24th February – 1st March, 2019
The topic of the study visit
The first study visit of the project MY EARTH took place in Nagyvázsony /Hungary/, reflecting the rural tourism reality of inclusion and addressing European and Mercosur contexts (history, present situation, economy, society) through presentations and inputs of participants. It included workshops, exchange of good practices, and contact with the local community, and provide opportunities to reflect on achievements, failures, challenges. Promote entrepreneurship based on ecotourism and non-traditional sports, with emphasis on social entrepreneurship and circular economy, through quality training and technical coaching to youth workers that improve youth opportunities to initiate or strengthen the capacities for work or self-employment.
Monday, 25th February 2019
Monday started with an official welcome, getting to know each other and explaining the program of the following days. After we ate our lunch in the school canteen of Nagyvázsony we went together to Tapolca where our destination was the famous water cave lake. We visited the cave museum, learned about the regional geography, and got the chance to row on the lake under the earth. Water cave owner in Balaton-Uppland National Park. This is the biggest tourist attraction and income for our National Park. In this cave, they are hosting more than 100.000 visitors/year. A tortuous cave system is hiding under the streets and houses of Tapolca, a little town not far from Balaton. In the strictly protected cave, which was discovered more than 100 years ago, the visitors can make a unique boat trip on the lit, bluish water of the underground lake. The temperature is about 18 °C in the cave all year round. Thanks to the new lighting system, the Lake Cave awaits visitors with more beautiful lights and views than ever.
More information: https://bfnp.hu/en/tapolca-lake-cave-visitor-centre-tapolca
From Tapolca we went to Kiscsősz which is a small village with about 100 inhabitants but with an active cultural organization called Élő Forrás Hagyományőrző Egyesület (Traditionalists of the Living Spring of Culture Association ). There the leader of the association Kovács “CIMBI” Norbert, showed us the area and explained to us their work. We are also trying to keep the traditions not just teaching dance.
He told us one of the main goals is for the villagers instead of watching TV at home they are going to a different community. They realized it is a much richer experience than staying at home. It is also important to be authentic on-field where are they working not just a ‘decoration’ of Folk Dance place. Dance is part of their life, his wife is a dancer as well and all members of my family are dancing. Folk dance is part of our life and their life is also happening very close to nature. They have their own farm with their animals. They try to live a traditional way of life. A good dancer is not just a good man but also gives a good example for their community. We are giving a good milieu, a good community. One of our main goals is we would like to give experience for our visitors for their life. We would like to determine the relation between man and culture.
We also had a traditional Hungarian dinner before we went to the weekly rehearsal of the Hungarian folk dance group. By joining them, they taught us the basics of Hungarian folk dance and it was a lot of fun. We danced for approximately 1 ½ hour until we went back to Nagyvázsony in the late evening.
More information about the association of Cimbi:
http://eloforras.eu/eloforras/2018/10/09/bemutato-videok/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_DhkTfZQ9QY
The example of the Cultural Association can show us with keeping in life our culture we can motivate families to move to the small villages. With their cultural programs all the year they can pay employees. They are also working in the intercontinental level and they are also hosting in their small village from all around the world the people who are interested in folk dance.
Tuesday, 26th February 2019
As the Kinizsi Castle of Nagyvázsony is a famous emblem and also one of the reasons why tourists are coming to Nagyvázsony every year, we visited it in the morning of the next day as well. In the castle, we didn’t only learn about the history of Nagyvázsony but also about some historical aspects of the whole Hungarian culture. Later in the morning, we were one of the invited guests at the opening of the Igásló Központ (workhorse center) in Nagyvázsony. We listened to presentations about village development, a Balatoncsicsói forest school presented by Eszter Horváth. Gyűrűfű an eco-village presented by Tamás Völgyi and a farm with social programs presented by Külhanek Zoltán. After lunch, it was the turn of each partner organization from Uruguay, Paraguay, Argentina, France, and Portugal to present themselves and we shared our experiences.
Later, we gathered together for a cultural evening in the hotel of the participants. Before we had a typical Hungarian dinner, the local men’s choir sang some Hungarian folk songs. They are singing together 2 years ago. They became an important community of Nagyvázsony. Because every participant was asked to bring some typical wine and cheese from their region, we could share it and try for example Portuguese wine and Argentine salami. It sparked as the French and Italian participant start to sing French folk songs Chevalier de la table round and some members of the Hungarian men choir joined them.
Wednesday, 27th February 2019
After this colorful evening, our next trip led us to the University of Pannonia in Veszprém. As the first cooperation between Fekete Sereg and the University firstly, the faculty of Business and Economics presented their work. Secondly, we talked about an Erasmus+ project of the faculty about young entrepreneurs and sustainable tourism, discussed it, and shared our experiences in this field. After every mail address and business were exchanged we headed towards Balatonfüred.
Next to the Lake Balaton, we met the Nők a Balatonért Egyesület (Lady’s for the Lake Balaton Association) that takes care on the Balaton e.g. check the water quality of the lake. They gave us information about their work within eco-tourism and their obstacles before we went further to the touristic village Tihany next to the Balaton. There we enjoyed the beautiful view of the lake and visited a Nagyi Kertje Teaház in Aszófő (Grandma Teahouse) which is a good example for eco-tourism. Besides the history and the work of the family enterprise the owner also told us the history of fishing association around the Lake Balaton. This is a small family enterprise parents and children working together. The teahouse offers for Fekete Sereg a cooperation to share their experience to the youngsters what can be a danger is you will start a new business.
Our next stop was Révfülöp where we visited Révfülöp Gyöngye Guesthouse managed by Agi Andronyi herself. She explained to us her tasks and work in the tourism branch and showed us around her hostel. She participated in the Study Visit in Portugal. In the evening we went to a wine tasting in a wine cellar next to Káptalantóti Sabar Pince which is run by young entrepreneurs. They explained to us how they incorporate their wine establishment and how it works. We also got the chance to try different wines of their productions. Wine tourism is also a very important income in our region.
Thursday, 28th February 2019
On the fourth day of this study visit, we went to Budapest to visit the European Youth Centre and the Hungarian Parliament. In the European Youth Centre, we get information about the main goals of the European Youth Center. We are also discussed human rights. We get information about Compass as a book that supported human rights trainers. Afterward, we went into the Hungarian Parliament and learned about Hungarian history and culture. We participated in a guided tour in Spanish. The rest of the day was free for the participants to do some sightseeing in Budapest. With some of the participants, we visited a famous Ruin Pub in the 7th District of the Capital it was one of the first Szimpla Kert. This is a quite unique bar. We took our dinner in Getto Gulyás Restaurant in the Hearth of Budapest. We also slept in Budapest at Kings Hotel before the last day of the study visit began.
Friday, 1st March 2019
The last day was a travelling day. We started our journey to Portugal to Beja.
