Mátészalka
Mátészalka is a small town in Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg county, in north-eastern Hungary. It is the second largest town in the county, after Nyíregyháza. Despite being frequently overlooked by foreign travellers and by Hungarians from other regions, it is a charming place steeped with early 20th-century Jewish history, and Eastern European influences from Soviet times.
Understand
Modern Mátészalka is a fusion of four smaller settlements, which existed in one form or the other since the Middle Ages. The city contains architecture from various time periods: late 19th- and early 20th-century bourgeois and Jewish houses in Kossuth Lajos street complete with a famous Synagogue, an East Berlin-esque Stalinist city center from Soviet times, a quiet, suburban area in the outer parts of the town with houses dating from the 1930s to modern times, and the new high-tech railway station, indoor swimming pool, and Tesco supermarket from the globalized era.
Language
Hungarian is the official language, spoken by everyone. It doesn't hurt to learn a few phrases, it will be of tremendous help this far away from the cosmopolitan Budapest. Younger people speak either English or German to varying degrees, older people may speak Russian or German.
Priests, doctors and pharmacists may speak some Latin even if they don't know any other living language than Hungarian.
On the flea-market, Russian, Ukrainian, and Romanian can be used to communicate with some vendors if you know these languages better than Hungarian.
Some old people may know some Yiddish.
Mátészalka has got various cultural connections to France, through one of its schools and its tradition-propagating institutions, so some people may know some French.
Get in
By train
From Budapest, Mátészalka can most easily be reached by train. There is a daily InterCity train in the afternoon which goes from Budapest-Nyugati to Mátészalka in about 4 hours, and goes back to Budapest the following day in the early morning. During the day, various InterCity trains go from Budapest to Debrecen. From Debrecen, you can easily catch a regional train to Mátészalka. On the regional train you will have the opportunity to get a taste of "real Hungary" and not the sanitized, artificial version usually put before a traveller.
Mátészalka is also directly connected by train to Carei, Romania.
By bus
From Nyíregyháza, the easiest way to go to Mátészalka is by bus. There is a train connection but it's painfully slow.
By car
By car, the easiest way to get to Mátészalka from Budapest is to drive to Nyíregyháza on the M3 freeway, then get to the Rohod-junction on route 41, then turn right and follow route 49 through Vaja, Őr, and Jármi to Mátészalka.
From Debrecen, follow route 471 through various small villages.
By bicycle
If you're not totally new to bicycles it's not that dangerous to ride a bike between Mátészalka and various smaller villages in the region, like Jármi, Ópályi, Kocsord, Nyírmeggyes and Nyírcsaholy. Exercise caution with lorry drivers and youngsters with a fresh driving license in sports cars.
Mátészalka is also connected, mostly to the east and the north, by dirt roads to various villages. These are safer, although watch out for stray dogs that may attack the fast moving bicycle or hares and pheasants which might jump in your path. If you sprain your ankle or knee you may be left there for good. In rainy weather, these dirt roads are mostly unpassable.
By hitchhiking
The car is the main method of transport in this area with an infrequent bus network and a rail network which only touches a fraction of the settlements.
Only some locals can afford a car, the others rely mostly on their car-owning acquaintances to take them to other places. If you try hitchhiking you may get picked up.
Get around
Mátészalka is not too big, you can easily get around on foot, or by bicycle.
By bus
There is a local bus service mainly consisting of regional buses which also have stops in Mátészalka, but it's pretty irregular.
A free bus service is operated by the Tesco supermarket. It starts from Tesco, goes around in a loop through Southeast, East, East-Central and Northeast Mátészalka, arriving back at Tesco.
On foot
If you don't have a problem with long walks, you can reach any point from any other point in the town with a long, healthy walk.
By bicycle
There isn't too much traffic and the paved roads are in good condition. Don't ride a bike on Alkotmány street, and exercise caution on Jármi street, Meggyesi street and Ipari street.
By car
The car is the main method of transport that the locals use. There isn't much traffic, most intersections have traffic lights. It's quite easy and quick to get around by car.
