9th July – 18th July 2024
Our meanderings thus far have been fairly logical, but now a degree of back tracking was upon us. There was a very good reason for this. We were heading back towards Budapest to take advantage of a fortuitous happenstance of geography. My Mum and step-dad, Cliff, who live in Australia, were flying into Budapest on the 13th July in order to join a Danube river cruise two days later. As we were going to be ‘in the area’ we had organised our route to meet them there and spend a day or two pottering. Although we had seen them in Australia only four months ago this was an opportunity too good to be missed. They were booked into a smart hotel in the centre of town on the river and we had booked a space for five nights at a city camp site that was only a 15 minute ride away on the door-to-door tram line. Perfect!
We had a few days in hand and it was still roasting hot. There was only one thing for it. A few days on the banks of Lake Balaton. This is enormous. The largest lake by area in Central Europe, measuring 77 x 14km at its greatest dimennsions. It is not very deep having an average depth of only about 3m and a maximum depth of only 12m. It takes two years for water to move through the lake. At this time of year it is warm and murky but in winter it freezes and is covered with up to 20cm of ice. Hard to imagine. We were recommended a visit to the lake by my brother, Jon, who had come here on a European interailing camping trip as an 18 year old school leaver. We trusted his nearly three decade hence, youthful, possibly not too sober recollections and were not disappointed. We found a camp site right on the lake shore in a place called Badescony and settled in.
The mercury was consistantly 34-36 deg C in the daytime so the urge to do anything that didn’t involve water was non-existant and the most we exerted ourselves was to inflate the paddleboards (which to be fair, is quite hard work). We spent the next three days sitting, sweating, walking the 20m to the lake, soaking in the lake, walking back to the van, drying off, sweating again, carrying the boards to the lake, paddling up-wind, floating down-wind and generally just loafing about on the boards. Lather, rinse, repeat. It was a perfect spot to be in the oppressive heat. Apparently there are lots of interesting things to see and do around here and an great cycle route that circumnavigates the lake, but we wouldn’t know, and didn’t care. Too hot. The most we managed was a 500 meter 9am shuffle into the village to buy a watermelon.
After 3 nights here it was time to drag ourselves away and head to the big city. The forecast showed no signs of the heat abating, in fact it was going to get hotter. We contemplated our options and came to the decision that it would be a marvellous idea to book an air conditionned room in the city for a couple of nights respite. We found a decent sized studio room in an old building only 100m from Mum & Cliff’s hotel for only €120 for the two nights. A (possibly too-good-to-be-true) bargain. It was going to be our first ‘dry land’ nights since the 3rd May and we were very excited!
The Budapest campsite was a rare slice of prime real estate that had been preserved for the utility of city centre camping rather than earn real money from housing or commercial building, and long may it last. Getting to it involved an urban thrash through traffic in Davide, dodging trams and roadworks, but we arrived in one piece and then for the major task…finding a spot with some shade. This campsite had a ‘park where you like’ policy, so it was all a bit free-form, but we managed to secure a place tucked into the northern shady side of a massive cypress hedge. Some respite from the melting death rays of the sun. There was no pool, but there were some strategically placed outdoor showers visited by a constant stream of swimsuit clad campers dousing themselves with cold water. Us included.
The campsite had a busy, chaotic tent area, filled with a mixture of car tourers, bike tourers, walkers, and school groups and next to that was a small bar. We were lured here on our first evening by the music from a Hungarian folk band. This was a group of five gentleman of a certain age and dimension who, despite the persisting heat were throwing themselves into seemingly limitless, well practiced, energetic numbers. And the beer was only 990HUF, £2 for 500ml.
In the morning the next day we shuffled to the nearby shopping centre for a few supplies. Here I saw a hair salon that looked okay, so I jumped on the chance to book a haircut. With short hair a gap of ten weeks between trims means that there are some serious ‘sasquatch’ weeks. A date with some scissors was long overdue. The receptionist spoke English and an appointment made for a few days in the future. Later we packed our overnight bags, locked up Davide, and headed into the city centre to find our accomodation on the very convienient tram.
We were still a little sceptical that it was all kosher, given it’s bargain price, but we had all the details for the address and lockbox code. We killed a hot and hungry half hour before check-in time in – don’t judge – Macdonalds, (it was an oasis of cool, iced drinks and a snack burger each), and happily we successfully got into our room. It was exactly as advertised. A spacious, comfortable studio with a kitchenette, great wifi, a clean bathroom and AIRCON. It was delicious. We chilled (literally and metaphorically) out for a few of hours then went to meet Mum & Cliff at their hotel for drinks.
