Hortobágy National Park

After my gait gradually normalized in the past few days, it is time to pack up and continue the journey on Friday (28.07.2017). Between us and Debrecen (the next destination) lies Hortobágy National Park, the largest and oldest national park in Hungary. The protected Puszta here is a UNESCO World Heritage site, a nature reserve, and the largest and most famous Central European steppe. Enough superlatives to take a closer look. In the early evening, we leave the campsite and head east. At the edge of the village, we follow field and forest paths towards the steppe. After about an hour, we find ourselves confronted with a small pack of 4 free-roaming dogs at the last farmstead in Tiszafüred. The gang comes running towards us with great enthusiasm, but then keeps a respectful distance. Rango is doing a great job, staying relatively calm and keeping a healthy distance between us and the farm dogs. I manage to convince the cheekiest one of the four to let us pass in peace with a stone. The Dicke is growing into his role. After another hour of relaxed hiking, it starts to get dark and it's time to find a campsite. Unfortunately, the streams marked on the map turn out to be unusable for a necessary cooling down, so I decide to set up the tent on a cut field between straw bales. The night sky of stars is slightly below expectations, in intensity it can also be observed at the Zschopau near Kunnersdorf. Nevertheless, it was beautiful to look at.

The next morning, we continue. The priority is to supply drinking water. Since there are hardly any natural water sources, my supply of three and a half liters doesn't get me very far. The Dicke is thirsty too. According to the map, the next opportunity to stock up on water is about 6km away in Egyek. After an hour and a half, mainly along a lightly traveled country road, we take a break at a blue drinking water pump. I refill our reserves and take the opportunity to refresh myself a bit. Then we continue along the railway tracks towards Hortobágy. The temperatures have exceeded 30°C since the morning, and we haven't seen shade for a while. The Dicke is struggling with the sun and I increasingly miss the straw hat that I lost when changing trains on the way to Tiszafüred. After another good 6km, it's time for a short break at the Ohat-Pusztakócs train station. The navigation suggests another 15km to Hortobágy along two country roads, with little prospect of water supply. Water surfaces are plentifully marked on the map again, but experience has taught me that this doesn't always help. The next train in the direction of Debrecen arrives in about 30 minutes and will safely take us to Hortobágy. In the village, I leave the Dicke and our luggage in a shady park and take a stroll. Apart from a zoo and the nine-arched bridge over a small standing water, there is not much to see. My map shows the Borsosi-tó in the southeast of the village. It's worth a try... After walking for about 30 minutes along a path through the reed belt of the lake (again with Rango and all the luggage in the sun, still over 30°C), I give up. I was able to catch a glimpse of the huge water surface promising cooling down, but I couldn't find access to it. I set up the overnight camp on a small campsite on the eastern edge of Hortobágy.

On Sunday morning (30.07.2017) we set off again. We should be able to make it to Balmazújváros today. We leave Hortobágy towards the northeast and then make our way through the steppe along the railway tracks. We take a short break at the Kónya train station, the little station offers one of the few shady spots on our route. The sight of the unfamiliar landscape still captivates me. Isolated bushes and small trees interrupt the almost flat surface. Here and there a small, seemingly rural complex of buildings with a typical well and otherwise nothing but dry grass. After about 3 hours, we reach Balmazújváros. At the entrance to the village, we once again encounter free-roaming farm dogs, but we handle the situations with confidence by now. In the center, I treat myself to an ice cream and inquire about the suitability for swimming in a lake at the southeastern end of the city. Unfortunately, without any clear findings. I decide to take the train to Debrecen in the afternoon. A hike would have led us nearly 30km along country roads, a not very motivating prospect.