Geocaching holiday in Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg county

Last year we were visiting roughly the same area as we did this year, but having booked 4 nights in a hotel in Nyíregyháza we had far too much motoring, even before seeing anything or finding any caches.  So this year I looked for a B&B in the middle of the area we intended to visit and ended up in the small town of Fehérgyarmat.

Nagykálló Calvinist Church

We struck lucky: the B&B was spacious, modern (almost brand new), with fast Wi-Fi and a lovely kitchen right next door. Unfortunately no air conditioning, but we just about survived.  The heatwave was fierce, so we tended to get very tired by the end of each day.

A Makovecz building at Harangod

We travelled down fast on the motorway and only came off it about an hour's drive from our destination. We bagged 10 caches on the first day, which was not bad and saw a few interesting places to boot. They included a couple of town walks, a castle, some churches and chateaux with parks and a pilgrimage church dedicated to the Virgin Mary.

The pilgrims' cathedral at Máriapócs

Another interesting aspect was that I spotted a small, abandoned looking cemetery in one of the little towns we cached in and assumed it was a Jewish one.  This gave Roy and idea, that should we spot any more, we could stop and photograph it.

Nyírbátor castle

We actually photographed 4 during our stay there: 1 with 10 graves, one with 4 graves, another with about 70 graves and finally one with 27 graves. The last two were done on our way home and more about that later.

One of the many carriages at Mátészalka Museum

On Day 2 (our first full day at our accommodation), we had 11 caches on the list, but I had scrapped three of them for a variety of reasons, but took one from another list, so the final tally was 9. The more interesting ones included some churches and chateaux again, but also a memorial for 9 little girls who drowned in the river when their ferry boat overturned some years back.  Very sad, I thought, but the carved totem poles in their memory were touching.

A lookout tower by the river Túr

Day 3 was still tropical, but at least the caches were pretty interesting and mostly well cared for and in their places.  They included a lovely riverside walk on a study trail, a couple of chateaux, another  disaster, this time over 300 people dying in a fire at a wedding, several pretty villages with pretty churches, a 400 year old tree and finally a glorious park with enormous old trees. The tally that day was 11 caches.

The Calvinist church in Fehérgyarmat

Day 4 started brilliantly, especially at the second church, where the reverend insisted on giving us a detailed history of the church and all its arts and crafts, which was somewhat time consuming, but well worth listening to.  Later on the day deteriorated and was unfortunately full of neglected, difficult or missing caches, which is always annoying, but especially so in 36 degrees Celsius. The tally was only 7 that day, and no less that 3 of them were almost impossible to find. The locations were at 2 gorgeous medieval churches, the Easternmost point of the country, a couple of dams and gates on the river Túr, one by the river Tisza and the birthplace of a famous writer.  This made the overall total of caches found 37, which is pretty good.

The interior of the Calvinist church at Szamosújlak

I was planning another 3 for our return journey, but that didn't happen for a variety of reasons. One being the sudden arrival of a massive thunderstorm, which made it impossible to get out of the car without getting totally drenched, the other that later, once the weather improved, we found 2 Jewish cemeteries which were worth photographing and which had a very nice couple looking after them, who afterwards invited us to their house and where we spent a lot more time than we planned.

A giant plane tree in the park of the Cégénydányád chateau

All in all the week was very enjoyable and very successful.  We loved the accommodation, we enjoyed the restaurants we ate at, and most of the geocaches we found were worth finding.

Church and belfry at Nagyszekeres

And then, on top of all that, Roy now has another four Jewish cemeteries to document and create a database for. Once that is done, he will send the data and the photos to JewishGen, so that they can be available on the net.

The painted and carved pulpit canopy at the Calvinist church of Vámosoroszi

Now we have only been home for just over a day, but had done a lot of washing, cleaning, deadheading roses, mowing, and welcoming our 12 guests who have come for a wedding and are staying with us tonight. They seemed a nice bunch.

Church and belfry at Tiszacsécse

While we were away our 3 cubic metres of firewood arrived, which is now in the process of being chopped up and placed in the barn. Prices are going up everywhere in the world, but it is still good value here, as that wood will last us several years and it cost just over £300.

