Sunday, September 21, 2008

Hungary Photos 4

Some pictures outside of Budapest. As I said, the Balaton region is rather dull; it's the standard against which all other vacations spots should exceed. Were there no other places magnificent, exciting, or spiritual, Balaton would be a fine place to visit. And as I also said, even Balaton is endurable if you get lost off the guide book.


Many houses are made of thatch roofs. They now have plastered undersides. This is a ceramics house outside of Keszthely, on the south side of Balaton.


Here's the potter, working on a bowl.


These kitchy mushrooms are kinda cute.


These are hand painted egg shells. Similarly decorated shells can also be located in other stores in the area.


Examples of his ceramics.


More examples.


More examples.


Across the street from the ceramics shop is a furrier. This stuffed fox stands watch outside the shop.


The furrier shop.


A view of Balaton Lake. The water is somewhat greenish and slimy. There are places where it costs money to access the shore, and places where is costs money to park near the shore, but we found a place off the main track (in Balatongyorok) with both free access and free parking.


Ducks resting on the shore, nearby.


Ducks in the morning, ducks in the evening, ducks in the summertime.


Wildflowers near the shore.


A snake near the shore. It moved once, so I know that it was alive. I didn't know whether Hungarian snakes are poisonous or not, so I didn't disturb it.


Another potter at his craft.


Nearby to the potter was a glazier, another craft at which Hungarians in the area appeared to be proud.


A castle in Keszthely. Part of the castle has been turned into a hotel. The grounds were open, but the castle was closed.


Back of previous castle.


Rachel on an old fort, overlooking Lake Balaton.


A medieval fort at Szigliget, near the lake, but still being restored so not in the guidebooks. The castle was built in the 1200s, and then handed to different families as gifts throughout the ages, staying in the same family for a hundred or two hundred years at a time.

In 1698 the ammunition stocks were struck by lightning and the whole fort destroyed in the ensuing explosion.


A door in Szigliget town.


An unfathomable thing behind Szigliget. Is it a swing? An upside down boat?


View of the lake from a cafe near some artist's workshop.


Rachel at the cafe.


A peninsula in the lake near Tihany.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I have a set of those crystal wine goblets, one in each of six colors. They were wedding gifts from friends of my wife's family. They're Hungarian, and when they found out that my family was originally from Hungary, they brought those back on their next trip.