Many travelers head for distant lands intent on finding the exotic, only to realize at the end that in certain destinations the most important thing they will have discovered is actually some aspect of themselves. This trip to Eger is somewhat like that.

From Hungary, for example, one is likely to return home with clearer perspectives and more definite views of this wonderful world; for the deep spiritualism of this country, based on a mixture of its religious roots and its experience behind the Iron Curtain, encourages contemplation.

At the same time, its beauty and nature leave visitors in awe, while the stories of creativity and heroism inspire remembrances of the greatness.

VISITING THE UNIVERSITY OF EGER

At the end of summer, we spent two weeks in Hungary, mostly in the countryside. Our first stop was the picturesque university town of Eger. Travelers can get to Eger in 90 minutes by car from Budapest.

However, we decided to take the slow train north instead. As we went further away from Budapest, the train chugged its way past forests and fields. We also passed the kind of old-fashioned towns that never make it to tourist maps.

Eventually, we arrived past 9 PM at a deserted station. Eger is a small but happy place; made even more vibrant by a youthful and inquisitive population of 60,000 and a school that is both old and young.

ABOUT THE ESTERHAZY KAROLY UNIVERSITY

The Eszterházy Károly university was founded by clergy in 1774. The crown jewels of this university include an astronomical tower with a magical telescope. This ancient telescope allows for views of the streets below from up high. We reckon this is the world’s first CCTV camera.

Then, there’s a beautiful wood-paneled library filled with ancient books and colourful frescoes.

This famous library houses many ancient works. The people of Eger especially boast that this library owns a letter written by Mozart to his sister. Moreover, the university was recently awarded the official status of university. The entire town is clearly proud of this fact.

AGAINST ALL ODDS

In fact, pride is everywhere here. This is because Eger has also long enjoyed a special distinction in the history of Hungary. In the famous Siege of Eger in 1552, 2000 men and women successfully held back 80,000 Turkish soldiers attempting to occupy the town.

The Seige of Eger

This courageous defense against the Ottoman army is deep in everyone’s general consciousness, whether they are aware of it or not. And if this fact is not immediately obvious to outsiders, travelers can watch the authentic re-enactments and immerse in tours at the castle.

RELATED CONTENT : THE BEAUTIFUL HANDICRAFTS OF HUNGARY

Climbing up to the castle of Eger

So one afternoon we climbed the hill to the castle looming above the town. At the iron gates, knights in heavy medieval dress greeted us. They taught us how to spar with swords and to shoot using real gunpowder.

My most memorable experience, however, involved a walk with kerosene torches in the darkness. We entered the ancient tunnels under the castle in pitch darkness. This was just like how the people of Eger over 500 years ago outwitted and eluded the invaders. This was literally a journey back in time.

Read more about traveling in Hungary in Travelife Magazine.

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Tokaj has a world-famous reputation among serious wine lovers. The region of Tokaj is renowned for sweet wines. Its vineyards are spread out across the foothills of the Zemplén Mountains. Many of these vineyards were established as early as the 12th century. But the population is tiny so it seems that everyone knows everyone.

However, many beautiful things come in small sizes, and Tokaj is definitely one of these. It has one main street and one main square, but these are among the most beautiful town squares in Central Europe. Its population too may be modest in size, but international visitors pay homage to this mecca for sweet wines. The Tokaji Aszú is known as the most delectable of sweet nectars around the world.

Wine Tour in Tokaj

Tokaj has many excellent wineries within the city. And you will find wineries of all predilections; from the prestigious Imperial winery of Tokaj-Hétszőlő, to boutique wineries no one outside of Tokaj has ever heard of.

In fact, György Posta, Mayor of the city of Tokaj, himself confessed to owning a small winery simply for the love of grape. His wines are for his own consumption, which perhaps makes the wine even so much better.

THE BEST WINERIES TO VISIT IN TOKAJ

Our time in Tokaj was short so we focused only on the best experiences. This meant heading straight for Tokaj- Hétszőlő for a tour of its historic cellars and an afternoon of wine tasting.

