The last part of my time in Hungary was amazing, despite getting a nasty cold after the first day of poking around dusty, guano-filled church attics. Sándor and I spent Monday and Tuesday driving around the national park and surrounding area to look for bat colonies in known roosts as part of the park’s bat monitoring program. Unfortunately we were a little late in the season to see many bats (usually in some of the church attics there can be 2,000 bats of up to six species (Greater Horseshoe Bats (Rhinolophus ferrumequinum), Lesser Horseshoe Bats (Rhinolophus hipposideros), Mediterranean Horseshoe Bats (Rhinolophus euryale), Geoffroy’s Bats (Myotis emarginatus), Greater Noctule Bats (Nyctalus lasiopterus), and Serotine Bats (Eptesicus serotinus)) but we did see some. One of the churches we visited was 800 years old. There was such a contrast between the beautiful original artwork in the main part of the church and the smelly, guano-filled attic. The whole time I was in Hungary I couldn’t get over my amazement at the history of the country and the places I visited. That church was over 500 years older than the entire United States of America. The US (and Australia) doesn’t have that kind of history. It still amazes me.
Another of the churches had a
large spotlight that shined on the front of the church at night (for aesthetic
reasons). Unfortunately it shined right on the hole where the bats emerge at
night, and during this maternity season Sándor observed that the bats were
afraid of the light and came out later in the evening when the light was on.
Most of the insects the bats feed on are most active right after sunset, so the
bats missed the optimal feeding time and therefore didn’t get as much food as
bats in other roosts, which in turn affected the food (milk) available for the
pups. Sándor worked with the church staff to keep the light off during the
maternity season so that the bat moms can feed well and provide enough milk for
their pups. Sándor stressed the importance of building and maintaining close
relationships with members of the local community so that conservation efforts
can be accomplished more effectively. I couldn’t agree more.
A typical rural street in northern Hungary.
Inside one of the churches we investigated for bats.
An 800-year-old painting in an 800-year-old church.
An ornate Catholic church.
What lies above (a.k.a. piles of bat guano).
Checking the church attic for roosting bats.
Collecting dead pups so Sandor can determine the pup mortality for this year.
A Geoffroy's Bat (Myotis emarginatus).
Lesser Horseshoe Bats in an abandoned, run-down hunting lodge. The lodge was definitely not an ideal roosting site.
More horseshoe bats.
On Monday we also visited
Baradla Barlang (Baradla Cave), which is the largest cave in Hungary at 25km long. We spent
about 2 ½ hours in the cave looking for bats. We found a few, but again, it’s a
bit late in the season and they have moved on to their hibernating roosts.
Baradla is an AMAZING cave, probably the most amazing I’ve ever seen. The
ceilings are huge! In the main part where we were, there is a small river
running through it, although it was dry when we were there. The chamber runs
for a long time, and when there is water in the river you can take a boat tour
through the cave. The park also holds about six weddings in this part of the
cave every year, and I could definitely see why people would want to have a
ceremony there!
Dressed in caving overalls and ready to enter Baradla Cave.
The dark spot in the dried up river is a small boat.
A fire-bellied toad.
One of 46 (?) endemic species found only in Baradla Cave.
I can see why wedding ceremonies are held here! This photo doesn't even do it justice.
Checking out Baradla Cave.
There were many of these big spiders hanging out in the exit of the cave.
Sándor was a very good tour
guide, as he took me not only to bat sites but also to a few touristy sites.
One of these was the largest book in the world, as certified by the Guinness World
Records. The book, which covers the history, geography, flora, and fauna of the
region, measures 13.71 x 12.36 feet, weighs 3,130 lbs 9 oz, and has 346 pages.
It was completed on March 21, 2010. The second largest book is located in Denver, Colorado, and the
third largest in Lebanon,
or so I was told. Sometimes I think people have too much time on their hands...
The elderly man who owns the museum also owns an attached paper-making and printing museum, which is functional. He is currently working on making an exact copy of Gutenberg’s Bible using the exact same methods and materials that were used to make the original. He was very enthusiastic about his work and even took us to a private part of his home to show us his old Bible collection. They were beautiful books!
