The trail of ants runs vertically up the wall and ends on the second-floor balcony of the residential high-rise, where a view of the hilly, gently sloping orchards and vineyards unfolds. Soly doesn’t consider it a good idea to collect ants, even if only in pictures. But it is for this very reason that we’re drinking one last shot of Pálinka before heading back home through the vineyards. Ants are no longer active so late at night. Anyways, my eyes can hardly discern contours clearly.

Meanwhile, the largest known ant colony is conquering Southern Europe without much resistance. It cannot be ruled out that Hungary is already occupied. It has been documented that the colony stretches over six thousand kilometres, from Genoa to Marseille, from Gibraltar to Lisbon. A peaceful coexistence prevails among neighbouring nests along the southern coasts of Europe, rather than the usual raiding of adjacent territories. Billions of ants are towing the line and no longer struggling against each other.