I continue my adventures in Nógrád County! On Friday at noon I joined a group of 10 people at Mátraverebély-Szentkút (Holy Well), one of the largest Catholic pilgrimage sites in Hungary.
Want to know more about it? Click the link: https://szentkut.hu/en
Waiting for the bus, stork circling above my head, it was a wonderful sight. The picture only shows a few birds, but otherwise there were many more. The stork is one of the sacred birds of the Hungarians, and it was once believed that if stork nested on or near of a house, it would bring good luck.
After a short bus ride I was at the holy place where I met my friends. I had to wait for them for a while because they were at the hermitage caves.
Meanwhile, I took some photos of the renewed open-air sanctuary and its surroundings.
In fact, it's overdeveloped, with lots of stalls selling tacky knick-knacks. But there is a new pilgrims' hostel (or rather hotel) with a restaurant next to the church.
The church hides among the trees. Best of all, this holy place is surrounded by a cool, shady forest to the north. Even in the hottest heatwave, the climate here is bearable.
As we had plenty of time that day, we took our time and had a look around. We visited a nearby spring named after our King St. Laszlo, which is not the same as the holy well within the area.
Our next destination was nearby Samsonháza, where we saw a very interesting geological formation. Next to it we visited an old andesite mine.
A long and steep flight of stairs leads up to the top of the hill next to the andesite mine.
View from the top: transmitter tower in the Mátra mountains
View of Sámsonháza
We then made a short detour to the ruins of Fejérkő Castle. Unfortunately not much remains of the castle, but it would be worth exploring and at least partially rebuilding. See this article to learn more: https://www.komoot.com/highlight/3880781
On the way to Fejérkő. Very nice view of the Mátra mountains. 
The ruins are covered with dense vegetation
We then set off on a longer drive, but it was no more than 25 kilometres. It was the second time in two days that I had been with the team in the castle of Somoskő. But I didn't mind, it was nice to see it again in the early evening light.
Since there was a significant chance of thunderstorms, we decided to drive back to Szentkút and sleep in the hermit caves.
It only took a quarter of an hour, but it was all the more exhausting to climb up to the caves with a heavy backpack. But the view made up for any inconvenience! And the caves were comfortable, warm and dry. Some of us pitched tents, others just slept in sleeping bags.
Inside one of the small cave cells, there are many words of requests and thanksgiving, written by pilgrims in charcoal on cardboard, in their own simple way.
Bless me, Father, not for myself, but so that I may truly be a blessing in the lives of many suffering souls.
Jesus ♥️ Christ Where there is love and understanding, there God dwells.
Lord Jesus Christ,Son of God, move into this corrupt heart and teach me to love!
God created me because He wanted me to be! He is the one who loves me! Like a good father, he doesn't want us to be afraid of him or respect him from afar, but wants hugs, humour and direct conversation.
Views of Mátra mountains in sunset
Although it drizzled at first, the rain clouds cleared as the sun set and the silvery light of the moon embraced us. For a while longer we could hear the sleepy chirping of birds, replaced by the hooting of owls. We talked until midnight about everything and nothingness, the nature of time and other serious philosophical matters. Then everyone went to their sleeping places. The spirit of the place made sure we slept well and safely.
Whoa, those hermit caves are amazing!!
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