Europe Trip: Zemplén Kalandpark Bobpálya

When we are in Hungary, besides staying with Dédi, our favorite place to stay has always been with our dear friends Péter and Csilla and their boys (our godsons) Gergő and Dávid. We usually stay with them for a few days, but that is never enough time together, so they often journey out to Dédi’s house to visit us while we are there as well. On this particular day we met up at Dédi’s house and our friends took all of us on a grand adventure.

Our first stop on the adventure was the Zemplén Kalandpark.

Located just 10 kilometers from Sárospatak, the Zemplén Kalandpark (Zemplén adventure park) is nestled in the beautiful Zemplén Mountains. The park itself offers year round attractions including adventure trails/ropes course (like the one we did in Budapest), nature trails, playgrounds, and a ski resort in the winter. The day we visited, we were there for one thing. The bobpáyla, or bobsled. At 2275 meters in length, Zemplén Kalandpark’s Bobpálya is Hungary’s (and the overall region’s) longest bobsled track. It is fast, it has gorgeous views and – did I mention that it’s fast? At some points the track has a 10 percent grade, so you can really get going. Thankfully each car has a set of brakes that the passenger can control so you can your car go as slowly as you would like.

The boys were all eager to test out the bobsleds but I decided to hang back with Péter, Csilla and Dédi to take pictures. Of course, the boys all had so much fun on their first run that they convinced me to ride along on the second run (after several reassurances from Csilla that it wasn’t nearly as scary as it looked). It was exhilarating and I’m glad that they talked me into doing it! When you are racing down the track, everything goes by in a blur, but the ride to the top of the track is slow and you really get the chance to take in your surroundings and see the beauty of the foliage in the Zamplén Mountain region. It was well worth the trip.