How I got to meet Hungary’s hero horsemen
Justine Tyerman is a New Zealand journalist, travel writer and sub-editor. Married for 36 years, she lives in rural surroundings near Gisborne on the East Coast of New Zealand with her husband Chris.
The sight of the good-looking Magyar horsemen in their pleated blue tunics and jaunty black hats turned a coach load of middle-aged women into a gaggle of giggling girls.
They all lined up to pose with the boys in blue at the start of our visit to a ranch on the vast Puszta prairie lands of the Great Hungarian Plain. The Kiwi women were much too dignified, of course... except for one.
A young boy imitates his father's horseriding tricks as he guides a cleverly-trained misbehaving donkey around the ring. Image credit: Justine Tyerman
The swashbuckling "csikós" (horsemen) took it all in their stride - they had done it all a thousand times before - downing shots of the local apricot firewater before leaping onto their magnificent steeds to thrill the crowd with their superb horsemanship, whip-cracking repertoire and death-defying feats, the highlight of which was a dare-devil display of stand-up riding.
I always think stand-up paddle boarding looks bizarre but the equivalent in horseback riding, where the surfaces to be balanced on are the rumps of two powerful beasts at a non-synchronised gallop, is nothing short of insane. Like careering along on a runaway cross-trainer with the ever-present risk of the machine breaking in half.
In addition to remaining up-right, the star of the show was expertly controlling his team of ten horses from the rear ends of the rear pair. Such was my terror that he would fall and be pulverised by the pounding hooves, I only saw snippets of the show as I peeked between my fingers.
The rapport and trust between horses and riders was obvious with the noble animals submitting to all manner of unhorsely and undignified behaviour.
A rider reclines on his prone horse - an ancient technique apparently perfected in battle to make the horses a smaller target. Image credit: Justine Tyerman
I was fascinated, albeit a little dismayed, to see the csikós using their prone horses as couches and sitting between their front legs as if they were lounging in armchairs, but learned from our guide it was an ancient technique perfected in battle to make the horses a smaller target and to protect the riders from fire.
The Magyar horsemen were highly-skilled and greatly-feared in the 10th century when they raided deep into the heart of Europe.
A lanky horseman riding a short, cleverly-trained misbehaving donkey, and a cute little tunic-clad boy imitating his father's whip-cracking and riding tricks added a touch of hilarity to the entertaining, fast-paced show.
The visit ended with a horse-drawn wagon ride around the ranch to view herds of mares and foals running free and giant grey cattle beasts with enormous horns.
A barn full of huge stallions, puppies and piglets with curly wool coats was a hit, especially with the Kiwis, who had such an affinity with the animals they had to be rounded up when it was time to get back on the bus.
Earlier in the day, we drove through fields of paprika peppers or "red gold".
Hungary is one of the world's largest growers and exporters of paprika, a key ingredient for their famous national dish, goulash. There's even a museum and annual festival dedicated to the history and significance of the crop in the town of Kalocsa, known as "the paprika capital of the world".
The town of Kalocsa is known both for its embroidery and for its reputation as the paprika capital of the world. Image credit: Justine Tyerman
I learned many fascinating facts about the uses of the pepper quite apart from its culinary applications.
Paprika was used as a preventive medicine during the cholera epidemic that rampaged through Europe in 1831. The medics back then must have known a thing or two because, 100 years later, the peppers were found to be unusually rich in vitamin C, a fact discovered in 1932 by Hungary's 1937 Nobel prize-winner Albert Szent-Györgyi.
We met sweet-faced Hungarian women wearing beautifully-embroidered national costumes at a 200-year-old peasant home where the interior walls were decorated with exquisite hand-painted flowers and displays of gorgeous embroidered tablecloths and placemats.
The beds in the house were stacked high with mattresses, a sign of wealth and status, our Hungarian guide György - call me George - told us.
Beds stacked high with mattresses are a sign of wealth. Image credit: Justine Tyerman
At the end of a dusty day on the Puszta, it was bliss be delivered "home" in time for cocktails and another culinary masterpiece on our CroisiEurope river boat, MS Beethoven, waiting to transport us overnight to our next highly-anticipated port of call ... Hungary's capital Budapest, the Pearl of the Danube.
* CroisiEurope's Imperial Danube Cruise itinerary starts and finishes in Vienna and includes tours of Vienna, Melk Abbey and Dürnstein in Austria; Bratislava and Sturovo in Slovakia; Kalocsa, Puszta, Budapest and Esztergom in Hungary.
Have you ever been to this part of Europe? Do you have an international trip on the cards? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
Justine Tyerman travelled courtesy of Innovative Travel Company.
Image credit: Justine Tyerman
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I saw the best of Europe on an Imperial Danube cruise