Unusual galleries at Lake Balaton

For the fourth year in a row, the Káli Art Inn in Köveskál has announced the Káli Art Award, a contemporary art competition in which talented sculptors’ works are displayed in the hotel’s beautiful flower garden. The entries, which rotate every year, are selected by a professional jury and then given a temporary home in the outdoor sculpture park, where they can be viewed free of charge from May to November. Walking among the creative, contemporary outdoor sculptures, which can be associated with the Lake Balaton Highlands and the spirit of the region, is a real musical experience, but there are also other special programmes. In the Káli ArtPark, the owners regularly organise guided tours, picnics, literary and music and dance evenings.

A closer look at Hello Hungary’s tourist map will show that Köveskál is one of the villages in the Balaton Highlands where several restaurants boast outstanding cuisine. One of these is Kővirág, which evokes a chic country feel in those who stay here. Just as you can’t step into the same river twice, you can’t be sure to come across the same delicious food at Kővirág more than once, which is why it’s worth returning!

Born in 1920, it took Ilona Mitski 14 years from 1975 onwards to create the model, using 4.5 million Pannonian Sea snails. She has selected some 28 million years old prehistoric marine remains from mines across the country to perfectly recreate the decoration of the Parliament. In 1999, she refused her foreign customers and transported the Snail Shell Parliament to the Museum of Costume History in Keszthely. You can admire the unique giant model at the Doll Museum.

For gourmets, Keszthely is home to a number of gastronomic events, including also the Balatoni Kör’s (‘Balaton Circle’s’) “Kóstold Körbe” (“Taste Around”) programme, the Food Truck Show, the Chestnut Festival and the summer wine and beer festivals. If you prefer to cook at home, we heartily recommend the Keszthely Market, where you can browse the delicious products of local farmers and buy quality ingredients for cooking. In addition to sun-ripened fresh fruit and vegetables, many other delicacies are also available. If you want to accompany your meal with wine, head to the pedestrian street wine shop, where you can find a really nice selection.

In the underpass of the Balatonalmádi railway station, the Vasút ARTjáró (‘Railway ARTwalk’) open-air exhibition space was completed in 2013. Stroll through the underground corridors and admire oil paintings, digital photographs, prints and watercolours by local and other artists. The exhibition is updated every six months, with new works being added to bring the work of talented artists to the attention of as many people as possible. Each year, one art exhibition and one photography exhibition are organised thematically: They present the known and hidden values of Balatonalmádi and its surroundings. The works of the VasútARTjáró can be downloaded at the Tourinform office in Balatonalmádi.

In Balatonalmádi, in addition to the open-air exhibition area, it is worth visiting the restaurant called Kerekes Pince (‘Kerekes Cellar’) on Vöröshegy, where you can enjoy authentic Hungarian cuisine, smiling service, a friendly welcome and great wines. The life of the cellar began in the 1980’s with the purchase of land in the woods and the planting of a fruit tree. The plot was planted with vines, more fruit trees, a walnut tree next to the cellar, and later a cosy terrace and barbecue area was created, too. After that, the spriter terrace and finally the restaurant opened. This is how, thanks to the sacrificial work of several generations, it became a “quiet garden restaurant” on a secret little plot of land on the edge of the forest.

If you are in Balatonalmádi, you can’t pass by the “Jóbarátok Halsütöde” with excellent fried fish, which is open all year round for hungry guests. Roast bream, roach, trout, carp, catfish and fish soup are regular menu items, often accompanied by jellies and smoked fish. And if there is still some room left after the fish fry, surprise yourself with a pancake!