Jurnal de calatorie in Ungaria

Jurnal de calatorie in Ungaria

S-a intamplat ca dupa o premiera de teatru si inainte sa incep un nou proiect sa am cateva zile libere. L-am intrebat pe Radu daca isi poate face si el timp sa iesim din Bucuresti, si cum raspunsul a fost afirmativ, ca niste parinti inconstienti ce suntem, am scutit copilul pentru 5 zile de la gradinita si am pornit-o brambura prin Ungaria.

EN: It just so happened that, after a theatre premiere and before starting a new project, I had a few days off. I asked Radu if he could find the time for us to leave Bucharest and since I got a positive answer, like the crazy parents we are, we excused the child from kindergarten for 5 days and we left for Hungary.

Recunosc ca, desi sunt vecinii nostri, pana la 33 de ani impliniti nu mai vazusem nimic altceva din Ungaria in afara de Budapesta. De aici si curiozitatea de a descoperi acum o zona noua a acestei tari, despre care mai citisem pe diverse site-uri de travel, mai precis cea din nord-est. Culmea e ca orase precum Debrecen sau Tokaj sunt extrem de cunoscute pentru cei care locuiesc in Oradea sau Satu Mare, dar “exotice” pentru cei din Bucuresti. Si ca sa profitam la maximum de zilele libere in Ungaria, am decis ca mai bine mergem cu avionul pana in Budapesta si de acolo sa inchiriem o masina, cu care sa avem libertate de miscare.

Zis si facut. Am zburat 1 ora jumate, am ajuns la Budapesta, si fix din parcarea aeroportului ne-am suit in masina inchiriata cu care am plecat mai departe in excursie. In doua ore am ajuns in Debrecen, unde aveam cazarea. Bine, intre Oradea si Debrecen e un drum doar de 1 ora si 20 minute! Adica, cam cat iti ia sa traversezi Bucurestiul la o ora de varf.

In Debrecen am stat la un hotel superb, transformat dintr-o veche moara. Iar oraselul Debrecen a fost muuuult peste orice asteptari. E foarte frumos, cu o multime de obiective turistice care merita vizitate. Am stat 3 zile acolo si nu am apucat sa vizitam tot ce ne propusesem in oras si imprejurimi, atat de multe optiuni exista. Dar tot pot sa va fac niste recomandari:.

1. Trebuie neaparat sa vizitati orasul Debrecen, cu ale sale cladiri vechi si alei pietonale (care cred ca vor arata superb de sarbatori). Sa va cumparati bilet pentru a urca pana sus in Biserica Reformata, pentru ca aveti ce vedea. Turnul de apa si tot parcul dimprejur merita deasemenea vizitate. E minunat cum au reusit sa renoveze turnul si cum l-au transformat intr-o atractie pentru turistii de pretudindeni.
2. Daca ajungeti in zona nu aveti cum sa ratati baile cu apa termala si piscinele cu tobogane pentru copii. Exista un astfel de centru cu bazine chiar in Debrecen (langa Turnul de Apa) si altul, mai mare, in Hajdúszoboszló. Noi am fost in ambele, dar chiar de 2 ori in cel din Hajdúszoboszló. In bazinele cu apa termala nu au voie copii mai mici de 14 ani, dar tot au multe alte piscine cu apa incredibil de calda in care sa se distreze pana seara.
3. Zona Hortobágy, cu lacul Tisza, merita iarasi vizitata. Noi am petrecut o zi intreaga pe acolo, plimbandu-ne prin Parcul National Hortobagy, unde ai multe locuri din care poti pandi diverse pasari (pentru Vlad a fost super interesant, iar pentru noi un prilej excelent sa il facem sa stea linistit, cat mai tacut, pentru vreo… 5 minute?!). Am vizitat chiar si un spital de pasari! Apoi, am facut un picnic pe malul lacului, cu produse cumparate de la un magazin local, care a fost foarte placut pentru toti 3. In dreapta si in stanga noastra era plin de pescari, deci cine are aceasta pasiune sa nu isi uite undita acasa. Zona Hortobagy are peisaje superbe si e locul ideal daca vreti o escapada linistita alaturi de familie.

Dupa cele 3 nopti petrecute in Debrecen, am plecat catre Tokaj, unde am dormit ultimele 2 nopti ale acestei excursii. Doua zile au fost iarasi insuficiente pentru tot ce aveam pe lista noastra de calatori, dar chiar si asa, tot am strans amintiri foarte frumoase. Asadar, daca ajungeti in Tokaj:

