Paying a 'visit' to Hungary's friendliest doctor

No, luckily I am not ill. But I had to go to the doctor over the weekend. 

After four days in Budapest, I decided to head to Balaton Lake for the weekend. When arriving at the only hostel in Balatonboglár that I could find accommodation at on the internet, it was falling apart - one could see it was a fancy hotel back in the days, but the bit of paint left was peeling of the walls, the windows were broken, there were no lockers, and every now and again someone would walk out the front door saying what a craaaaazy place it is. As Darren, the Irish Spar reporter, and I were about to go in, two other backpackers came out and jokingly (or maybe not so jokingly) told us to run.  

So we 'ran' and after a 20-minute walk with 20 kg on my back (feeling like 50 kg in the scorching heat) we came across a restaurant/guesthouse. There were no beds available, but after a five-minute conversation in a mixture of English, German, Hungarian and 'sign language', the owner phoned someone, had a minute-long conversation that I couldn't understand one word of, and then showed us to stay just where we are. He then explained that a doctor was going to pick us up in a black auto (car). Now that I think about it, it actually sounds quite dodgy.

So the next moment a man in a black bakkie came to pick us up and took us to an apartment above his doctor's rooms. And just like that we had our own holiday home - 600 meters from the lake and at a very affordable price. After sharing a room with about ten other people the rest of the week, this was pure luxury.

Dr Jankovicsné, whose answer to everything is "it's a possibility", gave us a tour of the practice he shares with his physiotherapist wife. After that I had to sit down so that we could exchange telephone numbers in case I would encounter any problems, because, according to him, anything is "a possibility". 

It's because of people like Dr Jankovicsné that I travel. Those people who are willing to help you when your own people are far away, without knowing you from a bar of soap. It is just as if they manage to restore your faith in mankind, even if just for a moment.