Scenic Route 1

Usually we walk or take the bus everywhere. But sometimes, the people we want to visit are easier to get to by car. On the way home, whenever we see signs such as this directing us to nearby sights, the scenic route beckons. In this case one arrow points to Taródi Vár. "Vár" means "castle" so off we go.

After wandering up the hill through a neighborhood of huge mansions we came across this.

It's not the castle. Just a "health spa hotel" with $280 a night rooms for foreign tourists. But if you turn around and look through the trees, this is what you see--a tower of Taródi Castle.

This castle was built by a man starting in 1950. Here is the front entrance.

Here's a look from the side.

There is supposed to be an observation tower nearby so you can see it from the air. We couldn't find the right path, so this picture posted by the parking lot will have to do.

He never finished it before he died and the family didn't want to live in it. They preferred the plusher modern life of their neighbors. It is slowly collapsing into ruin. A family member charges $2 for self guided tours of the rooms filled with antiques.