1. O sa va surprinda extrem de placut oraselul. Este mai mic decat Debrecen, dar centrul cu case vechi si alei pietruite are un farmec deosebit. Iar pentru ca zona este recunoscuta pentru vinuri, la tot pasul vei intalni crame vechi unde se pot degusta vinurile lor. Noi nu am intrat cu Vlad intr-o astfel de crama, in schimb am savurat vinul de Tokaj in timpul meselor (apropo, incercati tot ce este traditional unguresc, nu veti regreta – galushka cu ciocolata m-a innebunit!). Daca va plac vinurile dulci, cum imi plac mie, aveti o multime de variante dintre care sa alegeti, chiar si pentru prietenii de acasa 😉
2. Sosto Zoo din Nyiregyhaza – un  orasel la vreo 30 de min de Tokaj este minunata, pentru copii si parinti deopotriva. Girafele, elefantii, cangurii si panda rosii au fost in topul preferintelor familiei Dragomir. Multa lume mi-a recomandat aceasta gradina zoologica pe Instagram si Facebook, si chiar merita vizitata.
3. Tot in zona puteti merge la Zemplén Adventure Park, dar noi am ajuns prea tarziu ca sa mai prindem deschis bobul pe sine.

In toata aceasta zona de nord-est a Ungariei, lui Radu si mie ne-au sarit in ochi nenumaratele campinguri sau locuri de campare pentru rulote! Asadar, ne-am propus ca la primavara-vara sa ne intoarcem in zona si cu rulota. Ne-am imaginat campand printre vii, lasand copilul sa exploreze in natura, in timp ce noi – parintii – degustam vinuri 🙂

EN: I admit that, even though they are our neighbors, up until the age of 33 I had never seen anything else in Hungary except for Budapest. Hence my curiosity to discover a new part of thus country, which I had read about before on different travel websites, to be more precise rge North-Eastern part. Funny thing is towns like Debrecen or Tokaj are extremely well-known by those who live in Oradea or Satu Mare, but rather “exotical” for those of us coming from Bucharest. And to make the most of our time off in Hungary, we decided it would be best to fly to Budapest and rent a car from there, so we could move around easily.

Which we did. The flight was about one and a half hours, we got to Budapest and jumped in our rented car, which took us further on our trip. It was a two hours drive to Debrecen, where we had our room booked. Well, it’s only a 1 hour and 20 minutes drive from Oradea to Debrecen! Which is about what it would take to pass through Bucharest during rush hour.

In Debrecen we stayed at a beautiful hotel, transformed from an old mill. And the town of Debrecen was waaaaaay over our expectations. It’s very beautiful, with lots of tourist attractions worth visiting. We stayed there for 3 days and we didn’t get to visit everything we wanted to both in the town, and in its surroundings, that’s how many options there are. But I can make you some recommendations:

1. You must visit the town of Debrecen, with its old buildings and narrow streets (which I think will look lovely during the holidays). Buy a ticket to go up on the Reformed Church, because the sight is worth it. The water tower and the park surrounding it are also worth visiting. It’s wonderful how they managed to refurbish the tower and how they transformed it into a tourist attraction.  
2. If you get there, you can’t miss the thermal baths and the pools with waterslides for the kids. There is such a center with pools right in Debrecen (next to the Water Tower) and another bigger one in Hajdúszoboszló. We went to both, actually twice in the one from Hajdúszoboszló. Kids under the age of 14 aren’t allowed in the thermal water pools, but still they have lots of other pools with unbelievably warm water, where they can have fun all day long.
3. The Hortobágy area, the Tisza lake are also worth visiting. We spent an entire day there, walking around the Hortobagy National Park, where you have many spots for bird watching (that was very interesting for Vlad, and for us it was a perfect opportunity to get him to stay still and quiet for about… 5 minutes?!). We even visited a bird hospital. then, we had a picnic on the lake shore, with products we bought from a local market, which was very pleasant for all 3 of us. There were many fishermen all around us, so whoever has this passion shouldn’t forget his/ her fishing line. The Hortobagy area has wonderful sceneries and is the ideal place if you’re looking for a quiet family getaway.

After the 3 nights spent in Debrecen, we left towards Tokaj, where we slept for the last 2 nights of this trip. Two days were also insufficient for everything on our travel list, but even so, we made some beautiful memories. So, if you ever get to Tokaj:

1. You’ll be extremely surprised by the small town. It’s smaller than Debrecen, but the center with old houses and sidewalks has a special charm. And since the area is well-known for its wines, you’ll find everywhere old wine houses where you cant taste their wines. We didn’t enter in a wine house with Vlad, but we did enjoy the Tokaj wine during our meals (by the way, you should try everything that;s traditional Hungarian, you won’t regret it- the chocolate galushka is to die for!). If you like sweet wines, like I do, you have lots of options to choose from, even for your friends back home;)
2. Sosto Zoo from Nyiregyhaza – a little town about 30 min away from Tokaj is wonderful, both for children and parents. The giraffes, elephants, kangaroos and red pandas were our top favorites. A lot of people recommended this zoo on Instagram and Facebook, and really is worth visiting.
3. Also in this area you can go to Zemplén Adventure Park, but we got there too late to catch the track bob open.

In all the North-Eastern part of Hungary, Radu and I noticed countless camping parks for trailers! So, we want to go back there in the spring or summer. We have already imagined ourselves camping in the vineyards, with the child exploring around nature, while us- parents- are tasting wines:)