Lake Balaton

18th to 23rd June 2013

Unusually for us we haven't moved very far over the past few days. On Tuesday we packed up the van and left Budapest and headed out to Lake Balaton where we understand most Hungarians spend their holidays. It was our intention to find somewhere good to stay so that Jacqui could catch up with some Keele work as some deadlines were looming. After two to three hours of very hot driving conditions we turned off to stop for some lunch. We saw lots of people cycling in their swimwear all heading off in one direction. We followed and found ourselves in a grassy park from which a floating pontoon had been built so that you could access the lake without wading through the mud at the edge. Jacqui had a quick dip to cool off and then we sat down to eat under rolls in the shade of the trees. We could have spent all afternoon there but we did want to find somewhere to stay for the night so with ice creams in our hands we made our way back to Buster and soon  found ourselves on a large campsite at Balatonfured. This 'Balaton village' is on the quieter north side of the lake and although it was a large campsite it was still early enough in the season for it to be less than a quarter full. The campsite was set right against the edge of the lake and being a large campsite it offered lots of watersports (which we didn't need), large swimming pool and boasted it was the most eco/C02 neutral camp site in the world. Although we noted most of the other campers were using the lake to swim in. We had found a lovely shady spot to park Buster in and the rest of the afternoon we just relaxed glad to have some respite from the heat.

The following day Jacqui got up early and was working before 7am. Mike not to be outdone cleaned the van which had got very muddy when driving through the recent thunderstorms and then he did a large shop using the bikes. he came back looking very hot. By then the van had heated up a lot as well and jacqui wanted out so we spent the rest of the afternoon by the pool (which was a much better temperature than the lake for swimming in).


 We explored the campsite and were intrigued to see a zip wire/pulley system that was used to tow people on waterskis, wakeboards etc without the need for a motorboat. There was a large circuit that went out into the lake for 2-300 metres. I should think the whole circuit was a couple of Km. It looked great fun to do and was also fun to watch as this was where most people fell off!  We had a BBQ for supper as it was too hot to cook in the van (chicken kebabs with salad) and then walked down to one of the bars where Mike had ice cream for pudding and I had a pancake.




The night had been very sticky and we had not slept well so Jacqui got up even earlier and started work shortly after 6am so that she could get a few hours done before the van got too hot. Five hours later Jacqui was melting (it was 38C) and we both went to the pool for a dip before lunch.  We went back there after lunch and then when the pool closed ridiculously early at 4pm we got the kayak ready and headed down to the lake.

We had to manouvere around the many adults and kids who were swimming/playing in the lake.  We had not used it to swim in so far because the water was so warm it was not very refreshing so we preferred the pool. But it was good to take the kayak out on as there was a lovely cooling breeze. We paddled off to see the waterskiers in action again and generally mooched around on the water. On the way back Mike jumped overboard and swam back in leaving me to bring the kayak home.  That night was very hot again and we repeated our BBQ of the previous night.  We sat outside till quite late in our swimwear and then had a shower to cool ourselves off before bedtime.

Friday was a repeat of the previous day. Jacqui again got up early and worked for a few hours. We then went by the pool till it closed and then put the kayak on the lake paddling off in the opposite direction towards the marine where there were many small yachts moored. There were quite a lot of boats on the water but there was so little wind they were not moving very fast. That night we didn't bother to get the BBQ out and just had salad. If it wasn't for the cooling beer and ice creams I am sure the weight would be falling off us.

After four nights here we felt we had better move on although it was still our intention to stay near the lake for another couple of days. Lake Balaton is the second largest lake in Europe outside of Scandinavia so there was still plenty to see.  It felt a mistake as we packed up to go.  It was so hot in the van that driving was not that comfortable. We drove for about 60 kilometers and ended up at another campsite near the village of Vonyarcvashegy. On the way we saw various locals selling their produce and we bought tomatoes, cucumbers, spicy pale green peppers and an enormous bag of cherries. The cherries had been sitting in the sun and were so hot that when you bit into them their juice spurted out - delicious.  We had considered wild camping but to be honest with the high temperatures it was lovely to have a shady spot for Buster and to have easy access to the lake and to proper showers which we were using about three times a day plus when ever we got out of the lake. This was a smaller campsite and was a lot more 'natural' we have had lots of birds singing their hearts out, seen green woodpeckers and some large terrapins wandering around. That night we decided to go to the camp restaurant for food. We were going to have a Hungarian dish but found out that they had only a limited menu available. We both had a pleasant chicken dish washed down with some good local white wine. We were still sitting outside on the terrace when they came to close up but they didn't mind us staying so we carried on chatting to each other.  As we left we could tell the wind had got up and we saw some lightening flashes but at this point no rain. Later at about 11.30pm the storm arrived and we had to rush outside to get the awning down before it blew down and to bring in our rugs and other bits we had left outside. We weren't too sure the insurance company would believe another storm disaster story and fortunately everything was in place before any damage was done.



The air felt much fresher and the temperature had dropped by about 10C by the following morning. It was cool enough for us to consider a cycle ride.  There is a cycle track that goes all around the lake; it is about 200km long but we were only going to cycle a few km to the town of Keszthely. This is one of the largest towns around the lake. We left the cycle track and headed through a shady park which contained a statue of Bela Bartok, went up Kossoth Utca which was full of cafes, buskers and tourists and up to Festetics Palace. This was a beautiful building founded by Gregory Festetics in 1745. Our guide book tells us it attracted the leading lights of Magyar literature from the 19C on-wards but today it houses a couple of museums with a palm house in the garden.  We ate our lunch in the shade in the garden as despite the cooler start to the day it was now quite hot again. After cycling through the town we our way down to the lake where their were various boat tours etc. It all looked very picturesque.  We cycled along the lake for a bit before picking up the cycle track that led back to the campsite. 

 It was lovely to have been out on the bikes again. The rest of the afternoon Mike sat by the lake reading his book and Jacqui typed up this blog. She was interrupted a few times by a large rustle in the bushes in the bank on opposite.On investigation it appeared that the terrapins were attempting to climb the bank and kept rolling down.

Oh and one more thing check out this sign on the campsite which is asking you to keep the sinks clean after washing up.  It is the first time we have heard of a constipated sink. How we love translation!