Winter fuel on the lawn

Must go to bed now as I am in danger of falling asleep sitting up. Next post hopefully next week!

Election results, cleaning/making beds, gardening, ants, hiking, Opera(s) and visiting friends

Well, we are certainly living in interesting times and it is up to you to decide whether this is a Chinese curse or something to be excited about? A hung parliament was my guess too, but I wasn't sure it wasn't going to be even better than that. The Tories won, but with a reduced and no overall majority, which is a gross embarrassment for May. Corbyn had managed an excellent  campaign and Labour won places like Canterbury and Kensington, which is unprecedented.

Not exactly a beauty, is she?

Now the horsetrading has started and May is disgracing herself even further by climbing into bed with the DUP. Corbyn and his supporters are quite rightly jubilant. The win was not that far away and the gains, the enthusiasm and the amazing turnout are all due to a proper socialist campaign, a human, approachable leader, a proper socialist manifesto and the fact that many new layers, that all politicians have ignored until now, have been enthused to turn out. The youth and ethnic minorities have turned out in droves and that was reflected in the results. Let us hope May carries on hanging herself and there is another election before the year is out, result of which can now be the reflection of what is honestly going on in the country.

A jubilant Corbyn

On Saturday we came in to town and Sunday was spent at Árpi and Bozsa's, which is always nice. Roy stayed behind, as usual, and the three of us went hiking and geocaching in the Pilis. This time the route included two big ravines, the Moonishine Ravine up and the Salabasina Ravine on the way down.  In between the two we climbed up to the ridge, went along a bit and then turned down again. The first cache was in two parts and I managed to walk straight past the first part, before I realised and went back for it. The second part was quite easy.

En rute to the second cache in the next ravine, we searched for and failed to find one by an old neglected spring. I managed to slip down a hillside and scrape the skin of my arms, but suffered no more serious harm. Later we found out that we were looking in the right place, so obviously that box is gone.

Glenn, the loveliest dog on the planet

The real excitement of the day was the Salabasina Ravine, which was pretty hard physically. At one point Árpi and Glenn, the border collie, had to climb out of the ravine as the next big drop was beyond the dog. Bozsa and I carried on, but when we came to an even bigger drop, this time Bozsa opted out. We also climbed out, but on the other side and through a torturous route found the marked trail we left an hour and half before and reunited with Árpi and Glenn further down the mountain. Unfortunately, our turnaround happened about 20 yards from the cache, so that had to be left, but I'm sure we'll be back sometime.

Glenn, me and Bozsa in the ravine

The last sojourn in Bér only lasted 3 days, but we worked enough for 13. 5 lots of washing and drying, cleaning, making beds (12), gardening and watering the garden and the cacti, visiting the nurse for my prescriptions etc., etc. And the weather was hot, so I ended up totally zombified. The beds were made with bedding from Anna this time, I hope she doesn't expect me to wash them afterwards. After all that we came in to town again on Wednesday evening.

Árpi and Bozsa

First of all we had to fetch my meds at our favourite chemist, which this time was devoid of the nice ladies I like.  When I went back in the afternoon for those that they had to order in, the young chamist lady turned up, telling me that they still owed me 2 boxed of Tritace.  Apparently I forgot to go back for it last time.  Ahhhhh! I'm definitely going senile!!

Eszter came with my Erkel subscription ticket, which I lent her for the last performance as I was away, good job she turned up as the next performance was in a few days. We also had yet another exterminator coming and spraying vile stuff everywhere, this time against ants.  There seems to be an invasion of one or other pests every summer.  Hopefully he has dealt with them and we will not have this lot again.

On Thursday evening I went to the last performance of the season at the Opera and it was a superb staging of Rigoletto. The whole setting, the costumes, the scenery, the singers and the whole concept was just as I like opera performed.  Perfect end for the season.