I love meeting people I know in random places. A rendezvous with antipodean-based parents at a hotel terrace bar on the banks of the Danube entirely fits the bill! They were tired,as expected, Mum was feeling a little digestively challenged, which was a shame, but on the whole they were doing ok seeing as they had been travelling for 48 hours and only arrived six hours previously. Long haul travel is a b!tch at any age, but it is definitely not one of the things that gets easier as you progress through life. It was so great to see them again and although modern technology means that connection with far away loved ones is easier and almost free, it is no replacement for seeing them in the flesh and giving and receiving big hugs. We chatted, had a few drinks and then had dinner at a traditional Hungarian restaurant around the corner. This was hearty, comfort food that in Western Europe we tend to eat in the cooler months of the year, but which the Eastern Europeans seem happy to chow down whether it is 3 deg C or 33 deg C. Summer goulash soup, anyone?!
The next day we had imagined that we would have a day sightseeing together. Mum and Cliff have visited Budapest before, but there is always something else to see, or to see again. It was very apparent that we were not going to be going very far from our hotels as the temperature was headed up to 37 deg C that day. We came to this conclusion halfway across Chain Bridge, one of the oldest connections between Buda and the Pest side, where we were staying. We did an about turn and then the main focus was to find a spot to have a cold drink out of the sun. We were successful in our mission and killed an hour whilst rehydrating in our individual chosen ways sat outside a grand old dame of an establishment, Gerbeaud. Here cakes and confectionary are the thing, but we resisted. I then forced a short walk on my companions to see the impressive St Stephens Basillica.
The route there took us past the slightly odd Michael Jackson Memorial Tree, and once we arrived the crowds and the entrance fee kept us outside and heading back to our airconditionned private Idahos. Mum and Cliff had run out of steam and we were happy to hole up in our room and watch the Martin Freeman show that we were in the middle of.
In the evening we repeated the routine of hotel apperitifs and then had another meal at another very nearby restaurant that did traditional food with a modern flair. It was only 6pm, but we were the only customers for almost the entire meal. An unexpected private dining experience. The food was amazing and served in enormous quanties. We were happy piggies! After dinner we headed up to the rooftop terrace of their hotel which had a fantastic view over to the grand buildings in Buda. There was a welcome breeze up there and the view just got better and better as the sun set. It was a special spot. After a digestif or three we said our goodnights.
At 10.30am the next morning we found the folks who were being hurried onto a waiting bus to be taken to their vessel. A very brief farewell but the Danube waits not for sentimental goodbyes. Afterwards we vacated our place, stored our bags for a few hours and went for a wander. It was still very warm, so this was a super slow paced affair. We found the main tourist drag and followed it down to the market hall, found an amazing gin shop, then wandered back along the river.
On our way along the river we walked past a river cruise boat of the company that I knew Mum and Cliff were using. I messaged Mum, yes, it was their boat. They were just finishing lunch and waiting for their room to be ready. Mum popped out onto the gangway and we had a final little catch up and a better goodbye. Another random rendezvous!
By now we were getting heat fatigued and so headed back to the campsite via collecting our bags. Gone was the aircon, we were back to outdoor showers to stay cool. The next morning was haircut day. I realised that I had forgotten to ask the English speaking receptionist if the stylist spoke English too. Perhaps a rather important detail. The answer was no, not really. It is a testatment to a glorious combination of her cutting skill, bilateral sign language, some translation by the receptionist, the searching for images of hairstyles on line and a bit of Google Translate that I walked away with a pretty darn good haircut. Latest in a long series of ‘half decent haircuts in random places’. Long may it continue!
We decided that no more sightseeing was needed, but instead we needed to find some water to cool down in. One option was to head to the grand Szechenyi Baths, one of Europe’s largest thermal spa complexes. It has an amazing Neo-Baroque building housing 15 indoor thermal pools and 3 large outdoor pools. This is Budapest’s most visited attraction. We did not go there. Instead we headed up the river to Margaret Island, via tram and bus, and visited a more municipal version, Platinus Pools. Here there were some cooler pools and a bit more elbow room. It was also half the price. It was still understandably busy although as we exited our respective changing rooms and surveyed the expanse of water in front of us, we noticed that all the pools were empty and everyone was sat around on the grass and loungers. What? It then became apparent that there was a dark, ominous cloud in the sky complete with flashes of lightning and claps of thunder. We were possibly in the direct path of a storm and the lifeguards had evacuated the pools until they knew which way the cloud was going. Hmmm. This was a long way to come to LOOK at water and then get rained on. We filled the next half hour with another junk food lunch from one of the many concessions by which time the cloud moved on in another direction, the all clear was given and the mass of humanity was able to re-float itself in the waters. As did we. We lasted an hour, which I think was pretty good for us!
On the way home we stopped off at the very impressive parliament building, which apparently was modelled on our own Houses of Westminster. It stands alone on its own concourse rather than being crowded out by lots of neighbouring buildings, making it appear bigger and better. Security was very scanty compared to what I perhaps was expecting, but I imagine that parliament is not sitting at this time of year, and we know that the prime minister, Viktor Orbán, is currently on his one-man diplomatic tour of dictators. So not much to defend here at present.
