Erasmus Student on National Day Hike to Danube Bend
I was pleased to see that the ELTE GTK Hiking Club organised another hike on 15 March. That meant "plans sorted" for this day off university due to the national holiday. As I had already attended an earlier event organised by the Hiking Club, I was curious to see where we went this time. Our "tour guide" Zoltan had a very exciting and promising tour planned: we were hiking along the Danube Bend next to Nagymaros, a little town 40 minutes by train from Budapest.
Unfortunately, the weather forecast for said Wednesday was not kind to hikers, so we set out on sunny Friday 17th instead. In these marvellous weather conditions, we boarded the train at 9 in the morning from Nyugati Pályaudvar (you’ll get rewarded for getting up early with beautiful impressions throughout the hike) to Nagymaros-Visegrád where we got to admire the castle of Visegrád from across the Danube. Did you know that it is often used as a castle ruin location for films?
For me, this hike presented a perfect opportunity to switch off from university work (midterms are approaching) as we just spent several hours in nature away from the bustling capital. If you are looking for some activity that keeps you moving, I can also recommend you joining the next events.
Especially as an international student, I really appreciate that these hikes introduce you to so many different things. It is the perfect occasion to meet new people – I have gotten to talk to so many Hungarians now through these hikes but of course, you will always meet some international students as well and you get to expand your network. Secondly, you get to know not only Budapest but also some more remote, rural areas. I probably would not have made a trip to Nagymaros-Visegrád during my stay here but now I have been there and, if you ever find yourself there, I can recommend the café "Édeske Cukrász Műhely", at which we rounded off our hike.
This hike must have been one of the more challenging ones as we encountered several steeper sections along the route but if you like the thrill or are generally into hiking, you should not encounter any difficulties during these events. Check out the upcoming events, from what I have heard, they are more of a "get-together" than a "let’s-climb-the-Himalaya" kind-of hikes.
I am looking forward to what the next event will be, and I will take the beautifully blooming flowers and trees we have passed with me as a souvenir and, of course, the chance to participate for free (except for the train ticket but to be honest, it is very cheap) at a well-planned and executed hike north-west of Budapest. See you there!
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