During the last week of May 2007, an exchange was organized between Jeep Club Belgium Luxemburg and Jeep Club Hungary, where a team of Hungarian Jeep masters led a group of 17 Belgian Jeeps through the beautiful North Western part of Hungary.
The trip started off near the Austrian border in Sopron, where a rendez-vous and briefing was held in a beautiful hotel. The next day, we left for the city of Sumeg, to visit a magnificent medieval castle on the top of a hill. A guided tour took us through the old weaponry, the torture chamber, and the big festival arena within the castle. After a lunch on a sunny terrace of a local czardas restaurant, we started an off-road drive through the Hungarian nature, with a few mud pits, and with a stop on a super nice 4x4 playing ground, with some very nice hills. As the weather was extremely good and warm, there was a lot of dust, and thus the stay in the spa club hotel in the evening was a big treat. A magnificent day was concluded with a dinner with local specialties and some folkloristic dancing and singing.
Day 2 of our trip led us to Lake Balaton, well known for its many resorts, and for being the biggest sweet water lake in Europe, but also surrounded by some very nice landscapes. A few stops were held to take some pictures of the scenery and the panorama's, and to visit the shores of the lake, after which the remainder of the day was filled with many off-road kilometers through the Hungarian plains. At lunch time, our Jeepclub.hu hosts had even organized a real military base camp, with a few Willy's WWII Jeeps and a big tent, and a giant field cooked bowl of bean goulash! The day was closed in the Szarvaskut hotel in Zirc.
Day 3 led us from Zirc towards Tata, through a superb landscape filled with giant windmills and fields full of poppy flowers. Lunch was held near the ruins of a castle, with some free time for a visit and some relaxation in the hot mid-day sun. Temperatures easily reached and exceeded 30 Cº or 86 Fº. As a consequence, dust was everywhere! In the afternoon, some shadow was very welcome, in the form of an impressive off-road tour through the woods and between the trees in a forest near Tata. In the evening we arrived in the Gottwald hotel. A Hungarian wedding party was taking place there, and this inspired a few of the Jeepers to almost join in and build a great big party with some local Palinka spirit.
Day 4 started way too early for a few group members, but nevertheless set us on our way for Budapest. After a short highway drive, and no lost vehicles at all, we arrived in the great 5 star Corinthia Aquincum Hotel in the center of Budapest, where Mr. Frank Beernaert of Daimler Chrysler Hungary organized an impressive cocktail party. We lounged and chattered on the sunny terrace until about 14h00, when a bus tour visit took us through all the parts and history of Budapest. Fantastically organized, and adding impressive cultural content to our off-road experiences in Hungary, this resulted in a fantastic and memorable day. In the evening, a common supper was taken in a local Budapest restaurant, serving Hungarian specialties.
In all, although being only a four day trip, and accounting for almost 2500km of travel for the most of us, this trip turned out to be an immensely beautiful experience, not in the least because of the enthusiasm and heart-warming contacts of our Hungarian Jeep master hosts. Hungary turned out to be a very welcoming and opportunity offering country for both off-roading and culinary and cultural activities. Special thanks should finally also go to Mr. Frank Beernaert of Daimler Chrysler Hungary, and to Marta Kovacs, one of the Belgian participants but with Hungarian roots, who was an invaluable help for some urgent translations.
