Aquatic Life

This is going to sound odd, but, the aquatic life I refer to is ours!! Or rather, to be more precise, Phillip n mine! 

We had decided to splurge yesterday and buy an all-day ticket to the Saunaland at the local spa centre.  For 14Euros (about £12.50 ?) you can spend the whole day (well, about 16/17 hours in total) here at this wonderland if you chose to….

We had always paid by the hour before and felt that it was rather a chore to time-watch and feel rushed, rather spoils the whole experience really. So, a whole day ahead of us to do whatever.  I had not looked around the place beforehand, but Phil had and he had an idea of what there was on offer

We had lots of books, puzzles and snacks and bottled water at the ready and off we went.  At 10.15 am we were in the water for our distanced swims (Phil 100 lengths, me usually about 60) simply to get the exercise factor out of the way and then start enjoying ourselves. The water quality is superb and we had a lane each to get on with things. Brilliant.

My first exploration found what is called here a Solebecken – a steaming hot mineral pool with lots of Jacuzzi and waterfall areas.  Lovely and really hot and soothing to  the  body after a hard swim.  The water tastes slightly bicarbonate-y so the minerals must do some good ? Thank goodness there was no sulphurous fumes as an Asthmatic finds them deadly! (well,  this one anyway). Here I lounged about floating in bliss and did all the bubble stuff as well.  Quite a power behind all those bubbles really and when my heart started to pound just moved on to calmer waters. Pays to be safe…

Philip in the meantime had been in the steam room and down the flumes (see, still a boy at heart). We then went into one of the many saunas – ah but first – we needed to strip our costumes off.  The chap who was already in there said that it was not essential, but it might disturb some others if we were not disrobed as well. Wow, deep breath and peel !!!  I am almost 60 and do not have the lissome body of a 30 year old any more. 

I am actually quite used to stripping off at home, and have been for years, but not in public. My habit, once the summer hit us was to take a sun-bath each and every time the sunshine ventured anywhere near Hampshire but only for a few minutes at a time and would gradually increase the time over the weeks ahead. So, no sun burn but a healthy dose of vitamin whatever.  I often gardened in the nude (amazing what you do when your neighbours are well-distanced away) and was totally comfortable with that. Strange then that I should mind a few middle-aged men so much.

I noticed, very rapidly that there were three ‘forms’ – one involved robes and the second a carefully-arranged carefree-looking draping of the towel (massive) over the shoulder and down the front of the body – thereby sort of discreetly covering essentials, and the third was the let-it-all-hang-out look ! Mostly I covered decorously but by the end of the day was a lot more carefree and comfortable with all the middle-aged men about, (very few single females about I noticed).

We had a great day, trying out all the different temperature saunas, steam rooms, infra-red thermrooms etc.  After each immersion, we went outside into a sheltered garden area and lounged to cool and recover ready for the next session.  The acquatic bit comes inbetween all these – cooling showers, ice-cold dunk pools, fresh ice chip rubs (wasn’t sure what to do with these to begin with!) – eat them to cool us ?– we eventually followed the herd and rubbed our bodies down with ice slush – fabulous after a 90 degree sauna.

Now - the best bit.  We have had many many Saunas all over the place, but the Almsauna (as it was called here) was a totally new experience.  A long log cabin with two heaters, one for logs and the other – electric ? The structure was obviously ancient, and one wall was of stone and also one of the heater chimneys and surrounds – these would retain the heat and so increase the temperature all day long.  What we didn’t know what a proper proper sauna was like as yet.

On the dot, every hour, a lady comes in, closes all the windows (it is incredibly hot in there already) pours a wooden bucketful of water (infused with different essential oils) onto the heater and starts wafting a towel/flag around over her head in a circular motion.  This dramatically increases the ambient temperature so you are left puffing ! Then, she walks around the whole place flying the flag above her head so to speak, by which time you are awash in sweat (sorry) and then to crown it all, she stands in front of each participant and waves the towel in front of you and a heat wave just hits you and overwhelms you – almost a scorching wind that takes your breath away and leaves you staggering. 

I could hear the men loving it, but after two goes of the Sahara-like heat wave just had to say a polite thank-you and dash out into the cool. I sat on a bench waiting for my heart to calm down and soon after heard the men clap and thank the lady for her effort. Exit all. She promptly went to the outdoor pond, stripped off, showered and cooled off with a brisk swim. What a job !?

The idea apparently is to relax for 15 mins, go to the Restroom for a snooze or so and then take showers/dips/icerubs to cool the blood/body ready for the next onslaught.  Wonder where we’ll find the next similar Sauna??

And so, you see, most of the day we were in various stages of dampness - dripping, sodden, sopping, streaming wet ……almost aquatic really

If you want a peep at where we were – follow this link – www.nautilla.com

Eosin

Have to mention Eosin – a particular glazing process designed by the Zsolnay family’s ceramic factory in Pecs, Hungary.  The factory was founded in 1852 but became world famous as a result of winning the Gold Prize at the World Fair in Paris  in 1878.  The final outcome of this process is a greenish lustre glaze.  In actuality it is simply a very rich coloured glaze which is quite unique and resembles precious metals in its colour changing sheen.

Sadly the factory workshops were taken over by the Communist state after the war and went into a decline, but, good news, have been bought by an enthusiast and the local town council and are being now restored ready for further renewed production. 

The amazingly beautiful ceramic sculptures and useful artefacts such as tiles were once in great demand and were also very collectable. Many of the town centre buildings feature detailing made in the factory and were fabulously decorative. We saw some smaller pieces in various antique shops but decided against buying whilst traveling so much, even though they were beautifully sculpted. Had no idea of the price though….next visit…..? 

