20 August marks an important national holiday in Hungary, and I am grateful to have found local friends to show me the proper way to celebrate. St. Stephen's Day refers to the day on which the relics of Stephen I, patron saint of Hungary, were transferred to the city of Buda. The holiday commemorates the Foundation of the Hungarian State, and is celebrated much like the American Independence Day, with fireworks, BBQs, partying by the water (where possible), etc.
My friend Ádám has a family holiday home in Alsóbélatelep and kindly invited me to stay up there for the weekend. I just lucked out, because, as it turns out, there isn't a better place to be on holiday than Lake Balaton with fun people. Ádám is currently living in Glasgow, Scotland, and is only back in Hungary on holiday. He came back to see his family, hit the Sziget Festival last week, and spend some time on the lake... I met him at just the right time and really appreciate all he has done to show me a good time!
He invited a bunch of friends from a bunch of places to gather at his family home on Balaton... friends from Sopron (Hungary), Glasgow (Scotland), Budapest (Hungary), Stockholm (Sweden), Sydney (Australia), London (England)... it was rad! It was all kids (twenties, early thirties) and most people spoke English, so I was able to communicate quite well with everyone... and even learned a bit of Hungarian over some drinks! We had a blast! This is our crew hanging at the beach and back at the house...
The highlight of the weekend for me was swimming in Balaton in the morning hours (but long before the sun came up, around 2 or 3 am)... it was amazing! After many hours of 'celebrating,' everybody walked down to the lake from Ádám's place and went in the water. It shocks me that nobody patrols the lake at night and that it is 'okay' for people to go swimming whenever they want, and really do whatever they want. It's quite different than the strict regulations we deal with in the States. No worthwhile photos survived this adventure...
On the last night, we went to Balatonboglár... just down the south shore from Alsóbélatelep for the Harvest Festival (Szüreti Fesztivál), the annual wine festival celebrated on the weekend of St. Stephen's Day each August. Balatonboglár is the professional centre of the south shore wine region, and is referred to as the "town of grapes and wine." It was ridiculous; people were pouring into the streets and there were dozens upon dozens of wineries letting the wine flow like water... I'll say no more.
20 August marks an important national holiday in Hungary, and I am grateful to have found local friends to show me the proper way to celebrate. St. Stephen's Day refers to the day on which the relics of Stephen I, patron saint of Hungary, were transferred to the city of Buda. The holiday commemorates the Foundation of the Hungarian State, and is celebrated much like the American Independence Day, with fireworks, BBQs, partying by the water (where possible), etc.
My friend Ádám has a family holiday home in Alsóbélatelep and kindly invited me to stay up there for the weekend. I just lucked out, because, as it turns out, there isn't a better place to be on holiday than Lake Balaton with fun people. Ádám is currently living in Glasgow, Scotland, and is only back in Hungary on holiday. He came back to see his family, hit the Sziget Festival last week, and spend some time on the lake... I met him at just the right time and really appreciate all he has done to show me a good time!
He invited a bunch of friends from a bunch of places to gather at his family home on Balaton... friends from Sopron (Hungary), Glasgow (Scotland), Budapest (Hungary), Stockholm (Sweden), Sydney (Australia), London (England)... it was rad! It was all kids (twenties, early thirties) and most people spoke English, so I was able to communicate quite well with everyone... and even learned a bit of Hungarian over some drinks! We had a blast! This is our crew hanging at the beach and back at the house...
The highlight of the weekend for me was swimming in Balaton in the morning hours (but long before the sun came up, around 2 or 3 am)... it was amazing! After many hours of 'celebrating,' everybody walked down to the lake from Ádám's place and went in the water. It shocks me that nobody patrols the lake at night and that it is 'okay' for people to go swimming whenever they want, and really do whatever they want. It's quite different than the strict regulations we deal with in the States. No worthwhile photos survived this adventure...
On the last night, we went to Balatonboglár... just down the south shore from Alsóbélatelep for the Harvest Festival (Szüreti Fesztivál), the annual wine festival celebrated on the weekend of St. Stephen's Day each August. Balatonboglár is the professional centre of the south shore wine region, and is referred to as the "town of grapes and wine." It was ridiculous; people were pouring into the streets and there were dozens upon dozens of wineries letting the wine flow like water... I'll say no more.
2 comments:
hey man,
I am glad you enjoyed it!
THANKS FOR SHARING YOUR CULTURE. THAT'S TOTALLY UNKNOWN HERE!!
BEST REGARDS FROM MEXICO :D
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