Day 22: The Long Flight Home

Flying is the price you pay to be able to travel.  After a good European breakfast of meat, cheese, fruit and fresh sweet rolls we took the shuttle to the Budapest airport.  We met some fellow Canadians who had an even longer flight home to Vancouver on the shuttle.

Marilyn misplaced her wedding ring when packing this morning so she was stressed since we had to catch our flight.  We searched the entire room but had to leave.  Marilyn found the ring at the bottom of her suitcase when we got home.  Whew!

Even though we checked in online, the Budapest airport requires every traveler to wait in line to check in.  It took 45 minutes to drop our bag but only 5 minutes to clear security.  Even though the flight to Frankfurt left 10 minutes, we arrived in Frankfurt on time.  I spent my last Euros on a coffee and Baileys at the duty free shop.  Loading over 400 people on a 747 was a bit chaotic since Lufthansa does not load by sections.

Carl and Marilyn await our flight in Frankfurt

Lufthansa still flies 747's

The 8 hour flight from Frankfurt to Toronto was the longest flight I've ever taken.  Despite free drinks, a dinner, a snack and plenty of offers of water, the flight still was too long.  After 2 movies and some reading I still had a lot of time to look at the tops of clouds outside the window.  The only land I saw as when we crossed northern Scotland.  I hoped we could see the ground when we crossed Greenland but no such luck.

A view of Aberdeen in northern Scotland

Carl was met by Louise who hired a limo.  A classy way for him to end his vacation.  

Carl ends his trip in style with a Limo ride home

Marilyn wais for the Brandon limo ride home

Marilyn celebrated finding her wedding ring with a drink of the cherry schnapps we bought in the Black Forest.  

Marilyn toasts her safe return with some Cherry Schnapps from the Black Forest

Tomorrow we will celebrate Thanksgiving by being thankful for an awesome vacation as well as the other blessings in our lives.

Day 21: Bakony Tour & Return to Budapest Hungary

The last day of the Slater Family European adventure has arrived.  We awoke to a sunny day at Lake Balaton.  After a leisurely breakfast of eggs and toast, and reading about the Jays 2-0 LDS series lead, we showered and walked down the hill to Paloznak village.  The view of the sunshine on the Lake was spectacular as we walked down Roza Kos.  We looked at the other houses along Mandula Utica and saw the shrine and the Stations of the Cross along the road down into the Village.  It didn't take long to walk around the village since it is so small.

A view of Lake Balaton from our lake house

Our "road" up to the lake house (Roka Koz)

A renovated cottage beside the lake house

Shrine at the top of village

Carl gets water for breakfast at the local water pump

Walking down from the shrine takes you past the 14 stations of the cross

Another local shrine

Village of Paloznak map

Straw roofed local cottage

Returning to the lake house we packed, cleaned the house and ate the leftover food for lunch.  We got two breakfasts, one dinner and one lunch from the groceries we bought for $30. This amount even included four 500ml beers and a 50ml bottle of local wine!  The cost of living is certainly cheaper in Hungary.

Leaving Paloznak, we decided to tour the Bakony region north of the lake.  The map in the Hungary guide book was slim on details so we were unsuccessful in finding many of the sights on the 100km circular tour.  We did find the Herend Porcelain factory and store.  The porcelain pieces are all hand made and hand painted.  Marilyn was unable to find a piece she liked so we continued on.  We could not find the glass stores in Azka so we continued on to Papa.  The roads wound through small villages and the picturesque Hungarian countryside.

Entrance to Herend Porcelain factory

Painted porcelain lion

Courtyard outside Herend Porcelain store

At Papa, we decided to end the Bakony tour and return to Budapest before dark.  We have learned our lesson about trying to find a place in the dark.  Good fortune smiled on us for the final leg of the journey.  After checking into to the Budapest Airport hotel, the rental car had exactly the amount of gas left and the charge for the Hungarian and Romanian road tolls was waived, saving us $100!

After printing boarding passes, we ate at the hotel restaurant.  I finally got some Hungarian Paprika Chicken.  It was as good as Marilyn's grandmother made!  The last of our Hungarian Forints covered the bill.  We are thankful for the good fortune to complete this family journey safely.  We bring back many pictures and fond memories.

Day 20: Kesthely & Lake Heviz, Hungary

The rain has stopped but the skies are still grey, and its a cool day on Lake Balaton.  Remember, a bad day at the lake is better than a good day at work.  Today, we plan to explore the west end of the lake and visit Festetics Palace in Keszthely.  

The drive along the north shore passes through at least 5 towns that begin with Balaton.  It must be confusing to tourists to know what you're town in.   I'm sure many confused tourists say "Im staying in Balaton something...".  

Along the way we happened upon a Hungarian airforce base with some vintage Soviet era equipment by the road.  The Hind attack helicopter was used in the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan and the Mig 21 was the main jet fighter in the 60's.

