Hungary: Kékes (12/28)

We had actually already driven through Hungary but made a snap decision to climb the Polish and Slovakian peaks first in order to hit a good weather window.

On our first pass through Hungary we stopped at Miskolctapolca cave bath. I had read good reviews about this and was under the impression this was a hydrothermal pool/spa in a cave. However, when we arrived it looked rather more like a kid’s pool party, I'm not sure how much of the cave was actually real but I don't think I would recommend it to anyone else. Although apparently people make a trip from Budapest just to visit it. However it served a showering purpose and we headed on to Slovakia.

After completing the Slovakian and Polish peaks we drove back into Hungary and headed for a campsite in Eger, mainly to use a shower, but also to visit a wine region known as "The Valley of the Beautiful Women". Here, cellars carved into the soft rhyolite rock, serve wine supplied from the surrounding vineyards.

Apparently these artificial caves are an ideal temperature for storing wine and the mold which grows on the internal walls adds to the taste. Luckily our campsite, which was only £10 a night, was only a 5min walk from the cellars, bargain! Unfortunately just as we headed out it started to rain so we made a dash to the nearest cellar. Wine tasting in Hungary doesn't seem to work the same way as it does in South Africa. Instead of paying for a tasting you just seem to pick a wine from a list and buy a glass. This is OK as it worked out as 42p per glass. We chose a sweet red which was a little tangy then headed onto the next cellar.

Here we tried two more local wines but unfortunately not the famous "bull’s blood". We decided three was enough and headed back to the campsite. Apparently we haven't mastered the Hungarian word for 'thank you' as the waitress laughed at our attempts. We made a quick stop for ice-cream which turned out to be more expensive than all the wine but still quite cheap.

The next morning, after we did some van chores, we headed for the highest peak. You can basically drive to the top and after a couple of hundred metres walk we were at 1014m.

There is also a tower which you can pay to climb to the viewing deck. We decided to also do this and admired the flat scenery of Hungary.

After another ice-cream we headed back to the car and drove towards Lake Batalon. We were there in time to sit by the lake and watch the sunset whilst some ducks floated by.

The next morning we left early to avoid paying for parking and visited the Tapolca lake cave which was in the direction of Slovenia. Again there was no English tour, but it seemed to be very comprehensive. We were wondering why the tour seemed confined to the visitor center for the first hour but soon realised that the actual section of the cave above water is very minimal.

The cave was discovered in 1870 and was quickly explored by cave divers pictured wearing only speedos and rudimentary breathing apparatus. The exploration continues today with underwater digging to try and connect two areas of the cave.

Eventually we entered the actual cave and after a few flights of steps we reached the queue for the tin boats. The most exciting bit of the tour is paddling a short circuit of cave with a low roof. I thought this was very fun and novel. I was also pleased that the boat man let us go for a second circuit. The water was lovely and clear and I can see why people were keen to cave dive in it, apparently some underwater areas are also fed by hydrothermal springs which may explain the speedos..

After the tour we headed back to the car and in the direction of Slovenia for the next peak.