This is my second blogpost about finishing the National Blue Trail, if haven’t read the first part, you can read it here. If you have no idea what this trail is, check my other blogpost about it.
The second section in Zemplén
We continued the hike the next day from Sátoraljaújhely, we went to Vágáshuta. This part was nothing special, a few wonderful views on the hills around the town, my son hiked a lot on this day. Though his favourite thing was a huge bulldozer in the forest, he loves such huge vehicles.
Tomorrow we hiked from Vágáshuta till Bózsva, through two other villages, Nagyhuta and Kishuta. Lots of ‘hutas’ around. Huta means owen used for glass making, they mainly produced glass in these small villages, that is how they were named. We saw many wine cellars in these settlements carved in the tuff, a soft volcanic rock. In Kishuta we also saw the little forest train passing by.
After so many days of hiking we had a day off in Sátoraljaújhely, we discovered the charming little town and ate my favourite Hungarian dish, a good fisherman’s soup in a local restaurant.
The next day we picked up where we stopped. Unlike most of our route so far, the trail from Bózsva to Füzér was not going in the woods, but mostly on an openair asphalt road (the blue trail marking was also painted on it). It was such a beautiful view seeing the Castle of Füzér in the distance.
And the final day of ‘Kéktúra’. We read that the uphill part from Füzér to Kis-Milic is one of the hardest ones of the whole trail, but didn’t realize it that much, as our attention was caught by the beautiful beech forests we were crossing. Eventually we reached the lookout tower on the peak, but we didn’t stay long here, as freezing wind was constantly blowing. Nevertheless we checked the breathtaking panorama here. We moved on along the Slovakian border to Nagy-Milic, which is the highest peak of the Zemplén mountains. Descending was much easier after the peaks (though there was a challenging muddy part too), with a few meadows in between the woods, nature was beautiful.
Actually we imagined reaching the final milestone of the National Blue Trail and the last stamping as a cathartic moment. Maybe not crying, but somehow feeling the reward of our years long effort. Well, thanks to our son, it wasn’t like that at all. He was already very tired and hungry after this long day, so we had to be quick, we just took a few essential photos, and went to a local restaurant.
After our final day we went back to Füzér by car to visit the amazing castle which sits on a volcanic peak. Another stunning castle in Zemplén, where they also kept the Hungarian holy crown for a while. We also visited a superb playground at the foot of the hill, where my son couldn’t play a day before. It was not like most of the playgrounds, this one was based on a Hungarian folk-tale, I found it very innovative.
Recieving the certificate
When we returned to Budapest, I handed in our brochures to the Hungarian Hikers Association, and they checked them quite quickly, we could go and receive our certificates and the beautiful enamel pins in a few weeks. It was so nice to get them personally at the headquarters of the association, another touching memory. I think we still haven’t realized that we have done it, it is over. It was one of the greatest experiences of our life, with so many memorable moments, we got to know our country more than we imagined before. Our next goal would be the Rockenbauer Pál South-Transdanubian Blue Trail, but we have to wait a few years, as our kid is now too big and heavy to carry, but he can’t walk that much yet.
