Much of my interest for what I’ve grown to call “no man’s lands” is devoted to small, sleepy villages. As a habit I shun away from those hamlets which happened to become tourist destinations, sprouting an ugly collection of mansions and restaurants featured on Condé Nast Traveler, for they no longer are the real deal.
Magyarpolány, a few kilometers off Veszprém, is one such place. 1100 souls nestled between the rolling hills of western Hungary, it is a quiet, harmonious place with beautiful historic houses lost between orchards, dominated by a steep hill adorned by a via crucis.
We walked along the peaceful roads, past a thatched roof school and a few, howling vizsla dogs, until we climbed up the hill. Below us another quiet day draw to an end, smoke slowly rising from the village’s chimney.
I have to agree. I used to like big cities and wanted to see them all like New York, London, Paris etc. I can still go there for long weekends, but it is far from on the top of my wish list like it used to be. Very interesting to discover these small villages where tourists haven’t invaded and influenced the culture yet, like Magyarpolány (wonder how it is pronounced!).
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I found out that, the more I grow up (or ‘old’, I’d say) the more I’m intrigued by small places. Guess it’s the hermit genes!
As for the pronunciation, it’s pretty easy. The first and second “a” are closed, much like the ä in German I’d say, and the “gy” is pronounced like “Di” in the French “Dieu”. If you want to hear Magyarpolány said by a local, check out this video, at approximately 50 seconds, after the choir of the local hotties 🙂 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xF5KVW7MJo
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What an introduction to the video:)
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