Borostyán Vendégház

Most foreign visitors to Hungary arrive by air, and therefore are more or less forced to go to Budapest. The capital is an important place, there are things there that you won't find elsewhere, and a good time can indeed be had, but of course Budapest isn't Hungary and I often think that the best of the country is to be found in the provincial towns, where there is much of interest and the pace of life is less frantic. The Hungarian tourist industry really does not do the provinces justice, so visiting these areas requires a bit more effort on the part of the visitor, who has to prise out the information and ideas that he needs – but it can be done, and is well worth the trouble. Much can be achieved through the internet. This is fresh in my mind as, living in Zánka, on the north side of Lake Balaton, I have just been to Kaposvár, about 50 Km from the lake on the south side. Kaposvár, population about 50,000, is the principal town of Somogy County and the birthplace of Imre Nagy, ill-fated prime minister during the 1956 revolution. There are a number of interesting things to see, chief of which are a famous theatre and a quantity of Art Nouveau architecture, but the main attraction to the tourist is that the town is an excellent centre for the exploration of a lovely part of Hungary, rich in history and scenically attractive, but little known to British visitors who just don't know what they're missing. I stayed in a three-star panzió called Borostyán (the name means 'ivy', though the only ivy in evidence is that painted round the entrance) which provides all that a hotel should in terms of welcome and comfort at very reasonable cost indeed (dinner, bed and breakfast cost me about ₤40) and some at least of the staff speak English. The hotel has recently refurbished and reopened its own restaurant, where the food is excellent, generously supplied and elegantly served – as are the accompanying wines – at moderate cost, witness the number of local people dining. Obviously, dead of winter is not the best time to go – I was on business – but at other seasons those prepared to go off the beaten track will have a memorable time in south-west Hungary.