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Tihany

Tihany (pronounced “ty-han” – the “y” is not pronounced) is a peninsula on Balaton that is 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) wide and 5 kilometers (3.5 miles) long. Within it are two small lakes – lakes within lakes, I suppose.

Tihany to jest miejsce które trzeba zobaczyć jak siÄ™ jest nad Balatonem. Malowniczy, górzysty półwysep, co prawda sÄ… to góry pochodzenia wólkanicznego, wiÄ™c niezbyt wysokie ale za to bardzo strome. PamiÄ™tam, że pierwszy wyjazd na rowerach z peÅ‚nym ekwipunkiem, na górÄ™ na której usytuowane jest miasteczko Tihany byÅ‚ dla nas zaskakujÄ…co wyczerpujÄ…cy. Jest to miejsce gdzie każdy znajdzie coÅ› dla siebie: plaża i woda dla leniuchów, klasztor, skansen dla tych którzy chcieliby trochÄ™ pozwiedzać, kolorowe, peÅ‚ne malutkich skepików uliczki miasteczka, scieżki przyrodnicze i rowerowe rozsiane po lasach, polach i winnicach na caÅ‚ym półwyspie. SpÄ™dziliÅ›my tam dwa dni i tylko 3 godziny leniuchowaliÅ›my na plaży, po prostu byÅ‚o co robić.

Tihany was our first main destination and we stayed there two days.

Arriving early Friday afternoon, we managed to find a decent room at a decent price, surprising considering how touristy Tihany is. We unpacked, showered, and headed to the monastery. We continued down the way to the outdoor museum.

Saturday, the second day, we went out for a day of biking around the peninsula. We ended the afternoon with some rest on a secluded beach (which resulted in two interesting photos). When we got back to where we were staying, we took a shower then headed to Kossuth ut., the main street.

We also made a friend at breakfast time out on the balcony.

After our time in Tihany, we rode to Balatonederics. On the way, we got a good view of the basalt hills on the northern shore Balaton.

Accommodation

Most places in Tihany are horridly expensive unless you’re one of the many Germans vacationing there – then it’s quite cheap.

Hungarian Lodgings I

Kinga and I checked for a place to stay just as we entered the peninsula. The guy wanted 7,000 Forints a night for the two of us. Considering how far we were from the center, we decided to look further. We were about to give up when we found a place that was 6,500 Forints a night for the two of us.

Hungarian Lodgings II

Tym razem udaÅ‚ nam siÄ™ znaleźć nocleg na ulicy, wÅ›ród sklepikarzy. PrzechodzÄ…c natknÄ™liÅ›my siÄ™ na niepozorny napis – ZIMMER INFO – później jakiÅ› mężczyzna wykonaÅ‚ kilka telefonów a później inny mężczyzna pilotowaÅ‚ nasze rowery do domu pewnej staruszki. TrochÄ™ to byÅ‚o podejrzane ale wszystko dobrze iÄ™ skoÅ„czyÅ‚o.

Hungarian Lodgings III

It was comfortable, with a kitchen and bathroom in addition to the sleeping room. It was basically the top floor of a house, with two other rooms that remained unrented throughout our stay.

But boy was it Hungarian Communist nostalgia time.

The Monestary

After getting settled, we headed off to the monastery. It sits on top of a hill and seems as if it draws all roads to it, for most roads in the small center area of Tihany seemed eventually to wind up at the top of the hill where the monastery is.

The monastery itself dates from the eleventh century. The church is significantly later: built between 1719 and 1754. It is Baroque in nature, which means to some degree “trim on trim.”

The only thing open to the public at the Monastery was the church.

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There is a small crypt under the main altar. I didn’t take pictures in the crypt, for there wasn’t much to see. Shooting back out of the crypt, however, was an entirely different story…I waited a long time to get this shot without people in it.

View from the Crypt
View from the Crypt

There were a couple of noticeable things about it. The altar was on a high platform, some two or three meters above the main floor.

I’ve never seen a church with such an elevated altar, and I’m not sure I like it. It makes everyone look up to the priests to an exaggereated degree.