By hitchhiking
The flea market is quite a distance away from the city center. If you don't want to take a long walk, ride a bike on a busy road, or try to get here with the infrequent bus connection, try to hitch a ride to the market from the junction of Jármi street and Ipari street.
By taxi
There are some taxis waiting at the railway station.
See
- Synagogue, Kossuth Lajos street 37. An early 20th century synagogue in what was the Jewish District before the Holocaust.
- The first electric street light in Hungary, a streetlight-pole made of iron near the synagogue on Kossuth Lajos street. Mátészalka was the first settlement in Hungary to get electric street lighting. Electric lighting was established in 1888, the same time as in New York.
- Szatmár Museum, Kossuth Lajos street 5. A modern museum about traditional life and art in the region. Features an extensive carriage collection from every part of Hungary.
- The "meteorite", in the garden of the Reformed Church. Near the fence, easily visible from the street, Kossuth square. A strange darkish rock slab. No scientific examinations have been made on it yet, but rumored by some locals to have extraterrestrial origins.
- Kraszna River, a small river east of the town. Cycle eastwards on Fekeszegi street. After a while, the paved road will veer off left, the straight path will turn into dirt road. Continue on the dirt road and you will arrive at the bridge. Don't follow the paved road after it turns left, it leads to a sewage works patrolled by attack dogs! At the bridge, there are various trees on which yellow plums grow. They are smaller and more sour than typical plums, but are very tasty. They can be safely eaten off the tree. In folk language they are jokingly called "diarrhea-plums" as eating large amounts at once can cause diarrhea.
- The "egg" in front of the Kraszna Áruház, There used to be a big swamp south of Mátészalka called "the Ecsedi Láp" which was drained. This statue commemorates it with various reptiles and amphibians climbing up the egg-shaped rock on which a huge eagle sits.
- Various statues and memorials in the city center, about famous people in Hungarian and European history. Mátészalka has got the nickname "the city of statues" because it has so many of them.
- The Soviet-style city center, if you're interested in life behind the Iron Curtain during the Cold War, take a walk around the city center. Few has changed since 1989, except there are now advertisements and there are less Trabants and Ladas and more Western cars!
- The steam locomotive, a beautiful locomotive preserved from old times. It stands on a small length of rail tracks in front of the railway station.
- The Spring Rally Race usually held on a makeshift racetrack near the flea-market sometime in April or May. Among usual converted European and Japanese race cars, it features American race cars imported from the USA and old East-Block cars like Trabants converted to rally racing.
Do
- Visit the flea market, in the southwest part of the city, at the junction of Ipari street and Meggyesi street. This is more than a simple market, this is a central hub in the town's social life. While nowadays fewer people come here for shopping because this Eastern-style market is overshadowed by the Western-style Tesco, it is still a pretty good place with various kinds of vendors, small buffets offering local versions of fast food and loud party music blasting through loudspeakers on poles from Kesha, Lady Gaga, etc. If you have kids, bring them here, they'll love it!
Things to look for on the market:
- Fast food vendors offering Lángos, a traditional Hungarian fast-food, Palacsinta, 1980s-style communist hamburgers and hot-dogs which are markedly different from McDonald's, grilled open-face sandwiches made like a pizza, gyros, soft drinks, not just Coca Cola but also Traubisoda, Márka and other Hungarian soft drinks.
- Ukrainian candies and chocolates. Very cheap, good quality and tasty. The kids'll think it's Halloween!
- Beauty care products, soap, diapers, etc. Very cheap.
- Electronic equipment from Eastern Europe, China, sometimes Western products. Interesting items ranging from small portable radios to large home stereos to pirate Nintendos with yellow cartridges.
- Kitchen equipment, dishes, knives, appliances.
- Car parts.
- Toys. Eastern European, Chinese or Western. Doesn't matter, all are very cheap. The kids'll think they're in Disneyland!
- More expensive but special items from the East, like pomegranate juice.
- Antique items like old clocks, chess sets, soviet souvenirs, porcelain figures.
- Live animals. Chickens, ducks, turkeys.