Perhaps partly for this link with history, Tokaj-Hétszőlő has resisted the trend towards modern and minimalist that so many other wineries favor these days; so its cave is pitch dark save for sets of antique candelabras that left me awestruck.

Fortunately, the wine we drank was as impressive as its surroundings. We taste five bottles, including the 2004 Tokaji Aszú, and this was the six puttonyos Tokaji Aszú version in front of us.

It was the perfect dessert wine after such a heavy meal, and I was in raptures. So Katherine, our guide, smiled and said: “The harslevelu is wonderful, isn’t it? And the 2004 really is beautiful to drink now.”

Ranking the Sweet Wines of Tokaj

Hungary employs a puttonyos-based ranking to rate the sweetness of its wines and serious Tokaji lovers consider six puttonyos the top, five very decent, four drinkable, and three worth tasting at least once. There are also Tokaji Aszú wines that don’t employ this ranking system. However, wineries like Tokaji Hétszőlő take sweetness and their puttonyos very seriously.

The 2004 Tokaji Aszú we drank that afternoon used a single varietal grape called hárslevelű, found only in Hungary. The wine was like liquid gold, particularly after the delicious lunch we had at the LaBor Bistro.

It was the perfect dessert drink after such a heavy meal, and I was in raptures. So Katherine, our guide, smiled and said: “The hars is wonderful, isn’t it? And the 2004 really is beautiful to drink now.”

ETHIOPIA : HOW DRINKING COFFEE THRICE A DAY BRINGS HAPPINESS

Everyone fondly refers to this homegrown grape called harslevelu as the hars. Its final form prior to being a sweet wine is a state of noble rot with wrinkled skin and discolored surface.

However, Tokaji Aszú drinkers revere this with passion. The taste makes up for everything, you see. It’s sweet, strong, and spunky, but also smooth and elegant.

And this is when Katherine ever so casually mentioned the kind of offer I simply can never resist. She said: “Lots of people buy cases from us and then they store it here until they’re ready to drink their wines. They like the idea of buying Tokaji sweet wine at the source and we store wines for free if they buy at least two cases from us.”

“Which is the best Tokaji Aszú you have now?” I asked. After hearing all the stories, particularly the one of the king crowned in the cellar, I had my heart set on buying four cases for storage in their ancient cellars. This almost felt like buying a piece of Tokaj itself, after all. So the romantic in me leapt for my credit card. However, if I was going to do this, I wanted only the very best.

I assumed over-inquisitive travelers always asked this to Katherine — most people want know which is the best, after all — but this did not seem to be the case.

In fact, the answer took a bit of research on her part. “Let me ask our team,” she said with a smile.

The best Tokaji Aszú

The consensus at the winery that day, including that of Gergely Makai, the chief wine maker of Hétszőlő, was that the Tokaji Aszú 6 puttonyos from 1999 was one of the best so far. For one thing, 1999 was a spectacular year for Aszú wines and Hétszőlő actually made three kinds of Aszú in the 6 puttonyos level.

RELATED CONTENT : A SHOOTING WEEKEND IN NORTHERN HUNGARY

They made an Aszú from the furmint grape, which is another local favorite. Then there’s a rare one from the muscat grape. Finally, we have the general favorite which is a Tokaji Aszu made from the hárslevelű. I chose the latter because I liked the taste, and because this is the best choice for Tokaji Aszú among the three.

Most fine wine shops anywhere don’t even have a bottle of this very special Aszú in their cellars anymore. Moreover, even Hétszőlő only has about 50 bottles left of this wine that can keep nicely even for 100 years.

Winemaker of Hétszőlő

So I took four cases to place in their cellars on a whim and a lot of inspiration. And just before leaving, Kathryn also asked: “Would you like me to place a note on your cases of wine? Lots of people place messages on their wines for personal reasons.”

So I wrote on a piece of paper for her to attach to wines: “In beautiful Tokaj, ever so happily living a #Travelife.”

Read more about the best wines in Hungary in Travelife Magazine.

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We’d just arrived in Budapest at 8 AM that same day on the Turkish Airlines flight from Istanbul. Then from the airport, we’d traveled for three hours to the north of Hungary. This is an area famous for nature, hunting and the famous medieval castle of Boldogko.

