Balaton-Füred is not only a seaside place but has wonderful alkali springs and baths which are excellent as cures. There are many excursions to be made. Steamers run the whole length of the lake. The walks and drives are innumerable. For other interests there are yacht races and fishing. In winter the lake freezes easily because of its general shallowness, and then the whole of the 600 square kilometres are available for skating and winter sport. When the ice breaks up, which it does with cracks like pistol-shots, and piles itself in masses, glittering with every colour of the rainbow like gigantic prisms, happy are they who are there to see it!
THE ÖRTLER SPITZE
At the western end there are curious basaltic effects, great cones rising from the vine-covered slopes like sugar-loaves, or hills which appear to be built up of columns of basalt, as in the far-famed Fingall’s Cave of Scotland. There are ruined castles artistically arranged on hills, piled up by the gradual forces of nature, not by art; and there is the magnificent seat of Count Tassilo Festetics at Keszthely near the western end. Balaton well deserves the place it holds in popular estimation in Hungary.
If time is limited, and it is desired to see something of the two great attractions of Hungary, the rich lowland and the mighty hills, in a short time, no one could do better than take a ticket from Budapest to Orsova. Railway travelling in Hungary is cheap compared with other countries; it is run according to zone system, and the farther you go the less you pay proportionately. The management is extremely enterprising, and deserves much credit for it in a country where the national spirit is inclined to dwell on the past rather than to work for the future.
The very large towns passed through will astonish those who think that the peasants still live in little rough villages. At a place like Kecskemét, for instance, there is a magnificent town hall, and as the town is truly Hungarian the quaint costumes of the people seen in the imposing streets have all the piquancy of contrast with their modern surroundings. Kecskemét lives to a large extent by agriculture. The suburbs are one mass of fruit orchards, and at the time of the “peach market” the smell of the exquisite fruit is radiated far and wide. Cucumbers—which are eaten by the children like bananas—grapes, and apricots, are grown in quantities, and there are a number of vineyards. Willows and acacias are frequently seen, both being planted along the roads in avenues.
A very large town on the banks of the Tisza is Szeged, with over 100,000 inhabitants. Szeged has suffered much in times past from the Tisza’s unruly manners, and in 1879 was subject to a very terrible inundation, when hundreds of people were drowned. The river is now properly embanked. The wide squares, the well laid out gardens, the artistic architecture, will be a revelation to many people. The town has a busy industrial life with steam-mills, timber-works, flax industries, also paprika-mills. This is a special industry. The hot red pepper called paprika is used in quantities by every Hungarian, and dished up on all occasions. Formerly it used to be ground by hand, but now steam-driven mills have taken up the task. There are distilleries too, and Szeged soap is renowned, while its silk slippers are famous. The river is responsible for shipbuilding and fishing industries. Another large town is Temesvar, also industrial, with clean straight streets, electric tramways, and an extraordinary amount of open space. Its chief interest is that here stood the original castle of the great patriot, John Hunyadi, now marked by a later castle in a square of that name. Tobacco and mosaic, bricks and textile goods are turned out from Temesvar, and not far off is a fine watering-place called Buzias. Northward lies another large town called Arpad, the centre of a rich vine-growing district.
It is only after leaving Lugos we begin to see the hills, which we are soon to enter.
To the east lies a country of mining and factories, smelting furnaces, and other disagreeable evidences of industrial prosperity. The smelting is carried on by charcoal made from the splendid fir and beech forests. Iron and coal are found in quantities, and it will be news to most people that Hungarian steel goes to England as well as to other European countries.
Road, rail, and river run together through a narrow mountain defile, and finally the railway goes through a tunnel which is at the summit level of the line. Then the line is wonderfully engineered in and out along the hillsides, across valleys, and over bridges. In one of these valleys is the oldest health resort in the country, the famous Baths of Hercules, not far from the Iron Gates of the Danube. Herculesfürdo, to give it its native name, was established by the Romans two thousand years ago. The springs are sulphur and salt, and the cures of rheumatism, skin disease, and other ailments still wrought by them are almost miraculous. The river Cserna runs through the valley. The place is under State management, and there are now many good hotels, and the walks through the steeply-rising wooded cliffs are well planned and laid out. It is visited in the season by hundreds of people, a large number being foreigners. From the top of the hills, which rise to over 3000 feet, there are charming views. In these hills there are caves, one of which is full of hot vapours and used by many people as a vapour bath.