View of Paty from the top of the quarry

Friday was yet another insanely busy, but very lovely day. We made two visits to friends, one to Vera and Gábor, another to Nata and Colin. The former couple had invited us to Vera's exhibition at a place near the flat, which was fascinating, but as I forgot to take the camera, no pictures! At her flat we chatted out on the balkony, had lovely food and drink and enjoyed their company very much.  nata and Colin, on the other hand, was totally unexpected.  I had to meet Nata to fetch some stuff from her, but she rang that they changed their minds about the Brit Club, and would we like to come and visit them at their new house instead. Of course we wanted to, so after Vera's place we hopped on a couple of buses and went to see Nata and Colin.  They have only moved in 2 weeks ago, so there were boxes yet everywhere, but we definitely approved of their choice. As we haven't seen them in person for over a year, there was much to chat about. No pictures again, due to lack of camera, but we will be back again, so that should follow in future. Lovely, albeit a long day that was.

Lovely view

Saturday we met George Muenz, one of Roy's family history researching friends from the internet, and that was a lovely meeting too. He is a really enthusiastic novice at this game, and Roy is enjoying helping him. We chatted for hours with him and to a distant relative of his who turned up half way through.

Cellars

A stall at the cellar fest

In the evening I went to the other opera house, the Erkel, also to the season closer there as well and that was an absolute revelation. A modern opera by László Dés on the story of Tennessee Williams's  A Streetcar Named Desire in ballet form. Superb!!!! Suitable closing of the season there as well and both the cast, the music and especially the coreography was out of this world.  I am so glad I had the time to go and see it!!

The top of the quarry

A new wild flower

And finally, yesterday, as the weather forecast was wrong and it wasn't raining we went geocaching in Páty, just West of towns, on the other side of the Western hills. Roy's lure was a revisit of a cute little restaurant we found back in February, when were also geocaching in the area and off we went. There were 4 caches on the list, but we finally only did 3. The fourth one so overgrown, that I thought I would return to it in the autumn or even in the winter, when the vegetation was a bit down.

Another view from the top of another quarry

The first one was on top of a quarry and it was fantastic to photograph the views from there. I found the cache easily whily Roy waited for me in the car a few hundred yards away. The second cache proved to be a bit more difficult. A neglected study route is never my idea of fun, but when I am faced with: Entry forbidden, the quarry edge is lethal! warning boards, my enthusiasm vanes. I left that one, but managed to find out the PW from a friend.

Lovely cellars inside and out

I nearly had a glass of wine here

The last one was the highlight, after two quarries, which were OK, but not neccessarily my favourites. The third cache was hidden near a set of 200+ year old row of wine cellars.  They were spectacular and we found ourselves slap bang in the middle of the cellar fest that they have roughly at mid-June every year. I even got invited for a glass of wine at one cellar. Took lots of photos and found the cache easily.

Now we are getting up, packing and departing for the East.  Next post probably after our trip, hopefully with lots of photos of lovely places we have seen.

This one was open for business

Weird roots

Five days in town

Last Friday I caught the 3.55pm bus and was inside the flat by 6pm. On Saturday morning Ros and Ian duly arrived as arranged and we had a lovely little chat. I passed on Stephen's forgotten cap and they will contact Stephen once they are at home about it.

The Spinning Room

On Saturday night I went to see Zoltán Kodály's The Spinning Room, which was a disappointment.  May be there was nothing wrong with the production, just I was not receptive due to being very tired and also expecting something different. The staging was very modern and I felt there should have been more music and dancing, rather than talking. I got very lucky, because sitting in the gods I could see that the auditorium was rather empty below, so cheekily I managed to wangle myself into a first floor box after the interval. This HungarianFest may have been a good idea to fill the empty seats at the end of the season, but on the two occasions I attended a performance of the Fest, it didn't seem to work very well.

The cute little choo-choo train we travelled on

On Sunday I went geocaching in the Börzsöny Mountains and while I didn't feel too good to start with, the day turned out an absolute triumph. The weather was a bit on the hot side, but the higher we got the more breeze we got. The plan included some travel on the narrow gauge forest railway, visiting a study trail, 2 springs and 3 mountain tops for 6 caches in all. The forest was rather magical, the sun trickled through and produced a dappled effect, the second spring had plenty of lovely water of very good taste and the highlights of the day were definitely the summits. All three had a small bare bit where the views were gorgeous, as they were not hindered by trees.

