Horseplay Still Reins in Hungary

The Great Plain of Hungary, stretching east of the Danube into the Carpathian Basin formed by mountains of Czechoslovakia, Poland, Russia’s Ukraine and Romania, is the beloved puszta of every Hungarian--a vast, flat and rustic homeland where the fledgling nation and its character took shape.

It was here that the swift and dauntless Magyar horsemen, sweeping south in the 9th Century from their tribal homes somewhere between Finland and the Urals, chose to first plunder and then settle.

While the Celts and later Romans had turned the land west of the Danube into a “more culturally advanced” region, the harsh life and salt flats of the puszta (poosh-ta) had kept it primarily rural, a land of small villages and lonely herdsmen eking out paltry livings.

As austere as life was, it became even worse with the barbaric invasions of the Mongols (Tartars) in the 13th Century and Turks in the 16th. Both plundered, murdered and laid waste the land and forests, forcing natives to desert their remote villages for the relative protection of larger cities.

Today’s puszta , particularly Hortobagy (Horto-baage), its central region, has with few exceptions changed very little. It is still a region of herdsmen: horses, sheep, cattle and pigs, plus more than 1,000 goose farms--great white waves of waddling birds awaiting their turns on Hungary’s menus, either roasted with dumplings or as delicious and frightfully rich foie gras .

The puszta’s csikos (cowboys) still wear their ancient blue costumes with black vests and jaunty hats. Storks seem to build nests on every chimney. Low white farmhouses with thatched roofs and nearby water-well poles etch the horizon of endless steppes.

The Great Plain’s history, color, costumes and traditions still draw many Hungarians seeking their heritage, plus foreigners searching for a Hungary that used to be. While tradition is perhaps stronger here than anywhere in the country, a Hungarian friend of many years assured us that Magyar horsemen no longer cure meat beneath their saddle blankets as they did in days gone by, a most comforting thought after enjoying a spicy bowl of goulash.

Debrecen, Hungary’s third-largest city and the nearest major one to the Hortobagy, is a pleasant and lively town of 200,000. It has been a prosperous market center since the Middle Ages, and was once known as the “Calvinist Rome,” thanks to the still-large following of the French-Swiss theologian in Hungary. Yet, apart from its Calvinist Great Church, universities and array of stately old homes, the primary reason for a visit here is for accommodations while visiting hotel-poor Hortobagy just 22 miles west.

The Hortobagy is both a region of the puszta and a charming village no visitor to Hungary should miss. No civilized place on earth will whisk you so quickly backward in time.

How long/how much? Give Debrecen little more than a half-day, but allow at least a full day, preferably two, for the Hortobagy. Visits to other towns of eastern Hungary, particularly historic Eger and the delightful wine village of Tokaj, make a very pleasant and scenic week’s car trip from Budapest. Lodging and dining costs in this part of Hungary hover between inexpensive and unbelievably cheap.

Getting settled in: Hotel Hortobagy is a small and modest--but bright and comfortable--wayside inn with cozy bedrooms, tiny TV and breakfast only served. It’s about a mile down the road from the marvelous Hortobagy Csarda, and convenient to most village activities and sights.

Hotel Civis in Debrecen is a spanking new place of marvelous contemporary architecture, with a magnificent restaurant in a rooftop conservatory. Bedrooms are modern and have mini-bars, TV and small kitchens with all the necessities. Civis is in the heart of town very near excellent shopping.

Hotel Aranybika is the city’s Grande Dame, built three centuries ago and Hungary’s oldest hotel. The facade of the Aranybika (Golden Bull) looks like something right out of “Ivanhoe,” while the lobby and dining room have a distinct Sistine Chapel grandeur. Intermittent renovations are going on to restore some of the elegance it lost during years of neglect under the Communist government, but bedrooms are still huge and comfortable.

Regional food and drink: Hungarian food gets our vote as Eastern Europe’s best, thanks to its variety, fresh produce and liberal use of the country’s three paprikas (red, green and white, the colors of Hungary’s flag). The Hortobagy pancake, famous throughout Hungary, is a crepe stuffed with a goulash-like mixture of meat and served with sour cream.

The Great Plain’s best sausages come from Szeged in the south, but after more than three decades of devouring them at every opportunity, we’re still partial to debrecena , a piquant wurst rivaled among true wurst epicures only by Munich’s weisswurst. And mutton goulash is a hearty favorite throughout the puszta .