Sándor and I then had lunch on a hill overlooking the huge national park. It was eerily silent. No noises of cars or planes, no people talking, no birds singing, nothing except for a few crickets chirping. It struck me just how remote the place was. Sándor pointed out a small cluster of houses on a hillside and told me that the population of that town was 11. It did have a mayor and a council, which consisted of five people. Almost the entire population was part of the local government!
The elderly man who owns the museum also owns an attached paper-making and printing museum, which is functional. He is currently working on making an exact copy of Gutenberg’s Bible using the exact same methods and materials that were used to make the original. He was very enthusiastic about his work and even took us to a private part of his home to show us his old Bible collection. They were beautiful books!
Sándor and I then had lunch on a hill overlooking the huge national park. It was eerily silent. No noises of cars or planes, no people talking, no birds singing, nothing except for a few crickets chirping. It struck me just how remote the place was. Sándor pointed out a small cluster of houses on a hillside and told me that the population of that town was 11. It did have a mayor and a council, which consisted of five people. Almost the entire population was part of the local government!
Standing beside the world's largest book.
Part of the museum keeper's Bible collection.
The view from our lunch spot.
On Tuesday I woke up with a
sore throat and stuffy nose. I knew what that meant. I’ve gotten colds (or
something) several times over the years after being around places filled with
bat guano. I knew I was in for an uncomfortable next few days. Despite that, I
was excited to continue our tour of the area. Our first stop of the day was a
small, crystal clear stream in the nearby village of Jósvafő to see some tiny
endemic snails found only in pristine water in that area near the Carpathian
Mountains. Because they are so rare, the government has determined a monetary
value for the snails so that damage to them/their habitat can be assessed in
court cases. Each individual snail is worth 10,000 HUF, or about AUD$43. Wow!
Some expensive snails!
In on of the church attics we visited we found many
old papers that looked like old bibles or some other type of church document.
We collected it and took it to the bible guy so he could determine what it was
and how old it was. He got really excited when he saw it and went to work
straight away trying to find out what it was. He thinks it may be 200 to 300
years old. Wow! When he figures out what it is he’ll let us know, and he’ll
acknowledge Sándor and me as the people who discovered it. Cool!
After that I got a rare opportunity to be in two countries at once. Sándor took me to the border between Hungary and Slovakia, where of course I got a picture. There’s nothing besides the two signs that would indicate that one side of the road is part of one country and the other side is part of another country.
After that I got a rare opportunity to be in two countries at once. Sándor took me to the border between Hungary and Slovakia, where of course I got a picture. There’s nothing besides the two signs that would indicate that one side of the road is part of one country and the other side is part of another country.
Standing in two countries at once (Slovakia (on left of picture) and Hungary (on right of picture)!
Our next stop was the Rákóczi Barlang (Rákóczi Cave). We entered through an old mine
tunnel, which was quite an eerie experience, like in a horror movie. I can’t
even imagine what life was like for the miners in the dark, moist tunnels. Unfortunately
the artificial lighting in the cave was undergoing renovation, so we couldn’t
see the cave in its full glory. However, even with our small headlamps, I could
see just how breathtaking the cave was. It was extremely tall and the walls
were covered in “popcorn” formations. At the bottom was a teal-colored lake, 40
meters deep and 120 meters long. Sándor told me about a cave diver who had
gotten lost in the water and had (luckily) found a spot where he could sit and
breathe. He had to wait five days until he was rescued. I don’t think I’ll be
cave diving any time soon!
After Rákóczi Cave we investigated several other entrances to the mine. Luck was with us, as in one area we found at least 1,000 bats roosting and flying around! Most of them were horseshoe bats, but we saw two Bent-wing Bats (Miniopterus schreibersii). Sándor was very excited about the find since they had never seen Bent-wings in that mine before. He told me they (the people monitoring the caves) would not have made that discovery if I had not been there, since he only checked that mine so I could see it. I’m glad I could help!
After Rákóczi Cave we investigated several other entrances to the mine. Luck was with us, as in one area we found at least 1,000 bats roosting and flying around! Most of them were horseshoe bats, but we saw two Bent-wing Bats (Miniopterus schreibersii). Sándor was very excited about the find since they had never seen Bent-wings in that mine before. He told me they (the people monitoring the caves) would not have made that discovery if I had not been there, since he only checked that mine so I could see it. I’m glad I could help!