Półwysep Tihany przecina jezioro niemalże na pół. Od najdalej wysuniÄ™tego punktu półwyspu do drugiego brzegu jeziora pozostaje zaledwie 1,5 km. CaÅ‚y półwysep pokkrywajÄ… wzgórza. Na najwyższym z nich znajduje siÄ™ klasztor benedyktynów dlatego jest widoczny z wielu miejsc nad Balatonem. Barokowy klasztor pochodzi z poÅ‚owy XVIII wieku, chociaż opactwo benedyktyÅ„skie powstaÅ‚o już w XI wieku. NajstarszÄ… częÅ›ciÄ… klasztoru jest krypta romaÅ„ska. Pod posadzkÄ… głównego oÅ‚tarza znajduje siÄ™ sarkofag zmarÅ‚ego w 1060r. króla Andrzeja I. W koÅ›ciele majÄ… znajdujÄ… siÄ™ też przepiÄ™kne organy, niestety nie zaÅ‚apaliÅ›my siÄ™ na żaden koncert.

The Pulpit

Not only was the altar incredibly high, but the pulpit was elevated and isolated. There was no visible way to get to it and just as elevated as the altar. So in this church, no matter what your personal opinion of the officiating (for lack of a better word) priest, you literally have to look up at him.

After visiting the monastery’s church, Kinga and I strolled on down to the outdoor museum.

Outdoor Museum

Though not anywhere on the scale of the outdoor museum in Zubrzyca, the outdoor in Tihany is spacious enough to make you forget you stepped off the street in the twentieth century.

ZaskakujÄ…ce byÅ‚o to, że bardzo dużo ludzi ciÄ…gle jeszcze mieszka tam w takich domach jak widzieliÅ›my w skansenie. OczywiÅ›cie wszysko jest Å›wietnie utrzymane, Å›ciany wybielone, strzechyw bardzo dobrym stanie i wszÄ™dzie bardzo dużo kolorowych kwiatów. WyglÄ…da to bardzo malowniczo, wrÄ™cz bajkowo.

Bike Ride

Saturday we explored Tihany on bike. On the way out Kinga got a couple of good shots of the lake-in-a-lake with the monastery in the background.

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In theory there were a lot bike trails on the penninsula, but we, erm, got lost. It’s stupid little spot of earth in a small lake, and yet we managed to get lost.

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Na półwyspie jest dużo Å›cieżek rowerowych i przyrodniczych, nie sÄ… najlepiej oznakowana ale nie można siÄ™ zgubić bo to maÅ‚y półwysep (5 km dÅ‚ugoÅ›ci i 3 km szerokoÅ›ci). Ã…Å¡cieżki prowadzÄ… wokoÅ‚o dwóch zarastajÄ…cych już jezior, przez winnice i lasy. Szkoda, że winogrona jeszcze nie byÅ‚y dojrzaÅ‚e, bo byÅ‚aby niezÅ‚a granda.

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We got frustrated – rather I got frustrated – and we just decided to spend the rest of the afternoon on the beach.

The Beach

After a bit of riding, a stop at the beach was in order. We were fortunate to find a small secluded beach that seemed to be free.

Pillow

Actually, I’m not sure it was “free,” but we rode our bikes in through a sort of back entrance where no one was collecting money.

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Ceny na plażach zwalaÅ‚y z nóg. Za wodÄ™ mineralnÄ… 1,5 l., za którÄ… w spożywczym sklepie “wystarczyÅ‚o” zapÅ‚acić 150 Ft (2,8zÅ‚) na plaży trzeba byÅ‚o zapÅ‚acić 500 Ft. No cóż, trzeba siÄ™ po prostu dobrze zorganizować.

This beach seemed to have a more “family” feel than the other beach we went to our first day at Balaton. No topless woman sunbathing, at least.

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When we got back to where we were staying, we decided to take a walk on Kossuth ut, the main street.

Kossuth ut

The last evening, Kinga and I went to the main street, Kossuth ut, and wandered among the shops that were still open.

Pottery

Being a heavily tourist area, Tihany was not the place to do buying, simply to do shopping. The same kind of craftwork was available in a less touristy area for about 75% of the cost.

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Ta najbardziej reprazentacyjna, turystyczna część Tihany wyglÄ…da bajkowo. MaÅ‚e domki z wybielonymi Å›cianami i tymi charakterystycznymi dla tamtego regionu stzrechami. Zadbane, peÅ‚ne kwiatów ogródki i sklepiki, gdzie towar wystawia siÄ™ również w ogrodzie, przez co jest jeszcze bardziej kolorowo. Garemu najbardziej podobay siÄ™ garnki powieszone na pÅ‚ocie. SkojarzyÅ‚ z “Sami swoi” – zawsze mnie to szokuje jak on zaczyna kojarzyć takie rzeczy, ale to bardzo miÅ‚e.

Next: Basalt Hills