It has been an unusually cold winter in Hungary and country’s largest lake, Lake Balaton, is frozen. Gábor Kardos came up with the idea to have a “Slide across the Ice of Balaton.” It took place a couple weeks ago between Badacsony and Fonyód, a narrow part of the lake. (The event was called in Hungarian – Balaton Átcsúszás 2017)
Organizers expected a couple of hundred people at the port at Badacsony to cross the 5.2 km-distance, but according to estimates, several thousand people showed up on skates, boots, slides, you name it. The ice crossing was an unexpected success.
A couple of years ago somebody asked me about the English equivalent of the Hungarian word “rianás” which means the cracking, or the cracking sound of the ice. I always connect this word with the frozen Balaton since the cracking of ice on this lake is very spectacular. As it turns out there is no specific word in the English language for “rianás”, it is just called “ice cracking.”
I don’t know if this time participants experienced ice cracking on the lake but I share with you this truly spectacular drone video from LOCI of the great 2017 ice crossing of Lake Balaton. Enjoy!
György Lázár
