A Month of Relaxation – A Dream Within Reach

“If it’s Tuesday, this must be Belgium.” In the old comedy, the participants in the tour rush through Europe, spending barely more than a day in each major city.

Travel is wonderful, but we often rush and hurry too. Time is short: we have a week, or perhaps only a few days. When we return home, our minds are still buzzing with experiences, but in reality, what we would really like is to sleep for a long time.

But what if we have enough time and do not have to hurry? It could be an interesting travel experiment.

What if we spent a month in Hungary?

Many people can work remotely, so this possibility may also be open to those who cannot completely disconnect from their daily responsibilities for an entire month.

Let us add another element to the experience and leave our car at home. Let us become part of everyday life.

How long does it take before we begin to feel “at home” in a foreign town? When does the café owner greet us? When does the shopkeeper recognize us? When does the neighbour say hello for the first time?

Instead of rushing through the sights, let us enjoy the places that are accessible to us.

Such a journey naturally requires some preparation. But if we do not want to run from one attraction to another with a checklist, and instead give ourselves time, it can become a wonderful adventure.

The principle is simple: we spend a month in the same city or town, and from there we devote no more than one or two days a week to exploring the surrounding area.

We look for places that can be reached within roughly two hours by public transport.

Most of the time is then spent relaxing and discovering the details and everyday life of the place. We may almost become locals.

We find the best bakery, shop at the little local store, and if we do not feel like cooking, we do not necessarily look for restaurants aimed at tourists. We can find out where the locals eat.

Not having a car also creates a new situation. We can walk, use local transport, and instead of worrying about traffic, we can enjoy the scenery. We do not have to complicate our lives with parking, refuelling and all the other concerns associated with a car.

Perhaps this is what changes the rhythm of the journey most of all.

Everyone would like to step away from the pace dictated by modern life from time to time, and sail on calmer waters – at least for a while.

I recommend three Hungarian bases for those who would like to try this experiment.

The only fixed point is Budapest if we arrive by plane. We can spend our arrival and departure days here. There are plenty of suitable accommodation options.

Of course, we cannot get to know Budapest in such a short time, but we can get a taste of what the city has to offer. A longer walk along the Pest or Buda riverbank, along the Grand Boulevard or through the city centre can already provide an interesting introduction.

Then we can set off for one of our chosen bases.

Eger is a historic city best known for its castle, Baroque town centre and wine region. The city and its surroundings offer a wide variety of activities, while the centre itself is easy to explore on foot.

It is easily accessible from Budapest by train, is the seat of an archbishopric, and offers significant architectural, cultural and museum attractions.

From Eger, it is worth taking a trip to Miskolc and Lillafüred. We can visit Diósgyőr Castle, go to Miskolctapolca, and then return to Eger, where the peaceful feeling of home awaits us.

The Bükk Mountains and Szilvásvárad offer further possibilities.

Pécs has a Mediterranean atmosphere and is culturally rich, making it a suitable place for a month of slow travel. Its historic centre, museums, restaurants and cafés offer enough to keep us occupied on their own.

There are plenty of opportunities in the surrounding area as well. On a longer excursion we can visit Harkány, where the thermal spa offers relaxation, while in Villány we can explore the famous wine region.

The beautifully renovated castle of Siklós is also a worthwhile destination. Orfű and Abaliget offer yet another side of the landscape of southern Transdanubia.

Balatonfüred is one of the most pleasant towns on the northern shore of Lake Balaton, with a long lakeside promenade and a peaceful resort-town atmosphere.

In spring there are not yet the summer crowds, making it particularly pleasant for a month-long stay. The town itself offers plenty of opportunities for walking, relaxation, dining and exploring the lakeshore.

From here, Tihany, Badacsony, Veszprém and several other towns around Lake Balaton can be reached on individual excursions.

Perhaps this is the most tempting option: Balatonfüred is one of the historic spa towns of Lake Balaton, and the area around the lake offers countless interesting sights that can also be reached by public transport.

Of course, Hungary offers many other possibilities for this kind of travel. We can choose freely.

When booking accommodation, it is worth choosing an apartment with a suitable private kitchen and bathroom. Such accommodation is not uncommon.

We should also decide how important it is for us to stay in the centre of the town. A quiet little street away from the centre may prove to be a more comfortable home for a month than an apartment in the middle of the city.

Hungary’s public transport system covers a significant part of the country. Of course, there are delays and cancelled services – but perhaps that is not such a bad thing either.

After all, we are not tourists now. We are living here for a month. If we miss the bus, another one will come. If it rains, we do not have to complete that day’s programme. In fact, we can be spontaneous. If we do not have to worry about finding accommodation every night, we can even decide over our morning coffee what we feel like doing that day.

If we like a café, we can simply go back the next day.

And perhaps that is the whole point of this kind of journey.

In terms of cost, it may be surprising that a month of this kind of travel can sometimes cost only slightly more than a one-week or ten-day trip offered by a more comfortable travel agency.

In return, we do not get a pre-arranged programme.

We get a month.

A month in which we do not simply see something, but get to know it.

If we can, let us do it.

Perhaps we will have experiences that stay with us much longer than the memories of a whirlwind organised tour.

And when we return home, perhaps our identity will have expanded a little, and our understanding of the world – and of ourselves – will have changed.

By: Viktor Szentkiralyi

English translation: Galatea – an LLM-based digital assistant.