Soviet Hind Attack helicopter

Soviet Mig 21 Fighter

Sovieet T54 tank

Continuing on to Keszthely we toured Festetics Palace.  The Palace was home of the Festetic family who make advances in agriculture in Hungary and set up the first agricultural college.  Some of Hungarians varieties of grapes were bred by this family.  The family lived in the palace until 1944 when the Soviet occupation outlawed all titles.  The palace has been restored to show the 18th century elegance.  The grounds feature English Gardens, a Carriage House museum and Palm House.  We walked the grounds and toured the castle.

Gate into Festetics Castle

History of Gyorgy Festetics

View of the castle from the fountain

Statue of Festetics in front of new wing

Gardens with Carriage House in the background

Cavalry rider from 18th century outside Carriage House

Gazebo in garden

Covered carriage

Open carriage with winged lions

After the tour, we found a wine tasting room in the cellar of the palace.  After tasting some exceptional local wines, we made a purchase of some unique Hungarian wines we cannot get in Canada.  Since the weather was cool, we passed on going to the Lake Heviz thermal lake but decided to drive by it.

Marilyn in the wine tasting cellar beneath the castle

Well in wine cellar

Marilyn samples the local Hungarian wines

Lake Heviz thermal lake

Entrance to thermal lake pavilion

On the drive back to Paloznak we stopped to walk out on the pier in Badascony.  The lake is a blue green colour due to the dissolved minerals and the volcanic soil.  

View of Lake Balaton

View of the lake from a pier

View of the hills from the pier

View of volcanic peninsula in Lake Balaton

Based on the advice of Tamas, we had dinner at the Vigmolnar Csarda (Inn).  The Hungarian fare was delicious.  Carl had a salad then venison steak with a wine poached pear, Marilyn had rooster soup with dumplings then stewed beef with sour cream and bread dumplings, and I had bean and bacon soup then lamb stew with noodles with sheep cheese.  Carl and I enjoyed the local Dreher beer and Marilyn had a local sweet red wine.  A fine last meal in Lake Balaton!  Marilyn and my bill was less than 10000 Forints ($45 CAD).

A toast to the final dinner at Vigmolnar Csarda

Dwight showing his 10000 Forint bill

Day 19: Eger & Lake Balaton Hungary

Into every life a little rain must fall, so its our turn for a rainy day.  Thankfully, its a travel day to the Lake Balaton area west of  Budapest.  To break up the long 3.5 hour drive we decided to stop in Eger, Hungary.  Eger is located in North-eastern Hungary on the south side of the foothills of the Carpathian mountains.  The rolling hills are good for growing wine and we saw lots of grapes still on the vines as we approached the town.  The "Bull's Blood" red wine is made in this area.

Parking near the Tourist information office we decided to explore the old town and visit the Bishop's Palace.  The Bishops Palace has been renovated to show how a bishop would have lived in the 18th century.  The display showed clothing, religious artifacts and a history of the Hungarian saints.

Marilyn is tempted to drink from the horse fountain in Eger

Eger street views

Eger's church on the main square

A statue to St Stephen (who else in Hungary)

A bishop's stole in the Bishop's Residence Museum

Books on Astronomy in library

Wood carving showing Christ's cruxificion

Bishop's private chapel

Ceiling of the chapel

Marilyn spotted the Dobos Cafe that had delectable tortes.  We enjoyed a piece of Dobos torte and Ezterhazy Torte with coffee before we hit the road again.  On the way back to the motorway we noticed many hillside wine cellars along the road.

Cafe Dobos in Eger

Coffe and torte for lunch.  Amazing!

Local wineries are built into the hills

Door to an underground wine cellar

Another underground wine cellar

Circling Budapest we drove to the Lake Balaton area.  This region is the Muskoka for the Budapest residents.  This 77 km long lake has summer resorts along its banks.  Visiting in early October allowed us to see its natural beauty without the summer crowds.  

Our Air BnB rental is in the village of Paloznak on the north shore near the eastern end of the lake.  The houses do not have numbers and some of the streets are not on the map so the GPS was not useful.  Tamas, our host, gave me directions based on landmarks.  "Drive up Mandula Utica, turn left at the 2 story house with the straw roof, drive 150m and turn into the driveway".  In actuality it was: "Drive down Mandula Utica which is a one lane road for two way traffic with no guardrail and a drop off on the right.  At the whitewashed barn turn left, drive up the goat track that is washed out until you see an unmarked gate".  Oh well, at least it wasn't dark!

The patio outside our lake house in Paloznak

Main entrance to the lake house

Next door is an underground house built into the hil

The terrace house is built into a hill and has grapes and fruit trees on the property.  Since we did not want to drive here in the dark, we made a mad dash to the Aldi store for some dinner and food for breakfasts.  We drove up the trail for a second time just as the sun was settting.  We made a home cooked meal of pasta and meatballs with good Soproni beer.  A good end to a long day of driving.