Hungary’s most noble red wine, Bull’s Blood, comes from Eger, but you’ll be hard put to find a bottle of Hungarian beer. It’s said to be excellent, but restaurants are forever pushing the more expensive German brands.

Dining well: The colorful dining room of Hortobagy Csarda, built in 1699 as a wayside inn, lays out just about every dish favored in the puszta . Each of its several rooms has one of the huge ceramic stoves seen all over Central Europe, rustic furniture, game heads on the walls and wildflowers on tables.

Try the carp soup, one of four kinds of goulash prepared in a kettle over an open fire, Hortobagy pancakes, numerous cutlets, roasts or freshwater fish. The most expensive dish on the menu here is about $2.60. Hortobagy Csarda has a few rooms, all done in rustic-traditional style, but they’re usually filled. Try calling ahead from Budapest: (52) 69-139.

A good stop for lunch between Debrecen and Hortobagy is Kadarcsi Csarda, a 150-year-old inn about halfway between the two on the main road. Everything about the place is traditional in look and feel, with stark white exterior and interior walls, original furniture, mounted boar’s head, tables and a kettle outside for cooking goulash. Like Hortobagy Csarda, it has Gypsy music in the evenings and folkloric songs and dances twice a week.

The dining room of Hotel Aranybika, complete with stained-glass windows and a Gypsy trio in costume, has an enormous menu crammed with local specialties, the most expensive being the fried goose liver with potatoes and garnish for $7.50. Chilled sour-cherry soup is something we never pass up, nor the stuffed cabbage or gigantic mixed grill for two persons at $4.60. Excellent Hungarian wines cost a pittance, and the sprightly music soon helps you get over the rather ecclesiastical aura of the room.

Restaurant Csokonai (Kossuth utca 21 in Debrecen) and Gambrinus (Istvan utca 121) are both centrally located, atmospheric, have menus of local specialties and main-dish prices in the $2.50 range. Both are considered among the city’s best.

On your own: After a visit to Debrecen’s severely Calvinistic Great Church and perhaps a stop at the Deri Museum for a look at the colorful shepherds’ clothing and home furnishings of local peasants, head out for the village of Hortobagy.

Ask at the csarda , or hotel, for a schedule of events and carriage tours in the puszta to visit working farmsteads. Tours range from seeing the csikos at work on their beautifully trained horses to two-horse or five-horse carriage visits to the sheep, cattle and horse farms ($5.50 per person).

Handsome and spirited horses are available for riding the puszta alone ($5 an hour). Individual riding lessons cost $11 hourly, and there are regularly scheduled performances of horsemanship in a small corral-stadium. In July-August there is a full schedule of fairs, animal markets, folkloric events and the Hortobagy International Horse Show.

In spring and autumn, the Hortobagy is a resting place and sanctuary for millions of birds, drawing bird-watchers from around the world.

Temperatures rise above 100 during midsummer, but it’s a dry and bearable heat. It also produces the Fata Morgana, a Hortobagy mirage that replicates grazing herds or farmhouses high in the sky.

Hungary is probably the spa capital of Europe, and one of the most famous is in the town of Hajduszoboszlo, just 13 miles southwest of Debrecen. Some 2 million guests yearly seek the curative effects of its 20 indoor and outdoor pools. Debrecen has its own spa right in the town’s Great Forest park.

GUIDEBOOK

Hungary’s Great Plain

Getting here: Fly KLM, Pan Am, Swissair or SAS to Budapest. Hungary’s Malev Airlines flies nonstop from New York, but there are no domestic flights in Hungary. An advance-purchase, round-trip ticket will cost from $1,318 to $1,458. Take a train from Budapest to Debrecen, using a Hungary FlexiPass (available only in the United States) at a cost of $35 (five days of first-class travel within 15 days) or $55 (10 days within a month).

A few fast facts: Hungary’s forint recently sold for 72 to the dollar, about .0138 each. Best time for a Hortobagy visit is from May through October, with most of the activities taking place in July and August. You no longer need a visa for Hungary.

Getting settled in: Hotel Hortobagy, National Road 33 near the village of Hortobagy, $22 double; Hotel Civis, Kalvin Terrace 4, Debrecen, $52 B&B; double; Hotel Aranybika, Voroshadsereg utca 11, $48 B&B; double.

For more information: Call Hungarian Hotels at (213) 649-5960, or write (6033 W. Century Blvd., Suite 670, Los Angeles 90045) for a booklet on Eastern Hungary and the Great Plain, a map of the country and another brochure of general information on Hungarian travel.