- Fruits and vegetables.
If you hear good music through the loudspeakers, start dancing to your heart's content! If someone doesn't like it, it's their problem!
Don't buy gasoline from the Romanian vendors who walk around the place with a jerrycan in their hands. It is mostly poor-quality gasoline heavily mixed with water. While it will run Dacias and Ladas with a somewhat clunky performance, a Western car could be irrepairably damaged by it. (Think of Back to the Future part 3.)
- Visit the farmers'-market A bit north of the town center. While not as big and bustling as the flea-market it's still a unique place of Eastern European culture.
- Visit the indoor swimming-pool and thermal healing bath. Southeast, near the Tesco. Hungary is famous for its thermal baths and spas. Mátészalka also has one. Alkotmány u. 2., [dead link]
- Visit the Tesco Some Westerners might find it comforting that a little piece of home has also gained a foodhold in this faraway and strange place in the East. Alkotmány út 1/A.
- Visit a local tavern An important part of Hungarian culture. Here, far from Budapest, it's almost totally free of international influences. Be sure to try Pálinka!
- Buy watermelon off a horse-drawn cart when it's in season. The cart mostly circles the north-eastern suburban area (around Mátyás Király street), it's very cheap, refreshing in the summer heat, and usually, they carve a leak into the melon you want to buy, so you can taste whether it's good or bad. Sometimes the watermelon is transported in an old Lada or Dacia car that is driven slowly through the suburban streets, and the car announces its presence by loud honking.
- Buy cheap ice cream and other frozen products from the ice-cream van in the summer. It mostly circles the area of Mátyás Király street and Csokonai street. The Mátyás Király street area is served by a yellow ice cream van offering Family Frost products, the Csokonai street area is served by a blue ice cream van offering Nestlé or Algida products. Passionate verbal warfare is fought among the neighborhood kids over which ice cream van offers tastier ice cream.
- Take a walk through the calm, suburban areas of the town. If you're from a suburban area yourself, but from a different place, like Western Europe or the USA, take note of the similarities and the differences.
Buy
Most of the shopping unique to this area can be concluded at the Flea Market. There is a Tescoin the southeast, and smaller stores in the city center.
There is an American-style small local supermarket complete with a small food court called Luca in the west. It tried to bring The West into the town before Tesco arrived. Jármi út 10.
There is another western-style supermarket called Profi, near the Tesco. Alkotmány u. 2/a.
There is Alfi-ker a kind of transition between an East-block grocery store and a western supermarket, established in the late 1990s. Jármi út 6. +36-44-500-591
Eat
There are many restaurants in the city center and the streets leading up to the railway station.
Fast food can be obtained in the Tesco and on the flea-market.
You can also try a very cheap and very Eastern concept of "fast food": Go into a store, buy some rolls, cheese and sausage, and eat them! Down it with Hungarian beer!
- Kékfrankos Restaurant, Kölcsey utca 8., +36-44-300-369. A restaurant near the railway station, offering traditional Hungarian and Central-European dishes and quality wine.
- Nefelejcs Csárda, Kórház utca 5. A csárda (traditional Hungarian guesthouse) offering typical Hungarian fare.
- Szatmár Restaurant, Kölcsey u. 46.
- Kristály Hotel and Restaurant, Eötvös u. 17, +36-44-312-036
- Provolone Pizzeria, Kölcsey u. 37., +36-44-418-814
- Provolone Vendéglő és Terasz, Kölcsey u. 35., +36-44-310-736
- Borostyán Restaurant Rió Mulató, Hősök tere 8., +36-44-311-429
- Flamingó Restaurant and Pizzeria, Hősök tere 4. +36-44-310-421
- Chinese Restaurant, Kölcsey u. 36.
In the winter, a Disznóvágás (pig-butchering) takes place in some households, which is similar to the Sautanz of Burgenland,Austria but using less advanced technology. Take note though, that here, it is usually a private party of sorts between family and close friends and there are no restaurants and buffets which sell the products of the Disznóvágás to strangers. One reason for this is that nowadays, pig-butcherings are sporadic, except in smaller villages in the region, and because of this, there arent't enough Disznóvágás products available at once to host such eateries.