Just south of parliament is a very thought provoking memorial called ‘Shoes on the Danube Promenade’. Installed in 2005, this series of metal cast shoes, positioned on the wharf-side as if left there by their owners – men, women and children – is to commemorate the massacre of 3500 people, 800 of them Jews, by a facist Hungarian militia belonging to the Arrow Cross Party between Dec 1944 and Jan 1945. Here the victims were lined up on the river bank, ordered to take off their shoes (of value and saleable), leave other valubles and then they were shot. Their bodies fell into the river and were washed down stream, thus saving the executionners the task of disposing of their remains. Another unbelievable tale of human depravity.
This was our last night in the country and our thoughts turned to the complete spend up of our remaining forints, a currency of no use to us beyond Hungary, in too small quanties to be convertable to Euros. We did a pretty good job, leaving ourselves with, when all coins counted, 1930HUF. Just over £4. Where could we spend this loot? The campsite bar, that’s where! Unfortunately the cost of two beers was 1980HUF, so we had to shamefully negotiate with the bar tender to serve us a short pour on the second beer to compensate for the 50HUF (11p) shortfall. The embarrassment of this exchange could have been avoided entirely as I have since discovered a rogue 100HUF coin in the depths of my handbag. Typical.
So my thoughts on Budapest? It is an epic city that we unfortunately we didn’t get to explore fully as it was roasting whilst we were here. The public transport system was amazing and cheap, all supported by a fantastic app. The buildings we saw were massive and grand and gave the city an air of solidness and permenance. The river is magnificent and is the heart and soul of the city. It is busy with tourism, but has the space to accomodate the crowds. It can be expensive, like any major city, but bargains are to be found. Would we come again? Definitely, but perhaps in the depths of winter. This feels like it would be a great city to wander around in a big coat and a thick scarf.
Next stop? Back to Slovakia, my good friend! It must be a good few days since we crossed a border, wrestled with another currency and learnt/relearnt a few local words. Our last visit here had unfortunately been scuppered by 4 or 5 days of awful weather and we hadn’t really seen the best of it. Now our trajectory was to take us to Bratislava and the weather was glorious. The capital of Slovakia, a direct neighbour of Austria and Hungary -it is the only national capital to border two other sovereign states- and a budget flight destination for many-a UK stag do. We found a campsite on the edge of the city that was co-located with a large, municipal, recreational lake, complete with a wakeboarding park, peddalos, a large protected swimming area, a beach and a large grassy sunbathing area. There was also a large Tescos and a tramstop on a direct route into the city within 5 minutes walk. AND there were shade trees. All in all, a pretty darn perfect spot. On checking in the chap at reception said, yes, we could stay for two nights, but not three. It transpired that in three days time the campsite would fill up with over 500 AC/DC fans, the band playing a gig within walking distance of here at the weekend. He also encouraged us to check out early on that day to avoid the melée. I’m not sure what the collective identity and behaviour of hundreds of camping rock fans is, but I imagine it will be messy and likely noisy. We filled the remainder of our (peaceful) afternoon with a lake-side sunning and some swimming.
The next morning we headed into the city centre on the tram. A ticket buys you ‘ride time’ and the system is manually policed by inspectors. We bought 30 min tickets and this got us exactly to the far side of the old town. Just as we were trying to get off an inspector got on and made a beeline for us to check our tickets. There was a 10 sec window for us to find our tickets, present them, him to calculate our ride-time, give us the all clear, and us to exit the tram before the doors closed. Phew. A close run thing!
I thought we’d start the day with a climb up to the castle. Note the first person singular decision making, a fact that was mildly held against me as we trudged up the (must have been close to) four million steps in (what felt like) 439 deg C to get up the hill where said castle was located. Described by Lonely Planet as ‘magnificently rebuilt in Reneissance style, (it) looks as though it has been transplanted from a childrens picture book’, the castle is very photogenic and handsome from down below, but I forgot to take photo. This is the picture I got of it. Not so picturesque.
From the castle wall there were some good views of the funky bridge that has a restaurant that resembles a UFO at the top of its single pylon. It is apparently the world’s longest bridge to have only one (single plane) cable-stayed pylon. I know. The facts just keep coming.
We obviously didn’t spend any money,or time, touring the inside of the castle, but headed back down to the old town centre to blather about, as is our forte. There were the usual offerings of narrow cobbled streets, churches, old houses, ancient apothacaries, multiple restaurants and drinking establishments and the less usual attractions of sculptures of sewage workers emerging from manholes and stone carvings of well endowed munchkins in wall niches.
Bratislava is also on the Danube, and is the next stop after Budapest for most of the river cruises going in the up-stream direction. Consequently there are lots of tour groups roving the city and it was funny to think that Mum and Cliff had themselves done a tour here only yesterday. After a very tasty lunch at a small and classy place that we happened upon down a back street we caught the tram back to our lake-side idyl and spent another couple of hours sitting in the sun and dunking in the very pleasant water. What a place!
The next day it was time to escape the camp site ahead of the AC/DC chaos and exit Slovakia again, next stop the Czech Republic. Time to get the phrase book out again….