In reviewing the Blue route from Budapest the first and most obvious thing to say is that there are a lot of trees, invariably beech, oak or locust trees, but with willows in wetter areas. Coniferous trees were rare. Trees are very nice but they do spoil the views, fortunately there are several look out towers (kilato) on the route so you can see magnificent panoramas over the top of the trees. There are also several ruined castles. Where significant parts are still standing they have excellent views over the surrounding countryside, all the better to detect signs of an attacking force.
Secondly, there is a lot of climbing, more than I expected. The hills may not be that high, but the total ascents each day can be similar to those when I walked across Switzerland, Bavaria and Austria on the E4 long distance footpath.
Thirdly, in June there were lots of mosquitoes and other insects which left me with lots of itchy bites. They made evenings wild camping an unpleasant experience. Together with the heat it made walking in March (when I walked the western part of the Blue route) a much more pleasant option.
Fourthly, in June the profusion of flowers of many colours in the meadows and alongside tracks were a delight with butterflies and bees (acceptable insects) sampling their nectar. I occasionally sighted deer and wild boar. I saw a woodpecker close up for the first time and storks in the latter part of the walk, many other birds sang to me from first light at 4:30 a.m. to last light at around 10:00 p.m..
Fifthly, the paths were well marked with blue and white waymarks on trees and posts and various signs. Paths were only occasionally overgrown with no sections of busy road and only rare muddy sections. Accommodation was more difficult to find compared with when I walked the western half of the Blue route, perhaps because after Visegrad the path goes through smaller places, villages rather than towns. In consequence I did quite a bit of wild camping. There were Vendeghaz that I could have used. These are usually self contained rooms in a building with the owner living somewhere else, so you can't simply drop by and ask for a room. Hungarians would simply ring up to book, but if you cannot speak Hungarian you have two options. One is to use Booking.com or Revngo.com, a Hungarian booking site in English. Unfortunately, many Vendeghaz are not on these sites and even using Revngo.com you are often asked to contact the owner after making a reservation to arrange at time of arrival. You can deduce other Vendeghaz exist from sites such as www.kektura-szallasok.hu or gotohungary.com/accommodation. The other option is email, you can use Google translate to produce a Hungarian version of a request for a reservation. However the exchange of emails takes time and advance planning, which reduces flexibility.
Finally, for someone from the UK, walking the route is a chance to enjoy all things Hungarian. Food has been an interest since my early childhood. In Hungary I enjoyed cold fruit soups, the little dumplings, fresh water fish like carp, outlaw soup not to forget the more famous goulash. In the shops, restaurants and little bars, everyone was friendly and helpful despite my language difficulties.
Secondly, there is a lot of climbing, more than I expected. The hills may not be that high, but the total ascents each day can be similar to those when I walked across Switzerland, Bavaria and Austria on the E4 long distance footpath.
Thirdly, in June there were lots of mosquitoes and other insects which left me with lots of itchy bites. They made evenings wild camping an unpleasant experience. Together with the heat it made walking in March (when I walked the western part of the Blue route) a much more pleasant option.
Fourthly, in June the profusion of flowers of many colours in the meadows and alongside tracks were a delight with butterflies and bees (acceptable insects) sampling their nectar. I occasionally sighted deer and wild boar. I saw a woodpecker close up for the first time and storks in the latter part of the walk, many other birds sang to me from first light at 4:30 a.m. to last light at around 10:00 p.m..
Fifthly, the paths were well marked with blue and white waymarks on trees and posts and various signs. Paths were only occasionally overgrown with no sections of busy road and only rare muddy sections. Accommodation was more difficult to find compared with when I walked the western half of the Blue route, perhaps because after Visegrad the path goes through smaller places, villages rather than towns. In consequence I did quite a bit of wild camping. There were Vendeghaz that I could have used. These are usually self contained rooms in a building with the owner living somewhere else, so you can't simply drop by and ask for a room. Hungarians would simply ring up to book, but if you cannot speak Hungarian you have two options. One is to use Booking.com or Revngo.com, a Hungarian booking site in English. Unfortunately, many Vendeghaz are not on these sites and even using Revngo.com you are often asked to contact the owner after making a reservation to arrange at time of arrival. You can deduce other Vendeghaz exist from sites such as www.kektura-szallasok.hu or gotohungary.com/accommodation. The other option is email, you can use Google translate to produce a Hungarian version of a request for a reservation. However the exchange of emails takes time and advance planning, which reduces flexibility.
Finally, for someone from the UK, walking the route is a chance to enjoy all things Hungarian. Food has been an interest since my early childhood. In Hungary I enjoyed cold fruit soups, the little dumplings, fresh water fish like carp, outlaw soup not to forget the more famous goulash. In the shops, restaurants and little bars, everyone was friendly and helpful despite my language difficulties.
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