A Hungarian village

Hello again,

Looking through my photos this morning and thought I’d write up a few comments about one particular village we travelled through in Hungary a few times and found fascinating. It was called Magyarherztelend and the reason we liked it so much was that it vaguely reminded us of French villages, especially the ones in northern France.

There was a scattering of modern houses but even these were individually designed and not at all uniform. Mainly it was little cottages, some seemed almost derelict but were still lived in incredibly, and the funny thing was that they often had a bristle of sky/satellite dishes so it was a combination of almost mediaeval and modern. We noticed this especially in Morrocco, the Bedouin whose tent we stayed in in the Sahara was lounging against his camel and staring into the duney distance wearing an ipod and had a mobile phone in his pocket! Almost like jumping centuries.

The village was a jumble of farmhouses, barns and an awful lot of wooden structures and sculptures. Even the bus stop shelter was a beautiful wooden building, it would be a pleasure to hang around and wait a while in there. Rustic and solid, really quite a delight and the best we’ve seen so far on our modest travels.

The sculptures were gigantic pieces, roughly hewn and by the colour of the wood made from all different variety of trees.  I’m sure Simon and Tony could have told us which? Whether these carvings were part of the local industry we never found out but I would imagine so as there were so many around the village.

Phil fell in love with the old tractor and trailer. The lady on the farm, who was really very dark skinned and so probably a Romany in origin and had the obligatory swarm of children around her,  couldn’t believe her ears when he asked if he could photograph it! 

I couldn’t believe that a family actually lived in the semi-ruin of a house. The place actually had a For Sale sign out the front but it was almost a wreck and would have been a major major undertaking for anybody interested. Would imagine the land would be worth more.

The palatial house next door was amazing and stood out in the village as a rich man’s abode, even having full working modern gigantic sheds/barns at the back.  We reckoned he must have won the lottery! World is full of contrasts.

Wine tasting

This was to be our first proper wine tasting, at least that’s what we thought!!

We were invited by the campsite owner at Sikonda, Hungary to go with a party of Estonians who were staying in the chalets at the site, (the reason they were there was the same as ours – orienteering at the World Masters!!) on an organised outing down to Villany for a wine tasting evening.  Villany is the main wine producing area in Hungary so we were quite excited about our first venture into the world of oenology ? Think that’s the relevant word.

We were to meet at the camp entrance at 4.30pm and board a coach for our journey.  We got down there and the only other people were a Swiss couple – prompt and punctual to the dot! – well, we ended up having a coffee and long chat with the couple as the Estonians were late back from an orienteering practice and still needed to have showers and get changed etc….so far so good??!!

We eventually got going after a bit of shuffling about as we were unaware that all the Estonians had their regular seats and we were ‘poaching’. One empty seat looks the same as another to me…

The journey down was interesting, first the motorway, then off onto a highway and then off onto local roads which were very twisty and bumpy!! How the coach survived the speed and potholes was a miracle as the driver didn’t slow down to take a change of surface, width, well, anything really into account – we were literally thrown about.  It was quite fun as we felt safe inside the coach but I can’t imagine what the oncoming drivers felt !

Our first stop was at the village of Villany itself, although in retrospect the village before was more picturesque as it wasn’t quite so commercial, don’t know the name I’m afraid!  We parked up on the main street, trooped out and wandered around, mainly up the street and then down the other side. It was an area full of wine bars/cellars and they were quite hustley (?) as we were so obviously tourists and they hoped we’d spend/buy!

Each little bar was selling the wine from its own vineyard and the idea was to have a tasting and maybe buy.  We spent about an hour finding the interesting back streets and discovered loads of little caves (sheds!) where each area of vineyard would store their produce.  All they were really was a shed with a big door to let the carts (or as our guide said – carriages) in. We eventually rejoined the group on the coach.  Then we were taken to the site of the evening’s entertainment – the Blum Pince winery. We were confronted with rows of these little ‘caves’ and it was a little disconcerting  to find that we had to go up the hill a little for our tasting.  We were met by our host and ushered inside a small hostelry and promptly began the shuffle for seats at rows of tables set out for the evening meal.  We eventually ended up with the Swiss couple  again who, thank God, spoke good English although as soon as we sat down the music started – so conversation was a little difficult.

The food was good solid rib-sticking stodge, roasted meats and pickled cabbage salad, typical working peasant food, with unlimited wine, both white or red carafes on the table and topped up continuously if needed. Dad loved it.

 

The eventual troop down to the cellar was interesting and the part I’d been looking forward to most, although by now spirits were high and the gloom and dankness not at all intimidating.  It was amazing down there, rows on rows of boozy smelling barrels and dusty old bottles. This was not a huge commercial venture like the vineyard we visited for an O event in Portugal where it was all incredibly high tech with vast stainless steel vats holding millions of gallons of wine, this was small time old time wine making. A joy really.

We actually tasted about 6 different wines and were told all sorts of details about them (can’t remember this stuff) but the main point of the evening was to have fun it seemed.  The host (the chap with the interesting one man music machine) kept breaking into song and was very charming to all the ladies! 

 Later on we trooped back upstairs and the Estonians all started to dance so I joined in – oompah muzak – but just about ok to dance to. Even Philip had a jiggle or two (at my insistence I must say tho). He’s getting pretty good at a cross between salsa and rock n roll and flung me about the floor pretty energetically.

Phew….all good fun but can’t honestly say am any the wiser re the finer points of wine tasting.