1936 On the Continent

cave, the only known cave of tufa-stalactite in the world. The neighbouring places are all very pretty and give excellent opportunities for summer and winter sports.
    It you would still like to continue the flight in our imaginary airplane, you will notice that its direction is turned westwards. As we pass the silver ribbon of the Danube we soon catch a glimpse of a large silver mirror glittering in the sunshine. That is Lake Balaton. The biggest lake of Central Europe, it is some fifty miles in length and ten in width. You can see quite well that it is surrounded by a hilly countryside. That part of Hungary is called Dunántul (Transdanubia); always well protected in the stormy centuries against the attacks of the East, it became the hothouse of Hungarian culture. The Transdanubian towns are mostly built in Baroque, showing the influence of Austria, which is so near here. The best examples of this Baroque are to be found in Sopron, which was originally a Roman colony. Its present houses were for the most part built in the fifteenth century.
    Before we alight by Lake Balaton, with your kind permission I should like to fly round with you over the Dunántul. About five miles from Sopron is Lake Ferto, the second biggest in Hungary. The industrial centre of the Dunántul is Gyor. It has an important harbour onthe Danube and many factories. The monastery of Pannonhalma, a few miles off Gyor, is of historical interest; it was founded by a Prince of Hungary very nearly a thousand years ago. Its Roman-Gothic cathedral was built in 1225. In the monastery library some of the most valuable sources of Hungarian history are preserved.
    And now we are approaching a hill surrounded by a lovely forest. It is called Bakony. A century back it was the romantic haunt of the Hungarian outlaw, whose most interesting history has yet to be written. In the small village of Zsámbék you find a church which is very similar to Notre Dame de Paris in its architecture. Its builder was very probably Villard de Honnecourt.
    The largest town of the Bakony is Veszprém. It is an important tourist centre. Being, or trying to be, a conscientious guide, I have in the course of my former letters often used the expression “world-famous.” With your kind permission I shall have to use it again. I am writing about Herend and the lovely traditions of Hungarian china. England first made her acquaintance with its products in 1851 when they were exhibited in the Great Exhibition at the Crystal Palace. Queen Victoria gave a big order for them then. The factory was flourishing in those years.
    Székesfehérvár: thirty seconds. In the first three centuries of Hungarian history the centre of the court and its activities. It is something like a Roman Catholic Winchester.
    Pécs: the largest town of Southern Hungary. Its cathedral has remained intact through troubled centuries. It was built nine hundred years ago, and it is one of the loveliest buildings in Hungary. The primitive Christian catacombs under the cathedral are still to be seen. Outside Rome you cannot find anywhere else such interesting ecclesiastical relics of the first five centuries.
    Szombathely: thirty seconds. It was also a Roman colony, and its name was very likely Sabaria. Its museum contains an interesting collection of Roman glass. The episcopal palace is also worth visiting.
    Koszeg: centre of one of the most beautiful tourist districts of Hungary. It is a picturesque and quiet little town, and full of lovely old houses.
    And now we fly back to the Balaton and take a rest on the beach of the large lake. Its water is generally rather shallow, on the average it is rarely deeper than 10 or 12 feet. Its golden white sand is soft like velvet. And its water, which is soft and warm, is like a huge opalescent shell reflecting the most lovely colour variations of the sky. Nowhere in the world have I seen such lovely nights as on the banks of the Balaton. The water contains important minerals which encourage the circulation and are recommended for children. The Balaton is easy to reach from all points of the country, moreover its railway lines are parts of some of the most important international lines. It is situated about two and a half hours from Budapest and about six hours from Vienna.
    On the banks of the lake there are many watering-places, among them Balatonfüred, Almádi, Siófok, Tihany, Keszthely, Boglár, on which I shall not enlarge this time. Some of them are towns and have luxury