The Good Life in Aggtelek National Park Part XXVII: Indigo House, Jósvafő Baradla Cave Short Tour

After having Kata's granddaughter Lili with us for two nice weeks, her mom came to pick her up and take her home this weekend. Before they left, we wanted to show them around a bit. On Saturday we went to Szendrő to do some shopping, and made an appointment to visit the Indigo House, a small museum dedicated to the rapidly declining art of the indigo dying of textiles. The beautiful little 19^th century building was carved from a surviving town wall tower.

The complex process dating from the 1770s involves the use of printing blocks to apply starch-based designs on white cotton. The fabric is immersed for hours in an indigo bath until it reaches the desired shade of blue. Then it is rinsed in sulphuric acid and water, which washes out the excess dye and reveals the white patterns. The longer the textiles are exposed to oxygen, the darker the dye becomes. Unlike most indigo dying workshops that used plant-based indigo dyes, the craftsmen in Szendrő mined and used a local blue stone. Originally worn by the wealthy, the textiles eventually trickled down to the middle class. The colour scheme mimics oriental pottery, hence its German name Porzellandruck. Currently, Hungarian blue-dyed textiles are only made by 6-7 families in the country, and the fabrics are mostly used for quilting.

Our guide Zsuzsa, one of the keepers of Szendrő's cultural traditions, turned out to live in Szalonna as well, and as a child, used to always play in the courtyard of my house. Zsuzsa makes various kinds of vinegar, such as quince, lavender, and others that we are keen to try.

We also visited the local Paszti Pastry Shop run by my new acquaintance Janos Paszternak who helped me secure some dill the week before. Janos seems to be very involved in the area's cultural life as well. We met at the Égerszög Opera Festival the week before, and he also organises a regular bus to in from Miskolc for Miskolc National Theatre season ticket holders.

We harvested a bunch of humungous broad beans and made broad bean-pea hummus, and made zucchini bread and zucchini pie out of our first few young zucchinis. The first crop of French beans were dumped into some green curry. "Broad beans have a long tradition of cultivation in Old World agriculture, being among the most ancient plants in cultivation and also among the easiest to grow. Along with lentils, peas, and chickpeas, they are believed to have become part of the eastern Mediterranean diet around 6000 BC or earlier. They are still often grown as a cover crop to prevent erosion, because they can overwinter and because as a legume, they fix nitrogen in the soil." These things have grown to be as long as the zucchini!

Address: Szendrő, Petőfi tér 6

Open Hours: (Call first for appointment!)
September 1 - April 30
M-Th: 8:00-16:00, F: 8:00-13:00
May 1 - August 31.
M-Th: 8:00-16:00, F: 8:00-13:00
Sat-Sun: 10:00-18:00

Tickets:
Adults: 600 Huf/person
Students, Senior Citizens, Teachers: 400 Huf/person
Group Discounts (for 15 or more): 400 Huf/person, 2 free chaperone tickets

For more information:

Email: kozmuvelodes@szendro.hu, Tel: 06-70-885-9050

I happened to be working at home one day last week when Lili saw some pictures of the Baradla Cave and said she would be interested in visiting it. I was very surprised since the cave is neither pink nor a pony, but I was very happy she was beginning to show interest in something else. So on Sunday we took the family on the Jósvafő Short Tour of the Baradla Cave, guided by Mari. The last stop before the turnaround is the awesome Hall of Giants. I told Lili that "this is going to be poni jó," which in her terms means awesome. She was amazed by the light and music show, as was I even though I have now seen it many times.

We then went to look at the Tengerszem Lake where we played Pooh Sticks and rocked on the swings and see-saw at the playground. I love this area with its carpet of green criss-crossed by a network of sluices and small wooden bridges.

In the evening we finally discovered what had been moving our drying towels and doormat every night for the last two weeks and leaving them in the middle of our lawn. We thought it might be a dog or a wild pig, but it was a pair of foxes! I heard something outside and there was a big brown fox right outside the door looking through our recycling. The pair was not at all afraid of me. I was beginning to worry that they might have rabies, but they eventually went off. Then Diana's cigarettes and matches went missing. The foxes had also taken them off the porch and left them in the grass as we were having dinner. Is this the fox anti-smoking league, or what? I suppose they are just playing, but they are becoming a real nuisance. We are not able to leave anything outside overnight. We absolutely do not want to have them shot, but the rangers at Aggtelek National Park could not offer any solutions either. There does not seem to be any scent available that they particularly dislike. We have now turned to the local authority to see if the foxes can be trapped and relocated. The Fantastic Mr Fox was never like this!