Not a Balaton Wafer

In the geography atlas of childhood it could be found as the storage-lake of Kisköre, the structure – called by technical term of water engineering – was inaugurated in 1975; life and marketing science endowed it with this otherwise more likable and finally more expressive name. Actually, it means the retained branches of the riverTisza with traversing (but with the slowest flow) mass of water, therefore navigation rules are considered as for river, in a unique way vessels with a combastion engine (simply motorboats) can be driven in basins seeming to be a lake in Hungary. Moreover it is not a lake in a sense, that it is not an adjacent water area, but four larger basins – and backwater, lagoons, islands, reedy areas, water-meadows, curving live streams –, which (such as relating to Abádszalók, Sarud, Poroszló, Valk) are not definitely adjacent. The contribution of life is when you (and the flora and fauna) find water, immediately begin to enjoy it, no matter how it got there. The engineers of the five-year plan, who created the establishment, certainly did not dream that beyond functionality – flood control, watering, hydroelectric power plant – they establish the destination of water tourism, which provides the most overnight stays in the country as well as the largest bird reserve in Central Europe and someday natural wonders, eventful shipping and biking life will spring from the economical determination of drawing tables.

The golden age of tourism around the lake was once noted here in the 90s, its beach used to be visited by thousands of people at weekends, it used to have its own airport, German, Dutch, Belgian buyers (who still possess several weekend houses, but they also form a living colony here) used to queue for real estates. Then it was a bit downhill from here, Tiszafüred was for show, but it was – and of course remained – Siófok of Lake Tisza, it is still a popular and cheap holiday destination. However, For Rent network, the rival of the Sold chain stores entered into competition again according to the boards of real estates and it is also reflected in the prices. The capacity of the water is far the best, it is twenty square kilometers and two and a half meter deep according to the summer water level. In Hungary you can find the best opportunity for water motorsports (waterskiing, banana boat riding, paragliding, jet-skiing) here, but you can also rent 210 horsepower sport boats There is considerable sailing life with a charter company by eight-meter long sailing boats as well or in a few hours you can just learn the fundamentals on pirates in the port of Szalók Yacht Club.

Then to watch the sunset right here on the country’s best located beach terrace with a so called ordinary, urban bistro cuisine in Amúgy Bistro, where the sun might take a sip of our wine spritzer before it goes down. During the day – and after dinner – the best choice is Sunset Pizza & Cocktail Bar built at the end of the breakwater roundhead and it is accessible even on water. It offers authentic sourdough Neapolitan pizza grilled on charcoal, private DJ, Caribbean atmosphere on Friday and Saturday nights. On the shore a small regular village was formed out of the designer waterfront houses with private jetties, but as they are on tidelands – so within the dam – they can be lifted by engine in the case of flood. In the other port of the bay, in Abida, a pretty buffet restaurant can be found where you might moor your boat as a gentleman and find yourself right at the bar table. You can rent a canoe or a boat which can be driven without a driving license and last but not least you can stay in the floating boatel called Tündérfátyol. If you have time for dinner, you must go to the unique garden restaurant in Lilaakác where you can take a delicious leg of lamb or lecho (ratatouille) catfish rolled in potato dumplings in the shadow of a 150-year old twining-plant with incredible atmosphere and mysterious origin if possible at the beginning of May, when the plant blooms and the edible flowers occasionally fall into your plate and you may think that you are one of the characters in a painting by Szinyei-Merse, as a Lady in Violet in a montage of a picnic in May. The freshly rebuilt bath is capable for everything which is required today with a beach, slides, a buffet restaurant row. But if you wish a really good langosh, you shouldn’t miss the place on the main street (which drives here anyway). The Mi Lángosunk is a real family project, as it is marked in the hand-made signwriting, the cooperation of Mesi, Magdi, Feri, Mami, Tata, Aurélia, and Martin. You can order your langosh as you want, pastrylike or with such a cracking centre that even the sauce of the self-peeled, hot garlic should be spread on the one bite you are about to eat (putting anything else than this and salt on the top is a sin, but it is my personal opinion).

