Laos hiking adventure... in Hungary?

I was finally able to go on a hike in Hungary a week ago and it was FANTASTIC.

The first time I flew to Hungary with a bum ankle; ruminants of a gnarly sprain from a roller derby bout. Because of this, I was forced to take the bus most of the time to uni and the city center and walks I did mange were often short and left my ankle sore for the following days. There was an ESN (Erasmus Student Network) hiking group for students plus several wilderness adventures with friends I couldn’t join. This was all quite difficult for me since I was going on hikes before I could walk. My mom or dad would strap me into a baby harness and take me throughout the woods when I was just a few months old. As I grew up, hiking became a large part of my life and it’s been difficult to miss out on something so special to me.

Now, I am back in Hungary for the second time and free of all ankle pain which makes me hungry for some good ol’ on-foot exploration. My first hiking adventure of the year was with four guys from Laos. One of them is an ambassador at the University of Pecs and a friend of mine who really helped me get to Pecs when I first arrived a year ago. He brought 3 friends along and we spent 5 or more hours hiking around Kővágószőlős and saw beautiful vistas at the Zsongor-kő viewpoint. The reason there are beautiful vistas is because almost the entire hike to the top is at a pretty serious incline but the destination was SO worth it. We had lunch while staring out at some crazy scenery and hung out at the ruins of a past monastery. Our starting location was about 20 minutes from town by bus but we ended up hiking through the trees the whole way back to Pecs. I can't wait to show my other friends this place in the future.

Even though we were tired when we arrived back, we decided to meet up later with some more people from Laos to play volleyball at the Central Wakeboard Park in Pecs. Here, there is a jogging track that stretches a mile or so around a lake full of automatic wakeboard pullies plus a playground, outdoor gym and 2 volleyball “courts” with the softest sand- For FREE! Six people from Laos plus myself took on a team of Hungarians and it’s safe to say I never had a clue what anyone was saying but I had a blast anyway!

I have never heard of Laos before studying abroad and now I can’t imagine my life without the positive influence people of this country have had on me.  I am so excited for future adventures hiking and doing so much more with my new international friends from Laos and also other countries around the world.