One of the glorious views in the Börzsöny

Originally I was thinking of returning to the top station of the railway by 4pm, as the last train goes at that time, but fairly soon it because obvious that there was no way of doing all of the caches and get back in time.  So we went to Plan B, which involved a lot more distance, but less climb to a much later bus service from the village at the Northern end of the mountain range we were on. The last one left at 7pm and we managed just to catch the 6pm one with 2 minutes to spare.

Muggins on one of the mountain tops

The end of the tour included a quick guess work route from the last cache, as I was too knackered to climb back to the marked trail on the ridge just to descend again using the trail. My companion was a bit hysterical at times, as she didn't trust my navigational skills to get us into the village on unmarked paths. I knew that with a map and compass in my hand I was very likely to find my way, but even I was surprised that we managed to catch the earlier bus, albeit by not much. Obviously, my route was quicker than the marked trail would have been.

Another one of the glorious views, this time without me

The total count of the day was 6 geocaches on a hike of 10 miles with 400 metres of height climb. I was suitably knackered by the end, but very happy indeed. The Börzsöny is quite a high and steep range and I proved to myself that I can still do it.

The fishing lake at the end

On Monday I couldn't get anyone to go with me, so I decided to do a few caches in town and near town, just on the outskirts. The weather was still gorgeous, albeit too hot again and I started with a bronze statue of Ferenc Puskás on the other side of the river. As I was doing all this by public transport, it took a lot longer that it would have been by car, although parking in the more built-up bits could have been a problem.

The second cache was up in the suburbs, on a hill, but here I was confronted by the what became a common theme for the rest of the day.  Namely: the nouveau riche's encroachement into the hills and forests to such an extent, that the hiking map was practically useless.  I kept coming across fences, kitsch palaces and other dreadful development everywhere. Still having found the second one I went back down to the valley on the bus to catch another one which took me to a little settlement just outside town.  There I found a fascinating memorial to a famous writer in the form of an old telephone booth. Once you went in you started hearing his voice, reciting his one minute funnies, which were very enjoyable. I found the cache easily too and moved on towards the next cache on foot.

Ferenc Puskás

This led me into a glorious and deep ravine which at that time was full of hikers and cyclists. Unfortunately I chickened out of 2 of my planned 6 caches, the first one missed was here, as the placement of the cache would have required me climbing 100 metres vertically up one side of the ravine.  That I decided not to do and went on to the other end of the ravine for a 3 parter multi in the next village.

Towards the end of the ravine

That was quite easy, although one of the clues was missing as they have taken away the statue that it was on.  However that was OK, as I had help on the telephone from a friend. The people who attended Whitmonday mass earlier were still milling around in the park surrounding the church and I made friends with a lovely elderly lady (funny I should write that as I am one of those myself!!) whom I met again at the bus stop later and we carried on chatting on the bus too.

The church at Máriaremete

The other cache I didn't look for would have been at the end of yet another bus trip going further out of town and I decided that I was tired and hungry enough to go home. I was really pleased with 10 caches in two days, two lovely outings and not being in too much pain at the end of it.

Pretty flower by the path

On Tuesday I had to take it easy, as I had another opera performance in the evening. In the morning I went over to my homeopath to fetch another bottle of Bach remedies that she was making for me, as I managed to knock over the previous one and waste about a third of it.  Both Roy and I are taking them to help us sleep better, therefore it was disappearing quite fast, even before I knocked it over.

The Holy Well at Máriaremete

Once I did that I went home and rested for the remaining time before the performance of Háry János, another work by Zoltán Kodály. The criticism I would have of this performance is similar to the one on Saturday.  I expected more singing and dancing, than dialogue, so the first half was rather slow and tedious and it looked as if many others agreed with me by leaving at the interval.  I, on the other hand, persevered and I am glad I did.  The second half was considerably better and well executed. I enjoyed that a lot more, even though this particular director is not my favourite.

Háry János and Örzse

The other interesting aspect was that my observation about empty seats applied again. My subscription ticket is for a seat in the gods, but as soon as I went through the required door to climb up 4 flights of stairs, I was offered free tickets in the stalls.  Needless to say I took it and had an excellent seat in the 8th row. My friend Kati ended up in the front row, as we entered through different sides of the building and only finally found each other in the interval.