Another rural and suburban partylike-event connected to eating is Szalonnasütés (literally: bacon-roasting), which is enjoyed by many people.
It is similar to the Anglo-American tradition of sitting around the campfire and roasting marshmallows, but here, instead of marshmallows, a thick slab of Hungarian bacon (more fatty than what Westerners might think of when they think of bacon) is roasted over the fire until it starts dripping fat, then it is quickly held over a slice of white bread and the fat drips onto the bread. This is repeated until the bread is well-spread with the dripped fat. After this, the fatty bread is sprinkled with Hungarian paprika, topped with onions and eaten. If the bacon is not burnt too much, it is eaten too. Nowadays, jacket potatoes, slices of meat, sausage, and corn on the cob is also sometimes roasted in the fire, and sometimes even marshmallows, as Hungary becomes more globalized.
Drink
Various taverns, clubs, discos. The town is pretty small, dare to explore!
- [dead link] Club Glamour, ☏ +36 70 5850404. Jármi út 10. A new disco near the city center.
- St. Patrick tavern, on the corner of Széchenyi street and Mátyás Király street. A typical Hungarian tavern. Pool table in the back, ask the bartender and he will show you the way.
- Tóparti Koccintó, another small tavern at Halastó, a small sandy area surrounded by Mátyás Király street, Csokonai street and Csokonai lane. It has a television.
- Red Rock tavern and music pub, Erkel Ferenc u. 70.
- Desperado Pub, Hősök tere 8., +36-44-310-428
A famous local (albeit non-alcoholic) drink is homemade elderflower syrup diluted with water. Since this is a homemade drink not sold in stores, trying it will be a challenge. Your best bet will be looking for it in the small farmers' market near the city center where sometimes old ladies will sell the syrup, which you can dilute with water to make the drink yourself, or getting invited to a home (usually one with an old granny or an industrious housewife) which may have the drink available if you ask for it.
Some people keep small vineyards, from which they can produce a few bottles of homemade wine. Since so little can be produced and the taste is usually very unique, being served homemade wine is considered a generous gesture and receiving a whole bottle of it is a very special gift.
Sleep
- Hotel Ramszesz, ☏ +36 44 310-428. Hősök tere 8. The old main hotel of the town, now with Ancient Egyptian decor in a Las Vegas kind of style.
- [dead link] Bianco Panzió, ☏ +36 44 502-627. Kölcsey út 27-29. Very close to the railway station, a bit more expensive than Ramszesz.
- Nefelejcs Panzió, Ipari út. 53. +36-44-312-349, a smaller hotel on Ipari street about halfway between Jármi street and Meggyesi street.
- Kristály Hotel and Restaurant, Eötvös u. 17, +36-44-312-036
Connect
Free Wi-Fi available in many locations in the city center. (Though this might be unintentional)
The telephone area code of the Mátészalka Area is 44. Phone numbers here consist of 6 numbers.
Payphones are widespread, although some might not work because of vandalism (someone ripped off the handset, stuffed chewing gum in the coin slot, etc.)
Internet access is also available in the library.
Internet access is not as widespread as in the more urbanized areas of the country, so some institutions that have computers connected to the internet, such as schools, might allow you to use the internet there if you ask for it.
There are some post offices in the town. The one near the police station in the city center is the largest.
Contact by telephone is still more important in this part of the country than the internet, so more services and establishments have a phone number that you can call, and then ask about the service/establishment than a website.
Stay safe
Mátészalka is a pretty safe town. During the day, areas outside the city center and the flea-market are pretty deserted and at night, Mátészalka is a ghost town.
During the day, avoid troublemakers at the flea-market. At night, you may hear shouting from the taverns. If you hear it, avoid the place until the situation resolves.
Avoid seedy characters at the railway station.
Watch out for stray dogs in suburban areas near the town's outskirts and the Kraszna River area. They are not particularly dangerous, but if you see one, it's best to pretend you didn't notice it, then most likely the dog will walk away and leave you alone.
