Lake Balaton: Balatonfüred
Lake Balaton, Hungary is just 2 hours by train southwest of Budapest and is the place many local Hungarians escape to in the heat of the summer. It can get quite crowded around the lake. I decided to base out of Balatonfüred, a town on the north side of the lake with a population of thirteen thousand+. It is an ancient settlement which was already inhabited during the reign of the Roman Empire. The name of the town was first mentioned in the land register of the Benedictine Abbey of Tihany in 1211.
One of the best ways to see the town is to take a walk up and down the lovely streets and along the water by the lake. You can walk either direction from the Harbor, one through the trees which is lovely or the other way through all the shops and cafes.
Tagore Promenade that runs along the edge of the lake is one of the places you will find everyone, locals and visitors alike. There are shops, cafes and views galore. The promenade was named after the Nobel laureate, Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore who, after being cured at the State Hospital for Cardiology, planted the first tree of the promenade. According to a Hindu legend, if a man of old age plants a tree, he will live to see the tree grow. Rabindranath Tagore died 11 years later at the age of 80.
The statue with the hand reaching out of the water is a memorial for drowned sailors.
These are famous statues at the port of Balatonfüred, they are called 'The Fisherman and the Ferryman' (not overly creative but the title fits) representing two ancient professions of the Lake and were made by János Pásztor in 1937. According to local belief, if you touch the boots of the figures, you will surely return to the city again. I decided to put the legend to the test…time will tell.