One of the variegated roses in the garden I love so much

And finally today I came back to the village, where lots more of my roses were out, looking gorgeous, but not before Roy had a brilliant idea of meeting up half way in order to fetch the big mower that has been at the repairers for 4 months and then do a bit of food shopping, as it only has to last until Saturday, when we are going back to town again.  On Sunday we are having a day out with Bozsa and Árpi, this time the 3 of us are going hiking/geocaching again while Roy guards the house and Boris the dog.

The white that blooms so rarely

At the end of the last post I suggested that by the time I post again we would know the result of the General Election, but as that is tomorrow, we don't yet know. It is perilously close to call and while I would love Corbyn and the Labour Party to win, I still think May will get in, albeit with a much reduced majority and possibly a hung parliament.  I hope I am wrong and we will be celebrating Prime Minister Corbyn on Friday morning, which, of course, will cause a run on the pound and will lose us a lot of money.  Never mind, a Labour win and the chance of a Labour Government with respectable left wing policies would be such a joy that any amount of loss through bad exchange rates is an acceptable price to pay. And on that happy note I leave you to your own political considerations by going to the kitchen and having a cup of tea! Cheers! :-)

A short week in Bér

On Monday, 29th we left just before 8am to travel down to Bér via Tesco. Just before Aszód we discovered a roadside fruit and veg. stall and bought some gorgeous strawberries, cherries and apricots. Unfortunately, the guy who runs it told me that the landowner is forcing them out, so no idea where (if anywhere) they will carry on trading.  Shame, as his stuff was pretty good.

The blue rose is back after a bad year

Arriving home we discovered that the roses and the herb garden have come along very well in our absence. So have the weeds, unfortunately, so a busy week beckoned. The other discovery did not happen until I was trying to take my meds in the evening.  They were left behind in town. Ahhhhhh!!!

The climber by the gate

So, the rest of Monday was spent with weeding and watering those bits of the garden that really needed it and using the tractor and later the strimmer to mow the grass. Between us we managed to weed most of the rose beds, all of the herb and veg. patch and around the rhubarb.  Roy took a couple of days to mow with the tractor and is currently working with the strimmer to do the rest.

Dill, parsley, sorrel, chives with thyme and peas in the back

The raspberries have gone barmy this year.  Total jungle, you can't even walk between the rows they are that thick and that high.  I really hope that the fruit will just come into its own when Callum is around.  He remembers picking peas and cherries 4 years ago, this time I don't think the peas will be ripe by the time he comes and the cherry trees are having a rest this year, so the  raspberries will have to take over pleasing Callum in the garden.

Roy mowing the grass

On Tuesday I caught the 4.40am bus to get into town for my medicines and a few other jobs. We almost forgot that the 1st of June is upon us and that our bank account is a bit low.  So I went to the bank to put some money in for the standing orders and direct debits and also bought a beautiful large marrow and a cauliflower. Latter was not available in Tesco on Monday the former, because I love it. I was back by 11am via Hatvan, which meant a dreadful bus journey in the high heat in a bus with no air-con or windows that open. I did promise Roy I would refuse travelling by bus in the heat, but I am doing it again. Ahhhhhh!!!

One of the dark reds, the mainstay of the rose garden

The rest of the day was spent gardening again, mowing, watering, weeding and this time I also got round to do something I have been planning for months. My good friend Klári gave me a cactus last summer and you may recall that it produced a gorgeous flower. It also had a few babies all round it, which over the winter and spring got bigger and bigger. The mother cactus also needed re-potting as it looked very uncomfortable in that small pot Klári put it in, so there I was potting cacti. Ouch!!! Thankfully the babies were very easily parted from their mother plant and we also had lots of lovely pots and specialist cactus compost to put them in. I felt really good about them and hope they all take and will thrive.

The moiree rose with yellow and pink in it

Wednesday I needed a rest from my long travelling/gardening day and spent it mostly catching up on TV shows I got behind with. I started with the Monaco Grand Prix, but as soon as I worked out that Lewis was not likely to win it, starting from 13th on the grid, I lost interest.  I know this is bad, but I really like that young man and am not interested in anybody else doing well, even if they deserve it.  2017 is shaping up to be Vettel's year and I have nothing against him, I think he is a brilliant driver too, just I don't like him like I do Hamilton. That's that!!

