Looking for a weekend programme with the granddaughter, we settled on a visit to Gömörszőlős. A bit over 20 years ago I helped to develop the several projects to help save the village and sustainably develop the area with Ivan Gyulai and Miskolc environmental NGOs Zöld Akció and the Ecological Institute for Sustainable Development. It turns out that Kata had also been there once and remembered a number of craftspeople had workshops there. Twenty years ago the area was in deep and rapid decline. Only a handful of older people still lived in the village. The pub was so small that literally it fit only 2-3 people and if one wanted to go in, someone had to come out. The mayor was very progressive and made some very strong palinka.  One of the projects was to build an alternative energy centre. Another was to reclaim the peat bogs and return them to their original state after they had been drained for years for the peat. What I found most intriguing was an integrated plan to help an old man harvest his organic plums in the forest, turn them into jam, and have the local potter make jam pots to sell the jam in. Yet another project I worked on, with a group of UK Boy Scouts, was to save some habitat for the local fire salamanders in the Bükk National Park by repairing clay dams and weaving water filters from branches. It was at the Bükk camp that I first heard LGT songs (Ringlosd el magad...", sung at the fireside by Tamas V., now a colleague at Aggtelek National Park.  So we had high hopes and lots of memories to revisit when we decided on this road trip. The sleepy village has actually changed a lot, at least from the outside looking in. There is a World Heritage protected house, beautifully hand-painted signs indicating the various exhibitions on display, the alternative energy centre and environmental education centre is a reality, the local church displays a wide variety of examples of painted ceilings, and there is an air, an energy of hope even if like most villages there is almost no one on the street. We first turned into the Kakasvari Exhibition and encountered a very friendly smiling old man who explained everything we could see in the village. He actually turned out to be the Podmaniczky Award winning painter E. Kovacs Laszlo.  The award is "presented annually to those who excel in raising awareness of, popularising and conserving Hungary's built heritage regardless of or beyond their professional duties." His wife was also a well-known artist in her own right. We first looked at his small gallery and admired quite a few of his paintings. Kata was even more impressed by his collection of old bottles. His shaded terrace attached to the house was a masterpiece of calm. We were still looking around when he returned home and he invited us in to see his wife's work and the collection of textiles. There was a black and white photo on the wall of both he and his wife in old age kissing like teenagers that made both Kata and I tear up. Climbing up a small incline, the exhibitions continued with a massive display of old agricultural implements and traditional household tools through several buildings. Further on there was another gallery of Kovacs's works.

I remembered part of this exhibition from 20 years ago, but I reckon it has been significantly expanded since then. Back on the main street we examined an old house with a chimney-less stucco stove and blackened ceiling, then across to the Mihaly Tompa Museum. I also remember this small house, but a small gallery has been added as well as an outdoor stucco bread oven in 2012. Mihaly Tompa was a famous 19^th century poet. Florence Ayshford Wood, and English woman from Devon also lived in the village at this time teaching and, among other things, volunteering for the Red Cross. In the back garden there are all manner of old and traditional agricultural machines on display, as well as sleighs and carriages. In one building Kata spotted two huge owls sitting in the rafters. We were convinced that they were stuffed and put there for display until a tractor roared by and they took flight. A small display on traditional charcoal makers is also in back. Sadly, for some reason the ecological centre was closed (weekend, lunch time?), so we had a picnic lunch of watermelon and cantaloupe and headed back home. We stopped in Kelemer because I remember it as one of the two most beautiful villages (with Jósvafő) I have even seen in Hungary. Unfortunately, this time my memory proved me wrong. The peat bog lakes and Peat Bog House also evaded us after looking for them for awhile, and we headed back.