We should’ve been exhausted after our 18-hour flight, but we were too excited to be tired. After a delicious lunch of traditional Hungarian dishes at a hunting lodge, which included lots of paprika of course, we boarded a red-and-white train with wheels and drove to Boldogko Castle.

Our transportation was a combination of a train and a van. But it certainly was fun and a little surreal to ride it. We boarded it at the hunting lodge and then soon we were driving along the country roads, all the way up the mountain to castle of Boldogko.

This impressive fortress castle is on top of a hill, near the towns of Miskolc and Sarospatak in the north of Hungary. It looks very impressive from afar. And from the top, there are some beautiful views that are simply perfect for Instagram.

THE DRESS AND CONVERSATION OF A LADY FROM THE MEDIEVAL TIMES

At the entrance, we were met by a lovely young lady in a medieval costume. She introduced herself as one of the women who worked at the castle.

Of course I thought she was a guide in a costume. However, according to one of my Hungarian companions, she was one of the characters in the castle.

The lady was speaking in very old-fashioned Hungarian. Basically, she was using the kind of Hungarian language that is not used at all anymore in everyday life. In addition, she used the mannerisms and demeanour of a Hungarian lady from the medieval times.

This got me interested as she was so good at playing her character. No matter what I asked her, she always gave me a very old-fashioned response.

So I began asking her trick questions like: “What do you eat for breakfast?” Or “Don”t you get bored staying in the castle all day?” Or “What do you do all day here?”

She refused to get out of character. In fact, she answered every single annoying question I put before her exactly as expected of her character. All her responses were entirely within the character of a medieval lady in a castle.

AN UPHILL CLIMB TO BOLDOGKO CASTLE

This certainly made for a very interesting afternoon, especially as she led us up the castle via a climb up a hill. So even the entry to the castle wasn’t via the 2019 entrance but via a rocky path that invaders probably used centuries ago.

I have to admit, this was a challenge with jet lag and after an 18-hour flight from Asia on Turkish Airlines. But I was glad for the opportunity to burn some calories.

After our visit to the castle of Boldogku, the Hungarian Ambassador to the Philippines, Dr. Joszef Bencze, who was our official host in Hungary, led us down to the cellars underneath the castle for dinner.

MEDIEVAL DINNER AT CASTRUM BOLDUA

The cellars of the Castrum Boldua under the castle of Boldogko were dark but full of delicious smells. It turns out that this too is a recreation of a medieval dining room.

The waitstaff are all in costume and the food is all game meat roasted on spits. Just like in the olden days, we had to sit on wooden benches, drink wine out of jugs, and eat with our hands.

The biggest surprise was the medieval food. Giant platters of the most delicious game meat were laid in front of us along with sides of potatoes, red cabbage and other vegetables. This was my first medieval dinner and it certainly seemed extremely authentic.

Jetlag was already getting the better of me, but I refused to give up eating, When else would I ever taste a medieval meal in a castle in Hungary? What a wonderful way to start my very first day in Hungary, living a Travelife.

Read more about traveling around Hungary in Travelife Magazine.

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Last month, we found ourselves in the beautiful town of Szombathely exactly for the annual Savaria Történelmi Karnevál. This two-day event is organised by the town and all the residents participate in it.

EVERYONE’S EXCITED ABOUT THE SAVARIA TORTENELMI CARNIVAL

Some are actors in the nightly shows and in the parades in the day, while others put up stalls to sell food and handmade crafts. There are also musicians to keep the good vibes going with performances all day on a big stage in the town centre.

Even townsfolk who must work on these days join in the carnival in spirit. For example, many of the waitstaff at cafes and restaurants are also dressed up either in Roman outfits or medieval outfits.

In fact, practically everyone is wearing a Roman outfit or a medieval outfit while walking around town during the carnival days. This adds to the festive fun as the entire town is transformed into another place and another time, even just for a long weekend.