Lewis sitting behind his red 44 at Monaco

Before the Grand Prix started, however, I watched the preamble bit and enjoyed the spectacle of the lunch with the Monaco royals. That was fascinating, if somewhat disconcerting how rich some people are. Afterwards I had a look who won and it was Vettel and Lewis fought his way up to 7th place, which on the winding, lethal streets of Monte Carlo is a brilliant achievement, but now Vettel is 25 points ahead of him again.  I am not a happy bunny!

Gorgeous, dishy James Norton with a dog collar on

I caught up with the second half of Grantchester as I got three episodes behind there. I love it as I enjoy Archbishop Runcie's stories as well as James Norton's and Robson Green's acting. I hope they have written Amanda out, because she was awful and I hope Green is back with his missis, as I like those too as well. I watched a few episodes of Joanna Lumley's postcards, which I enjoy, not just because I like travel programs, but because I am inordinately fond of the old girl herself. Others on the menu included The Good Fight, which is needless to say is as good, if not better, than The Good Wife was plus Kevin McCloud's Grand Designs, which is still, even after this many years, is one of our favourites.

I am glad to see the yellows brilliant again

And now I have come to the one unpleasant event of the week. I don't have too many friends, which has a variety of explanations, including that I am a difficult person. You may or may not agree with this and admittedly, over the years I have terminated friendships with a few people, as I thought I had enough of their neglect, rudeness or nastiness towards me. Unfortunately, this has happened again. I have known Andor since 2005. We were quite close to start with, travelled together to orienteering and hiking trips, even abroad - France and Scotland being two instances. But in the last few years we drifted apart.  He has been unwell, found other (male) friends whose company he enjoyed more and there was one occasion when he didn't talk to me for about a year.  No idea what I have done, but such is life.  However, recently he got more friendly again and I thought all was well, until this week he really upset me. He promised to come and teach me how to use Photo Shop about a year ago. In the meantime he did pop up about 6 months ago with his son-in-law and loaded PS onto one of my computers. Nothing since. I asked a few times, but no joy. Until this week he said he could do it on Friday at the flat and how about in the morning? I said that we are still in the village and the bus doesn't get into town until midday, so we agreed that time. I was on my way to catch the bus into town this morning when I thought (how lucky!) to ring him to check if everything was still OK? The bugger answered that he got a day's work and he is gardening somewhere. I asked why he didn't let me know, he could have saved me a wasted journey into town, when along came the usual excuses of how busy he is. A half line of an e-mail could not have been too much of an effort, I said. Then he let it slip in his embarrassment that the gardening is until 12 midday. Oh, I said, then we can meet just after.  Oh no, he said because Zoli is coming to discuss their trip next week, so it is all off.

Glorious girlie pink

I didn't slam the telephone down, just put it down gently. I am not upset that he has accepted a day's work, that is obviously more important than our meeting.  I am not even upset that he didn't let me know, he could be really busy and getting old and forgetful.  It was the actual meeting fixed up with someone else for exactly the same time he was supposed to come up to the flat, and that without a word to me, was the straw that broke the camel's back. How contemptuous, how rude, how bad mannered can you get? That's it, the end of yet another beautiful friendship.  No, actually this was never a beautiful friendship, but at least the normal standards of social airs and graces were initially observed, but no longer. Roy is apparently very pleased, he has never liked him and has been campaigning for me to drop the friendship for years.  I should know better than to ignore his marvellous gut sense about people!!

Mummy cactus in the back with babies in front and below

Now I am still at home, but catching the bus at 3.55pm, as I have arranged to see Ros and Ian at 9.30am tomorrow morning at the flat, so I have to be there. I have an opera ticket for Saturday and another for Tuesday night, so I am staying in town, while Roy is staying in the village.  Hopefully, I will be able to stick a couple of days of geocaching into my stay in town on Sunday and Monday. Next post sometime next week, by which time we will know who won the parliamentary elections in the UK. I have stayed off politics this time round because the doctor said I need to stay calm to keep my heart and blood pressure under control.  However, now that I think of it, I will conclude this post with a YouGov poll that was published yesterday. May it be the harbinger of better things to come!