The place that found us: how we came to Csáford

Behind neti neti there is no carefully drafted business plan or childhood dream – Balázs Pados finding the place and arriving in Zala was more a matter of chance (or Fate?). Here is how neti neti began.

“2005. Summer at Lake Balaton. Drinks with friends, and friends of friends. One of them mentions he has a small vineyard he'd like to sell. I ask how much. Three hundred thousand forints, he says. I didn't ask where it was, how big, or whether it bore fruit. Thanks to the pálinka, I gave him a twenty-thousand-forint deposit and promptly forgot all about it. Six months later the seller called to ask whether I'd been serious about the deal. What deal, I asked. The vineyard in Csáford, of course. In the spring of 2006, my friend Gábor Lipák and I gave this unknown hillside in Zala a chance. We found the vineyard, parked the car, and when we turned towards the valley, this view opened up in front of us. That's where it all started. At thirty-two I became the proud owner of a 4,198-square-metre ‘hill’ – as they say in Zala – with an unpromising vineyard and a ruined barn on it.”

For the next twenty years Csáford was the family's own retreat, a place to rest and recharge. One by one the old press houses were renovated, and the land grew as neighbouring plots were added.

“We often talked about how good it would be to show this to others one day. So that others could experience the silence, calm and slowness this place gives on its own. Meanwhile we travelled the world, looking everywhere for what we had in fact already found in Csáford – we just didn't notice it yet. As time passed, the land grew, the children grew up, and life closed several important chapters. My family situation changed, and my professional CV left a few big stories behind. Suddenly it was just me and Csáford. And I had to figure out what to do with all of it,” Balázs recalls.

The answer came from the land itself: the valley stretching across the quiet countryside of Csáford, near Zalaszentgrót, speaks for itself. It is a place that gives everyone who comes here a sense of arrival and presence. Spread over ten hectares, with forest, meadows, fruit trees, paths and plenty of space, it draws you closer not only to nature but to yourself.

Here in Csáford, Balázs found this feeling of arrival, and neti neti exists to pass it on. It may be a life-changing experience, a long-awaited calm, or simply a quiet, restoring weekend. As Balázs puts it: “Nature has already done its part; all we need to do is arrive.”