While spending some down time in the Lake Balaton area of Hungary we made a small side trip to a small peninsula called Tihany. It was about an hour’s drive around the lake from Siofok and was pretty easy, Hungarian roads make lots of sense and are easy to navigate! You do have the option to take a ferry across the lake instead but it didn’t fit in with our timings.
There are several things to do on Tihany, most famously is the Benedictine monastery and the Tihany echo. One was more impressive than the other. First off though we decided to check out a Lavender museum as Tihany is known for is lavender farms.
It isn’t what I would call enthralling or as informative as you would find in the UK but it was interesting nonetheless. We watched a 20 minute video that explained how Tihany was formed (old volcano) along with showing some pictures from the area. We didn’t spend a huge amount of time there but it was okay.
Next up we walked up to the monastery and took a look inside.
I always find Benedictine churches to be a little odd and this one didn’t disappoint, the inside was full of highly decorated walls and a crypt underneath the main hall. We spent some time looking round and taking pictures before walking through some exhibitions and out into the open air. It was relatively cheap to get in and I would recommend it as something to do while you’re there.
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Even if you don’t go inside the views from the top of the hill over Lake Balaton are wonderful and show the scale of the lake better than from the waterside. We walked along the wall to the famous Tihany Echo. This is an area which has been well known since the 18th century, the legend goes that whatever is said here can be heard from the other side of the island.
New buildings have been erected and the area has changed so the echo isn’t as loud anymore but if you have a good set of lungs on you then you can get it to work. We opted for an ice cream instead!
Our last stop of the day before some gift shop shopping was the Paprika Haus. When you try and find information online about this the only things which really come up are pictures of the front so I wasn’t even sure it was real. We managed to find it and the outside really does like up to the name as it’s covered in dried paprikas! Inside is a lovely gift shop which as many paprika related items you can think of! Paprika purchased we headed back round the lake to “home”.
Tihany is a quaint place, reminds me of Arundel in the UK if you’ve ever been, it’s good to spend a few hours wandering around and getting a feel for the place even if it did feel a bit sanitised!
That concludes the roundup from our second trip to Hungary! There is so so much more to this wonderful country that I can’t wait to investigate. It may be a couple of years before we get back to Hungary but I’m hoping a trip to Eger, the second city of Hungary, may be on the cards!
