If you have read the stories on Facebook you already know that the Hortobágy is one of Hungarys, indeed, the world treasures. Just north of the Hortobágy are gentle mountains.
Among them are nestled two very interesting treasures.
Eger, a small town famous for the red wine produced in the area, Bikavér, or Bullsblood, best savored where it is made. Perhaps less well known are the thermal waters. Take time to enjoy the baths and come away with glowing skin and painless joints. Then after sampling the wine, visit the Castle, made famous during the Turkish wars by holding out against not one, but two Turkish armies besieging it at once.
The defense of that siege is made immortal in a book by Gárdonyi Géza. The translation is not the best ever, but the story is, and it helps the uninitiated appreciate what they see. The first time I saw Eger Castle it was mostly in ruins, there have been repairs so take a good guided tour, explore the tunnel, and walk the ramparts. Close your eyes and imagine..........
Imagine the castle standing in the midst of a burned out town, around it and up the hillsides an ocean of tents with flags sporting horse tails, a rising minaret and the blood chilling yells of the mullahs calling the faithful to prayer, and then the siege engines rising against the walls and Janicsárs screaming ALLAH AKBAR as they storm the walls. Imagine the eternal wait for help that never comes, the ceaseless bombardment, the sleepless wait for the next attack. Imagine Éva, the young wife and mother trying to get through the Turkish camp and into a secret tunnel. Imagine that at the end the women and wounded mounted the walls and took the swords of the killed fighters and gave as good as they got. The castle stood and the hoards left, but they returned, and the second time they took the castle, as they had taken much of the country. Imagine being put into heavy irons and dragged off to Istambul, never to see home and loved ones again.
Then go and get lost in the town, meander the small streets and drink the wine and eat food, view the church, and after what you saw in the castle you might want to give the minaret a miss.
A bit to the north and west is Hollókő, altogether different, a preserved, but living village. There you can see the best of village life. Houses stand shoulder to the street, profusions of flowers drape fences and window boxes, grape arbors festoon terraces and bright pots of geraniums glow everywhere. Take your time, it is not big, go into shops and look over fences, smell the flowers and feel the tranquility, feel the invitation to linger . There are stark castle ruins here too, but better viewed from a distance.
From here it is not a long drive to find a nice hotel in Eger, or back in Budapest, or farther east in Tokay country.
I remember having the bullsblood wine in Chicago a long time ago. Have been to Hungary, but not to this lovely town.