New Yorkers are very proud of Central Park. And they have every right to be: after all, they have managed to create a green park almost 3.5 km2 in size in the middle of one of the world’s largest metropolises.
The wooded area between 50th and 110th Streets is home to 838 different species of animal, including 78 species of butterfly, 46 species of bird and 9 species of dragonfly. However, its most famous inhabitants are the squirrels, which scurry from branch to branch and often even between the feet of passers-by. Credit where credit’s due to those caring for this 1850s park, but if you think you need to go all the way to New York to find such an expanse of urban green space, then you are quite mistaken.
True: there are no skyscrapers rising above the foliage here, but rather the towers of the churches in Veszprém Castle (incidentally, home to colonies of bats.)
The path along the Séd Stream starts at the foot of the castle, and if you walk upstream, you will pass by two monasteries and numerous rose gardens before reaching the shores of a small lake. There’s a good reason why this path is known by the name of Cloisters and Gardens. However some decades ago, the area was home to the city’s amusement park. The miniature railway tunnel can still be seen in the cliff face, as can its stops, but nowadays, the area offers a very different experience: seeing a squirrel running across the pavement is as natural as drinking coffee in New York.
