice cream opportunity) then a road section to the village of Gomorszolos. This village had a number of traditional looking houses with thatched roofs and carved wooden columns and fretwork along the verandas. Like Kelemer and other villages it had a museum. I did not venture in as previous experience of village museums suggested that without a knowledge of Hungarian it was not going to be enlightening. Then a change of scenery as I climbed through meadows, disturbing butterflies and insects of many colours among the long grass and wild flowers, stumbling into ruts hidden by the vegetation. The absence of trees gave a greater sense of the landscape, in that I could actually see it.
In the final village of the day, Zadorfalva, a young boy tagged on to me, despite my saying I was English and did not speak Hungarian, which usually puts people off (my appalling pronunciation is probably enough). He persisted and I ultimately realised that he wanted to take me to the stamping point. You can get booklets for the Blue route which you can stamp with a rubber stamp unique to the village or location. Quite a fun thing to do but not something I was doing ("Nem Pressio" seemed to be what I had to say). This really perplexed and disappointed the boy when he eventually gave up after following me around the village.
Finally it was up into the woods to find a spot to camp. I picked a spot on a summit in the hope that the breeze would blow away the insects, but it does not appear to have worked. ...
The path then dropped into Kelemer (a coke and ice cream opportunity) then a road section to the village of Gomorszolos. This village had a number of traditional looking houses with thatched roofs and carved wooden columns and fretwork along the verandas. Like Kelemer and other villages it had a museum. I did not venture in as previous experience of village museums suggested that without a knowledge of Hungarian it was not going to be enlightening. Then a change of scenery as I climbed through meadows, disturbing butterflies and insects of many colours among the long grass and wild flowers, stumbling into ruts hidden by the vegetation. The absence of trees gave a greater sense of the landscape, in that I could actually see it.
In the final village of the day, Zadorfalva, a young boy tagged on to me, despite my saying I was English and did not speak Hungarian, which usually puts people off (my appalling pronunciation is probably enough). He persisted and I ultimately realised that he wanted to take me to the stamping point. You can get booklets for the Blue route which you can stamp with a rubber stamp unique to the village or location. Quite a fun thing to do but not something I was doing ("Nem Pressio" seemed to be what I had to say). This really perplexed and disappointed the boy when he eventually gave up after following me around the village.
Finally it was up into the woods to find a spot to camp. I picked a spot on a summit in the hope that the breeze would blow away the insects, but it does not appear to have worked. ...
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| Meadows with flowers |
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| A butterfly on my rucksack |
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