Tibor Brumbauer’s Pedro Grill terrace is the only four-season place, where you can buy great grill dishes displayed in American style. The enormous BBQ oven with Almost America labelling is the speciality of the place, where the owner tends to prepare ripened meat, bone marrow and fish for 36 hours long on slow, warm smoke. Tibor is a Swabian boy from Mór, he emigrated to the USA as a successful stockbreeder in the 80s. He put in fifteen years as a limousine chauffeur, a real estate agent, a cook but mostly as a salmon fisherman with his own boat in Alaska. Then he came back to invest in a motel and restaurant in his grandparents’ hometown, Abádszalók. The also privately owned Faház (Chalet) Motel in the neighbourhood is one of the best value for money accommodation here.

Tibor can be immediately recognised by his voice and if you want to learn the hardness of three divorces, four marriages, and shipping on Bering sea, you must have a word with him, it won’t be difficult. In summers you can also meet the little troublemaker of the town mainly here. If you can hear the loud, to say the least, greeting “Hello rabbit”, you know you have arrived. By his less-known full name, László Magyar calls everybody so, mainly himself. The origin of the folklore is veiled in the mist of history, but appart from it the Rabbit is the unique phenomenone of the town. He stars as a restaurateur, in 2006 he won a silver medal in bartending in Milan, he completes his legendary stupid wardrobe by the winter salary earned as a headwaiter in Austria. Most easily he can be found in Pedro as a waiter, a bartender, a cook, a mixer and many more, but when he has a day off, he can appear in any commercial entities. So don’t be surprised, if in high summer you encounter a folk in “matyó” embroidery, Tyrolean leather pants, stockings, a red checked shirt with fire red JBL headphones on his head and says “Hello rabbit”.

At the same time the strangest peculiarity of Abádszalók must be the saligot bonbon by Istvan Szabo. OK, but what does saligot mean? It is a water plant which used to be the primary food sort of (gluten free!) grain of fishermen’s and marsh-dwellers’ lifestyle, as they baked the griddlecake to substitute bread from the flour-like, a bit sweet seeds with chestnut flavour. It is also named – referring to its flavour too – as water walnut, wild almond, but mostly water chestnut, because bathers are not fond of it. It runs riot very well around here, but as its last habitat is right here in Europe – its Asian relative is doing pretty well and it is counted as a compulsory wok vegetable – it is strictly protected. In Turkish times it was called as God’s arrow, because people hiding in marshes sank it into poison and used them as weapons against intruders. Well, Istvan makes bonbon from this experienced plant every year with a requested environmental license. Regarding his occupation, as a cook — but mostly as a committed Lake Tisza believer and community factor – he was getting angry because if Balaton Wafer existed, why his lake did not have something similar. He was conducting experiments till annually he collects three hundred kilos of green saligots today in July and syrup is made of half of them which is filled in Spanish chocolate resulting four hundred bonbons. Brandy with inimitable flavour is made of the other half (which can be also found in pralines anyway). At the end of the year even sugar plums are made from the “Egy csepp Tisza-tó” (one drop of Lake Tisza) brand with the flavour of poppy seed petal, wheat flower, wild rose, Jerusalem artichoke flower, rosehip, camomile in the spirit if creative usage of traditional, local ingredients. The place that can be found the most easily is the Sailing Guesthouse – in the kitchen of which Pista creates chocolate really like an artisan – but you can find distributors in every settlement of the lake.

Five larger basins, from which the ones in Sarud and Abádszalók are recommended to navigate. Enormous surface, 126 km2, of which 47 are suitable for water sport. (Plus living Tisza of course). The basin of Abádszalók is 5-6 km wide, the water level in summer is 250cm, the one of Sarud is 8-9 km, with 150 cm depth (they are not in direct connection, there are about five river km between them on Tisza). Being in the centre of the Great Hungarian Plain there are blown, steady, mostly northern winds. Without local knowledge inquiry is recommended because of the changeable depth of water and the logs here and there.