Today's highlight was a visit to the Csolt archaeological site, the remainder of the day was passing fields large and small, extensive grassland and following rivers, largely hidden by trees.
Although everything is usually closed Sundays, the number of people riding bikes this morning suggested something was open in Veszto, so I headed to town centre. The fountains were already on and I was rewarded by an expresso and a sort of chocolate and coconut roll, rather heavy for this time of the morning. The waitress was writing up the latest lottery winning numbers on a poster on the wall as I ate. After seeing the highly mechanised harvesting of maize yesterday, today, near the edge of town, I saw a farmer and his wife cutting cobs by hand and throwing them into the trailer of an aged tractor. Quite a contrast.
Following a pleasant route beside a drainage canal (or maybe a canalised river) I reached the Csolt archaeological site. This included an open excavation showing skeletons and pottery from different periods, at different depths, in the locations in which they were discovered. Neolithic artefacts were at the deepest level followed by copper age and bronze age at progressively shallower levels and at the top, material from when there was a medieval church then monastery on the site. Explanations in the adjoining museum were in English as well as Hungarian which really helped. There was also a cafe, which of course I made use of, and a shaded picnic area by the river. A floating jetty allows you to view the pond weed on the river close up. The river no longer seems to be flowing, maybe a remnant from before the swamps were drained and the Sebes-Koros river confined to within its embankments.
As I continued on the Kektura the river was on one side and large fields or grassland on the other, but the river was invisible behind trees and thick vegetation. Rosehips and hawthorn provided spatters of red while the swollen purple-black sloes provided more subtle colour. The leaves of the white poplar fluttered green and white in the breeze. Occasional deer and hares shot off as I passed, the deer leaping over the higher grass, the hares making themselves invisible in some distant hollow.
I came across two bikes propped up and a couple lying in the grass in the Sunday afternoon sun. She hastily put her top on, I said a cheery "Jo Napot" and hastily pressed on, feeling guilty for disturbing their peace.
After the Vidra restaurant (no food, only drinks) I followed the main Sebes-Koros river to a spot marked on Google maps as a campsite. It is a wild campsite and a rare place where you can you can actually see the river where there are gaps between the trees. One family was camped there already but as it was a pleasant spot I camped out of their sight a little further along. I ate my tea while watching the sluggish flow of the river, listening to the "plops" presumably made by fish although I saw only ripples spreading outwards. As dusk approached the mosquitoes started to bite so I retreated to my tent, where I continued to hear the croaks of frogs among the sound of crickets.
Although everything is usually closed Sundays, the number of people riding bikes this morning suggested something was open in Veszto, so I headed to town centre. The fountains were already on and I was rewarded by an expresso and a sort of chocolate and coconut roll, rather heavy for this time of the morning. The waitress was writing up the latest lottery winning numbers on a poster on the wall as I ate. After seeing the highly mechanised harvesting of maize yesterday, today, near the edge of town, I saw a farmer and his wife cutting cobs by hand and throwing them into the trailer of an aged tractor. Quite a contrast.
Following a pleasant route beside a drainage canal (or maybe a canalised river) I reached the Csolt archaeological site. This included an open excavation showing skeletons and pottery from different periods, at different depths, in the locations in which they were discovered. Neolithic artefacts were at the deepest level followed by copper age and bronze age at progressively shallower levels and at the top, material from when there was a medieval church then monastery on the site. Explanations in the adjoining museum were in English as well as Hungarian which really helped. There was also a cafe, which of course I made use of, and a shaded picnic area by the river. A floating jetty allows you to view the pond weed on the river close up. The river no longer seems to be flowing, maybe a remnant from before the swamps were drained and the Sebes-Koros river confined to within its embankments.
As I continued on the Kektura the river was on one side and large fields or grassland on the other, but the river was invisible behind trees and thick vegetation. Rosehips and hawthorn provided spatters of red while the swollen purple-black sloes provided more subtle colour. The leaves of the white poplar fluttered green and white in the breeze. Occasional deer and hares shot off as I passed, the deer leaping over the higher grass, the hares making themselves invisible in some distant hollow.
I came across two bikes propped up and a couple lying in the grass in the Sunday afternoon sun. She hastily put her top on, I said a cheery "Jo Napot" and hastily pressed on, feeling guilty for disturbing their peace.
After the Vidra restaurant (no food, only drinks) I followed the main Sebes-Koros river to a spot marked on Google maps as a campsite. It is a wild campsite and a rare place where you can you can actually see the river where there are gaps between the trees. One family was camped there already but as it was a pleasant spot I camped out of their sight a little further along. I ate my tea while watching the sluggish flow of the river, listening to the "plops" presumably made by fish although I saw only ripples spreading outwards. As dusk approached the mosquitoes started to bite so I retreated to my tent, where I continued to hear the croaks of frogs among the sound of crickets.
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| Carving from the museum at the Csolt archaeological site |
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| Wide expanse of grassland |
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