The lovely IM of Wandergirls fame was visiting this past weekend. I suggested going for a walk in the hills, the second half of the Keszthely-Tapolca segment of the Kéktúra that I’d been snowed out of last month.
She was well up for it so off we headed, bright and early on Sunday morning.
We drove to Tapolca and left the car at the bus station, catching a local bus to Vállus and picking up the trail there.
We had two stages to do, Vállus to Lesenceistvánd and then on to Talpolca. Some 15.9 km in total, 215 m climb, and an estimated time of 4 hours 20 minutes. A walk in the park.
And it would have been.
Had we not gotten lost.
It was a misty morning. As we climbed the muddy trail up the hill, our efforts were rewarded by a breathtaking view of Badacsony and Gulács, both extinct volcanoes.
We sat for a while, looking down across the valley, savouring the moment for what it was. The pair would be our companions for the better part of the day.
I’d debated on whether to bring walking sticks with me. I was a little leery of coming down the side of a hill, my feet sliding out from under me. The combination of fallen leaves and mud was treacherous in places; I was glad I’d opted to bring just one, leaving one hand free.
Fallen trees blocked our path in places, and some of the man-made bannisters had rotted away. This was definitely the most arduous of the three walks so far.
We made it in good time to Lesenceistvánd – I’ve made a note to go back there as I missed out, big time. We didn’t take the time to go off the trail and visit St Mary’s Chapel, a mistake that needs to be rectified. It has a fascinating history. Through the village, from the main church along a 1.8km stretch to St Mary’s are the 14 stations of the cross. From what I read, they’re the brainchild of Zoltán Dancs, “a project manager from Gyenesdiás, who vowed to build exactly three Stations of the Cross in different settlements during his life, out of respect for the Holy Trinity.”
A series of miraculous apparitions are associated with the chapel: most versions of the legend mention a large walnut tree that supposedly stood on the site of the chapel. The shepherds who were passing by noticed a great light several times, and then they saw the Virgin Mary in the middle of it. The shepherds later attached a picture of the Virgin Mary to the walnut tree, and after that many people went to pray to the tree decorated with the picture. According to legend, the miraculous light was repeated several times, and as long as the Virgin Mary’s visits lasted, snow always remained under the famous walnut tree.
It was outside the village that trouble began.
We misread a sign.
I could have sworn it was an arrow pointing right up the road and not left through more woods. We walked Route 84 back and forth, looking for a way to cross over; to no avail. We ended up doubling back, walking the loop through the woods and then out the far side of the train tracks, mere yards from where we’d turned back.
Farther on, our path was blocked by an electric fence that cordoned off a farm. We could see the trail and the blue-and-white markings, but had no way to get inside and anyway, doing so would have been trespassing. We ended up walking through a copse of thorny trees and following the railway track for a good kilometre or more. Which would have been fine, had we not stumbled over a severed deer leg – and this after passing a dead deer on our previous detour. Not exactly images I wanted lodged in my brain.
I had to laugh at the sign STRAIL that lay on the tracks – I took this as a portmanteau of STRAY and TRAIL – which just about summed up how I was feeling.
In between the two turnabouts, though, we passed some gorgeous countryside, quirky houses, and mad signs.
And the inevitable holy well – this one that springs from the old vineyards of the region.
We got into Tapolca much later than planned. And while the trail ends at the train station, we’d another 15 minutes of walking to get to the car at the bus station.
And then food.
A gobsmacking 17,560 HUF (~€45) for a vegan burger, a bacon cheeseburger, and two coffees.
Ye gads!
But I was too tired to care.
IM had a three-hour train ride back to Budapest. I had a 2-hour drive through the pea-soup fog that had descended while we were eating.
Dusk. Deer. Fog. Not a great combination.
I didn’t care, though. My third venture into the hills had worked out. We were blessed with great weather and some spectacular views. And I’m getting into the contemplative side of walking.
Two segments down; 25 more to go.
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