Zalaszántó – Keszthely (OKT Day 10 hike)

In Zalaszántó, we start the Blue Trail towards Keszthely with a stamp pressed in the window of the Tátika presszó. Walking south along the charming, quiet Main Street, we pass the especially beautiful Árpád-era Church of Saints Cosmas and Damian, first mentioned in a charter in 1236. It was partly destroyed during the Tatar invasion but rebuilt, and the new church carries Gothic and Romanesque style elements – after its interior refurbishment in the 16th century, baroque influences also appear.

At the crossroads, turning left, we follow the K markings, and shortly after leaving Zalaszántó, we stroll briefly on the main road before continuing on a dirt road through the fields. Passing under a high-voltage cable jungle, we can already see the dolomite massif that is home to Rezi Castle, the northern foothills of the 420 m high Rezi Hill. Soon the castle itself emerges from behind the trees on the 425 m peak of Meleg Hill, and it's good to aim for the direction because we proceed almost straight towards the tower.

The fields end at the foot of the hill, and we cross the Gyöngyös Creek on a short, atmospheric forest section; although there is usually no water in the stream, a wooden bridge has been built for rare needs. Over the next 2 kilometers, we climb nearly 200 m in dense beech forest. This section of the Blue Trail is memorable in many ways: the path is not only very steep but traverses a wild, dense, shaded, and quiet forest where it's pleasant to be.

At the end of the ascent, we reach the Rezi-forest junction, where by following the KL signs, we can take a 1 km detour to visit Rezi Castle, adding another 70 m of elevation. The castle ruins built on dolomite rock are interesting in themselves; however, it's not only the walls but especially the view that makes the visit worthwhile. On clear days, behind the castle of Tátika opposite, Sümeg Castle can be seen – the three fortresses align almost in a row. We look back to Zalaszántó through the southern wall, the basalt massifs of Tátika and Kovácsi Hill, and the Peace Stupa; between them alternate fields and forests. Below us is a recently traversed, serene forest, and eastward one can see as far as the witness hills – the most visible, largest, and nearest is Saint George Hill, and behind it rises Gulács, with Lake Balaton glimmering on clear days.

Rezi Castle was probably built at the turn of the 13th-14th centuries and reinforced after the Battle of Mohács. The castle's ruin is shrouded in mystery; the Turks never took it, and by the late 16th century, written records already refer to it as a ruin. The castle ruins were partly renovated in the 2000s, and on the larger resting place in front, there are numerous tables and benches in the shade of huge old oak trees – with a toilet facility underneath.

After sightseeing, we return to the Blue Trail by the same route we came! The K marking continues through charming mixed forest, and after approximately 40 meters of descent, we exit the forest. A hardly passable trail marked with K● branches off to the right to the Szent Ilona (Saint Helen) spring – unfortunately, water usually does not flow here, so this detour is of little use unless someone is attracted by the prickly, nettle-overgrown path, which otherwise leads to a charming location. At the junction with the deep creek valleys, the well has a smaller stone setting, guarded by giant old trees preserving the peace of the place.

The straight, shade-free dirt road leading to Rezi traverses fields toward the village, where we find another stamp location for the National Blue Trail – we can choose between two. One is on the information board in the village center, the other is placed in the neighboring pub.

Rezi – Gyöngyösi Inn

After stamping, we head southwest from Rezi towards Szőlőhegy (Vineyard Hill). Near the village's end, we see some vineyards, but the Blue Trail soon leaves the paved road. This fork is easy to miss, although an unusually large K sign draws attention to it. The path immediately turns into shady, dense forest as we walk along the dried bed of a creek on the wildest section of our tour. At the bottom of the slope, we reach a paved road again, where we soon find the Gyöngyösi Inn stamp location. The stamp is on the MTSZ information board on the left of the road, but it’s also worth looking right, where another attraction lies under huge weeping willows.

The Gyöngyösi Outlaw Inn was built in 1729 and, with few interruptions, operated as an inn or pub ever since; it is currently a protected monument and a restaurant. Its name is no coincidence: merchants arriving from the west to the Keszthely market stopped here to rest and sometimes began trading. They toasted each transaction. The inn was also a popular meeting place for bandits from Bakony and Zala. Kökes Pista and Vak Illés were among them: initially active in the counties of Győr, Sopron, and Veszprém, they had to flee Bakony and later operated in Zala. The constables finally defeated the two bandits, whose fate was sealed at the neighboring Lamperter cellar, where they were first set on fire and then shot in a shootout. The bandits were buried in a nearby field; their grave surrounded by stones is marked by a wooden cross and stone plaque; their story is also written on a barrel visible from the road. The bandits' graves are not seen from the nearby road; they lie under willow trees.

