Lake Balaton
The Hungarian Sea
Lake Balaton, vast, huge and incredibly precious to Hungarians is the second largest lake in Europe.
This is the Hungarians’ sea, their ocean, their place of summer pilgrimage, many have summer houses around its banks. I immediately notice the joy in the atmosphere as two young boys laugh as they cast their fishing lines from the rickety old pier. I walk on to find my piece of solitude at some small steps amongst the trees.
Bathed in minty, milky tones, this feels incredibly unique, there is an air of swimming in the sea without the salt water. As I watch my hands cut through the water I think about sparkling light through crystals. I can see everything and yet nothing, refreshed and yet warm. This is unfamiliar and yet strangely familiar, I have found somewhere that reminds me of my childhood. I lie back and watch the clouds overhead and feel tiny, floating on the surface the largest lake in Central Europe.