THE HISTORY AND CULTURE OF SZOMBATHELY

The Savaria Történelmi Karnevál is actually a re-enactment of the history of Szombathely, which is reportedly the oldest town in Hungary. And, guess what. It’s also supposed to be one of the happiest cities in the country.

It’s really beautiful and quite small so you can walk from one end to the other in just about an hour. In fact, after two days here, we felt completely like locals and we were quite sorry to leave.

REMEMBERING THE ROMAN ERA

The carnival itself covers different periods of history from the Romans to World War II. But it really seems that everyone in this town prefers the glory of Rome and the romance of the medieval ages to the memories of World War II. There was evidence of Roman culture and the medieval ages everywhere. Every other person on the street was wearing a Roman costume or a medieval costume.

In fact, one of the most important attractions here is the Iseum Savariense Archeology Workshop. This museum houses the remains of a Roman-era sanctuary built for the Egyptian goddess of Isis.

SHOPPING IN SZOMBATHELY

The other fun thing to do at the Savaria Történelmi Karnevál is to shop. Yes, shop! All the main streets of town are lined with wooden booths. These booths sell everything from pottery to food to knives and clothes. Almost everything is handmade in this region, so its a great chance to buy the best products of the region.

One lady made original scarves out of handprinted silk. They were so pretty that I just had to buy one. We also bought a lot of locally made Hungarian sausages. My favourites were the sausages made from venison and wild boar.

THE DELICIOUS CANDY AND CHOCOLATE OF HUNGARY

Candy and chocolate were also big hits at the festival. I just couldn’t resist buying some chocolate called Tokaj Aszu, especially as this is my favourite sweet drink. Well, the chocolate I bought was as delicious as the drink.

Finally, all the stores were open during the festival period and most of the things were on sale. So when we weren’t participating in the festival, we were going into the stores to buy clothes and shoes at 50% off.

What a wonderful carnival. I can”t think of too many events that combine history and culture plus fun in one weekend. There”s music, pageantry, food and shopping too.

Read more about traveling around Hungary in Travelife Magazine.

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The Castle of Eger is known for the Siege of Eger led by a hero named István Dobó. This seige happened in 1552. This is when the defenders of Hungary defeated the forces of the Ottoman Empire. 

THE CASTLE OF EGER: STRONGHOLD OF HEROES

Today, the castle is home to many historic exhibits. You can discover the workings of the outer and inner castle systems at the Casemate exhibition. Then you can walk through the Heroes’ Hall to learn more about István Dobó and his men.

One beautiful autumn day in Hungary, we walked up the hill to the castle. Armed men with medieval armour and weapons were waiting for us at the castle gates. Fortunately they were smiling, so we were even brave enough to ask them to pose for photos.

WELCOME TO A CASTLE IN HUNGARY

Then the leader of the armed men said: “Welcome to our castle.”

At the top of the castle, we found an entire medieval village waiting to be experienced. There was a tent and a big bonfire with chicken, pork and vegetables roasting on the spit. Meanwhile, a woman sat at a long wooden table and prepared the meal with a hunting knife.

Several soldiers stood nearby with their weapons. They wanted to show us how to joust in the style of the medieval warriors. We tried on their armour and held their swords and guns.

Everything was very heavy. So it was hard to imagine how the brave men and women of the town, led by István Dobó, defended their town with such heavy battle gear. So each weapon and battle gear is a testament to the courage and resilience of the people of Eger. This was certainly an important and real-life lesson in history.

A MEDIEVAL BANQUET IN A CASTLE

After our battle with the brave soldiers, we decided to taste some of the food from their outdoor medieval banquet. We all stood in the open air on top of the castle walls, with a beautiful view of the city.

Everything was surprisingly good. My favourite dish was the chicken rubbed with spices. It was roasted perfectly.

WALKING THROUGH AN ANCIENT TUNNEL

But the best surprise came at the last. The soldiers handed us torches and led us deep into a long tunnel. This was the original tunnel that the people, led by István Dobó, used in the defence of Eger. It was over 500 years old. This was literally a walk in history, living a Travelife.

Download our special Travelife Magazine supplement on the best places to visit in Hungary here.

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