Stay healthy
Mátészalka has a hospital. Kórház u. 2-4., +36-44-501-501, , igazgatas@szalkakorhaz.hu
There are various pharmacies in town, the two biggest are in the city center and near the hospital. As it was mentioned above, if all else fails because of the language barrier, the pharmacist might understand Latin.
If a stray dog bites you, it's best to get a diagnosis for rabies and get a shot, just to be safe. "Rabies" in Hungarian is "Veszettség" (Veh-set-shayg), "stray dog" is "Kóborkutya" (Koh-bohr-koo-tyah) and "it bit me" is "megharapott" (megh-hah-rah-pott)
Local fruits and vegetables can be eaten off the plant (if they aren't sprayed with pesticides of course), and tap water is safe. Unpasteurized milk should be avoided. If you see a fruit tree on the street full of delicious cherries, plums or other fruits, you can safely eat off the tree.
Stay safe
Respect
It's best to avoid conversations about politics, both Hungarian and international, and if some local brings the topic up himself/herself maintain a neutral point of view. Political jokes and stereotypes about the USA, the EU, Jews, Roma, and the surrounding countries are common, don't be offended.
The local Roma, as in everywhere else in Hungary wishes to be called "Roma" and not "Cigány", the traditional Hungarian word for them.
Jokes about being devotedly religious are also common. Don't be offended. Even if some local calls himself/herself religious they most likely profess a pretty liberal form of Christianity. Religion in Hungary, like elsewhere in Europe, isn't taken too seriously.
Law enforcement
There is a small police station in the city center, the staff may know English or maybe they can provide an interpreter. You may have better luck using German. József Attila út 1-3.
Various international organizations both secular and religious have bases in Mátészalka, for example Rotary Club, various Christian churches (Roman Catholic, Greek Catholic, Reformed) and a synagogue.
Go next
Visit Túristvándi and it's water mill.
Visit the Bukógát (Spillover) near Tiszakóród. It's an industrial flood gate used to regulate the flowing of the Túr river into the Tisza river at the Ukrainian border, but it's a beautiful artificial waterfall used by locals as a place to swim and have fun in the water. Look for ropes on the trees on the riverbank some distance before the river reaches the spillover. These are there to swing on them, then jump into the water like Tarzan! Don't miss the fun! When the Túr spills into the Tisza, don't swim across to the other bank of the Tisza! That's Ukraine there, and you're crossing an international border without a passport!
Visit the aquapark in Vásárosnamény, if you prefer a more Western kind of aquatic entertainment than the Bukógát.
Mátészalka is a good starting place for day-trips to Romania and Ukraine.
Visit Tákos and Csaroda two small villages to the east. Tákos has an interesting reformed church from the 18th century called "The barefoot Notre Dame" and Csaroda has a very old church from the Middle Ages. Carefully inspect the old wooden furniture of the church, there are carvings in the wood made by 19th century vandals!
Visit the Old Swamp of Bátorliget south of Mátészalka, near the Romanian border. There is an interesting museum there about local biology and ecology.
Visit Vaja west of Mátészalka on route 49. It has got an old castle and a popular lake.
Visit the Lake of Terem near Bátorliget and Terem, south of Mátészalka. Another popular lake in the region.
Visit the home-made nuclear fallout shelter in Kocsord, the next village to the east of Mátészalka. A local, Fogarassy Árpád, thought in the 1980s that nuclear war between the USA and USSR is imminent and built a large concrete bunker in his backyard. The bunker is incomplete and the backyard is in ruins, but it's an interesting piece of local Cold War history, nonetheless. In 2009, a tragicomedic Hungarian film, called "Bunkerember" (the Bunker-man) was made, loosely based on this event.
Visit Szatmárcseke northeast of Mátészalka. It has got a very interesting cemetery in which rather than headstones and Christian crosses, upright wooden boats mark the graves, based on Old Hungarian traditions.
Visit Tarpa and it's animal-powered mill.
Visit Nyírbátor southwest of Mátészalka. It has got many interesting sights, recently renovated.