Gyöngyösi Inn – Hévíz

After stamping, we turn right onto the main road and follow it for 1 km to a dirt road crossing marked by a stone cross. An interesting feature of this Passion cross is that the heads of Virgin Mary and Apostle John are missing.

The National Blue Trail route turns sharply left off the highway and then runs almost parallel southwards. Along the same line as the bandits' graves, there is a Jewish cemetery, whose entrance is shaded by tall trees with a wooden rain shelter and resting place. Jews settled in the neighboring village of Karmac in 1750, but they were deported during World War II. Only three survived the death camp, and they never returned. The cemetery became overgrown with bushes in the following decades, until it was freed in 2012.

On the sunny, almost straight, gravel-covered road, we walk a total of one and a half kilometers, then turn right and ascend 70 meters through an oak grove to 200 meters altitude. We continue through warm forest to soon glimpse the tower of the Egregy Saint Magdalene Church, now merged with Hévíz. The Árpád-era church certainly stood already in the first half of the 14th century. It suffered great damage during the Turkish rule but was restored in several stages, receiving its current exterior and interior decoration in 1731.

The remainder of the tour takes place mostly on paved roads through residential areas. In 3 km, we arrive at the famous Lake Hévíz, renowned worldwide as a thermal lake, passing first by lively restaurants and wineries and several beautiful viewpoints: the hills around Cserszegtomaj are visible before we reach the small town’s bazaar. The next stamp is located on an information board beside the entrance gate to the lake’s bathing area.

The Lake Hévíz is one of the world's largest thermal lakes suitable for bathing, covering 4.5 hectares. It is fed by cold and warm springs from a nearly 40-meter-deep spring cave. The lake's greatest depth is 38 m; in summer, water temperature is about 35 °C, in winter about 24 °C. The water flow is exceptionally high; the lake water is renewed every three days – the Hévíz canal draining the excess water is a unique sight and habitat, where tropical invasive fish are increasingly found. Originally a marshy area, it was drained by György Festetics at the end of the 18th century, and the first bathing building was constructed in 1910. The non-native water lily was also introduced then.

Hévíz – Keszthely

We walk around the lake halfway clockwise on a beautiful, busy promenade, then join the bike path to Keszthely, the Festetics Avenue. Here, we can have a special experience as the road's first section passes through a forest of bald cypresses. This North American tree species seems quite exotic here, shedding its yellow leaves in autumn unlike most conifers. Equally striking are the droplet-like aerial roots emerging from the wet soil. The pond cypress can grow up to 30-40 m high – interestingly, the Miocene brown coal deposits in Europe developed from former pond cypress forests. Before the Festetics drained the area, it was a marsh extending from Lake Balaton to Lake Hévíz’s basin. Along the steadily climbing promenade towards Keszthely, several resting places have been built, including wooden rain shelters, benches, and tables where we can rest. The bridge over the Gyöngyös Creek is narrow; cross carefully, as downhill cyclists and scooter riders often come from the opposite direction at high speed.

The bike path leads to Main Road 71, which we cross. Soon, we are walking through Keszthely’s streets; at the intersection after the Négycsöcsű pub on Hévíz Road, turn right. After a few minutes on Sopron Street, we reach the Festetics Palace, whose park is worth a stroll, and of course, it’s worthwhile to visit the palace itself.

Kristóf Festetics bought lands in Keszthely in 1739 and started building the baroque palace in the mid-18th century. In the mid-19th century, the building was extended with wings and a neo-baroque tower; today, it has 101 rooms. The palace is open to visitors, showcasing noble life of the past in 20 rooms. The palace park houses Chinese dawn redwoods planted by György Festetics – the oldest tree is a 400-year-old pedunculate oak.

We continue through the bustling downtown of Keszthely towards the tour endpoint. The historic Keszthely decorated with villas is separated from the lakeshore only by the Helikon Park, where we walk under large, tall plane trees. Upon reaching the railway crossing, turn right to the blue stamp marking, leading to the stamp placed at the railway station building, marking the tour’s end.