I felt like I was in a horror movie inside the old mine.
A view of the lake at the bottom of the cave.
Some of these formations defy gravity
and grow horizontally.
A dead moth covered in water droplets
and fungus.
Crawling into a small mine entrance.
Our last stop was a visitor center in the park,
where I saw the first squirrel I’ve seen in over a year! To end the day we
stopped at an ice cream stand that Sándor frequents when he has visitors from
other countries. Again, the ice cream was delicious! That evening Sándor and
his wife (and their four young, energetic kids) had me over for dinner. They
shared some Hungarian white dessert wine, called Tokaji (“Wine of Kings, King
of Wines”), from a World Heritage region of the country. It was sweet and
delicious, although having two (albeit small) glasses on an empty stomach and
with a cold was probably not the best idea. His wife wrote out directions for
me for the next day in Budapest.
My flight was at 8:00pm the next day, and I was getting a ride to the city at
6:00am, so I’d have a bit of time to look around before heading to the airport.
I got pretty much no sleep that night (due to
packing, being sick, and nerves) so I was already quite exhausted when I was
picked up by Tamás, one of Sándor’s colleagues, at 6:00am. The drive to Budapest took about 3 ½
hours. The speed limit on the highway was 120kph, an upgrade from South Australia’s
110kph. We parked the car on the outskirts of the city and took a train to the
Parliament House, where I parted ways with Tamás. After looking around for a
bit, I headed on a tram to the Great Market Hall, where I planned to buy a few
souvenirs since I had been unsuccessful in my search in Miskolc. I walked around the crowded stalls
and shops on the second floor where the souvenirs were (the first floor was
mostly food). For the first time in a week I heard people speaking in fluent
English! I ended up buying a hand-painted necklace, a Hallohaza porcelain dish (Hallohaza
porcelain is a traditional Hungarian porcelain), and a piece of embroidered
lace. I ended up with about 1000 HUF of my money leftover, or about AUD$5.00.
Perfect! When I got to the airport later, I seriously contemplated spending
that last bit of money on a short Thai massage session, but I wanted to save my
1000HUF note as a souvenir, so I resisted. I really could have used that
massage though. After looking around the market and buying my souvenirs, I
headed straight to the airport instead of exploring the city more, despite the
fact that I still had several hours before I had to be at the airport. I was
just so darn exhausted. I had gotten little sleep the past few nights, I was at
the peak of my cold, and my bag was getting heavier and heavier with every
minute. At that point I just wanted to get home. Unfortunately the journey
wasn’t so smooth. I was not allowed to check my bag until two hours before my
flight, despite being told by another attendant that I should come back at
4:00pm (four hours before my flight) to check it. While waiting I bought a
carbonated water drink and it fizzed up all over me and my bag when I opened
it. I really wished I had NyQuil or DayQuil so I could dull the cold away for
awhile. Fortunately I was able to get window seats for all my flights (I caught
a glimpse of the Eiffel Tower when leaving Paris at night!), so I was able to doze a
bit. However, I finally experienced what it feels like when your ears don’t pop
when descending in a plane. Wow, it hurts. I felt like my body was completely
battered during the travel home. I had a massive headache most of the time and
my feet and ankles swelled up, a first for me. Two of my flights were delayed
about 45 minutes each, so I did a lot of standing around waiting. I also had to
check in for my flight from Singapore
to Adelaide,
where it took about 35 minutes to check in seven people. I must say that from
the experiences I’ve had on this trip, non-American or western European
airports really need to step up their game. The wait times were often
ridiculous!
I FINALLY arrived in Adelaide at 7:00am on Friday and went through
immigration and customs (yay, more waiting in lines). Of course by that time I
had reached my second wind and was not tired anymore, despite being awake for
the majority of the previous 48 hours. My internal clock has been off the past
few days and Chris and I have been staying up until 5:00am or so. This will
definitely have to change in the next few days, as the program for the Friends
of Parks forum this weekend includes several early mornings!
I am glad that I’m home again, although I had such
a wonderful time in Hungary.
It’s a beautiful country, the food is delicious, and the bats and caves are
awesome! Until next time Hungary!
Parliament House
The Great Market Hall
Flying back to Australia.
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