Esztergom és Visegrád

My plan to visit Veszprém this weekend changed last minute to a venture into the Pilis Hills, and the Danube bend towns of Esztergom and Visegrád (click here for the album). I guess I messed up my time calculations, and somehow got a train out of Budapest an hour earlier than I had intended. More daylight to burn! Unfortunately, very little daylight showed this morning, and overcast hung around most of the day. This made for a very chilly, short visit to Esztergom.

The main attraction for me in Esztergom was the Basilica, the largest church in Hungary - Catholic, of course. It was begun in 1822 on plans from an older, destroyed church in the same location. The designer, József Hild, also created the plans for the cathedral in Eger, which I hope to visit soon. The exterior is stunning in good light (goodsearch tells me this), but the interior is rather dark and gloomy.

Esztergom also neighbors Štúrovo, Slovakia, which lies across the Danube. My first look at it was a dark one. Regardless, the weather that morning made everything dark, but even in good light I imagine the city to be depressive. It has all the markings of industry, from tall housing blocks to numerous smokestacks and construction cranes. I didn't cross over.

My time in the Basilica was eventually disturbed by a noisy group of tourists. The women wore especially loud shoes, and all took noisy flash photos of everything. I didn't even bother going into the chapel, which I read has some fantastic examples of Italian Renaissance sculpture. Maybe when I come back in the spring.

I quickly made my way through the wind to the bus station a kilometer or so away, where I found the Volanbusz to Visegrád. The bus takes route 11 east along the Danube for 25 kilometers, where it stops briefly in this surprisingly small town. I almost didn't get off the bus at the stop, because I didn't think I was really there. In my map, Visegrád is a big-ish dot, and I hear the name often. Only a few small churches, stores and houses here. I was struck by the quiet. Sunday mornings in the winter make everything quiet here.

I found a trail leading up to Fellegvár, the Visegrád citadel, and relished the climb. Hungary does not have much for mountains, so the few hills I find excite me very much. I spent the next half-hour getting my blood pumping a little harder than I've been used to in the city. There was one uphill part so muddy that to ascend, I used the sides of the embankment to sort of half-pipe my way upwards. A lot of running.

Fellegvár offered great views of the Börzsöny hills to the north and the whole of the Danube bend. In sunlight in the spring, I imagine it's brilliant. Check out the movie for an idea of the view.



The rest of my day was used wandering around the various trails in that part of the hills. Nagy-Villám (big hill) had a huge field with wonderful views on it's head, and from Kisvillám (small hill - creative names, huh?) I could see Vác to the south, across Szentendre Island. The sun came out for good during this, and I especially liked lying on Kisvillám watching the clouds scatter. Nobody around. I was so glad.

I walked back to town after a few hours. During the day I planned another excursion to the area. Esztergom and Visegrád both lie to the north of the Pilis Hills, which is a protected national park. Between them is the town of Dömös, from which is a trail (or trails) to Dobogókő, about 6 kilometers away. Dobogókő is a tiny town sitting on a hilltop 700 meters up, and I imagine it's very beautiful in the spring. I hope to hike from Pomáz, a town on the HÉV line to Szentendre, to Dobogókő, and then to Dömös on the Danube. Maybe to Esztergom to see the Basilica in the evening.

I've been thinking about what traveling means to me recently, and if it weren't past midnight I would write about it. But I have another long day tomorrow. Practice time has been very limited recently, and my first chorus concert is tomorrow night. I don't know the music particularly well, but it's fun to sing in it, and some parts are really moving. I'm also learning some Hungarian songs there, a big plus.

Jó es!