Csopak is the Centre of the World! - Szonja Oroszlán

'Balaton and Csopak have been part of my life since the age of two; they have burnt into me. I love it here, it is so peaceful and I can hide here: the house stands on a hilltop, right next to the woods and you can literally see the entire Balaton from there, from the Tihanyi-félsziget to Almádi. Of course, when I was a teenager the 45-minute climb from the train station with all the luggage, then back to the beach, then back to the house were not simple. Today, I prefer coming by car,' she smiles. Szonja irrevocably married to Csopak 3 years ago, around the time when she met Dani, a horse of the Csopaki Lovas Klub, with whom they have been inseparable since their first ride together. 'A friend of mine took me to ride and I fell in love with Dani.'
Szonja is tied to Budapest on account of his work. 'I try to make it so I can spend as much time as I can here, at home. I learn my roles in Csopak, I prepare here. This is my island where I run back whenever I can and when I have to go to Budapest for work, I'm already eager about returning. Csopak is a microclimate: if it rains in Budapest, the weather is sure to be clear here.'

In the place of Szonja's home, a small, Swedish cabin used to stand, erected by her father after touring abroad, from the price of an olive green Mercedes. 'A lot of musicians and filmmakers bought pieces of land in the neighbourhood back then, and we also got here like that through dad. We had the best parties in that wooden cabin! When I was a teenager, the eight of us crammed into four places on the beds and mattresses, we headed out from here to the Linczy Cellar for a start and then on to Dexion to party, every Friday and Saturday. Then water was switched off for the winter and there was no heating either. The cabin was broken into every winter, someone always moved in for the season, it was terrible; back then there weren't so many residents around. When we found out 10 years ago that the adjacent lot was for sale, our cabin was already very shabby. We decided to pull it down and build a stone house instead; Csopak remained and it has become my home by and by.'
Szonja considers Csopak to be the centre of the world, and what better proof was there than in a small boarding house in the German Alps it turned out within a few minutes that the waiter was also from Csopak. 'All signs point to Csopak, everyone has someone, who is from here,' she says.
The actress plans to sit with Jásdi rosé in hand on the verandah of the Csopak house still in 20 years time and watch the bustle down below. It is customary for her to buy some local wine on her way here. 'I do not go to the beach; in fact, apart from riding and walking the dog I rarely go out; I just observe everything and the beautiful Hungarian Sea from above– I'm not an eager beach-goer anyway. Many things have changed and changed for the better in Csopak throughout the years, but sometimes I really miss the old beach, the way I hit my toes on the rocks of the shore, the Leo icecream, the old waffel buffet and the open-air cinema on the beach, surrounded by trees and bushes.'

'I especially adore the place in wintertime; it is a fantastic feeling to ride in snowfall with the dogs rolling around in the snow. We ride out or go hiking to Paloznak, towards Felsőörs, to the Káli-medence, in the direction of Salföld and Nemesgulács. I love the Koloska-völgy very much, it is fairy tale-like--I always stop at the local csárda. Since I started riding regularly, I have ridden on the beaches of Morocco, in the sunset in San Francisco,and at the location where Lord of the Rings was filmed in New Zealand, but I have always come back to Dani and Csopak.'
One wonders if she could live permanently in Csopak, to which she answer, 'I think with Balatonfüred and Veszprém in the vicinity you can find everything here. I have many friends here, the majority of whom have two homes: in the weekend and especially in the summer, everyone is here. I'm teeming with friends from Almádi to Tihany. I'm sure that won't change. For the moment, I work a lot, so I regularly leave for the capital, but I often feel that I will spend my older years at the Balaton,' she says smiling.