No matter where you are, there are always lovely people!

We woke this morning after a great night before listening to Hungarian rock music. Andy said we couldn’t get lost, just head towards the music he said. You can’t go wrong he said. Andy was wrong. After finding ourselves a good distance from where we needed to be, we realised that there were two bands playing at opposite ends of the town.  Why did I listen to my brother?!!

The land lady’s mum did the outmuster this morning. Initially thinking she spoke a little English it quickly became apparent that no matter what we said her reply was always yes. Do you know what the weather will be like today? Yes. Oh right tell us the worse sunny or rain? Yes. Sunny? Yes. Not raining then? Yes

 

Our plan today is to travel to Lake Balaton via a great twisty biking road, have breakfast/brunch and then travel East towards Rumania.

Setting off at about 9am and looking forward to sweeping bends and good tarmac it was disappointing to quickly find ourselves behind a 15 vehicle army convoy with army police outriders ensuring no one passed, despite once or twice Andy testing their resolve as he pulled out as if to pass, to be met with sirens and random noises.  A change of plan was needed, so we pulled off to have an earlier than scheduled breakfast.

 

Two coffees, some amazing scrambled egg with pork , onions and pickled cabbage later we resumed our trek towards Lake Baleton. Just starting to enjoy the road that had been recommended on a bikers forum, we again found ourselves travelling at 25 mph behind the army convoy.  Luckily 5 miles later they turned off  to allow us free passage for the last twenty miles. 

We discovered that the lake is the biggest expanse of fresh water in Europe and to the landlocked Hungarians an extremely popular holiday resort.  We were not disappointed it was lovely.

We headed for the oldest most fashionable resort on the lake, Balatonfured for a look around. Judging by the magnificent lakeside houses and the big brand fashion shops it reminded us of an up market Mediterranean resort. So dressed in motorbiking gear with socks and boxers washed and visibly drying on the back of our bikes (Nick’s bike) we parked in the poshest area. Oh the looks we got!

After a couple of hours we set off towards Dunaujvárosi on the Danube to camp for the evening.  Great open roads crossing huge expanses of agricultural land although a strong breeze ensured we maintained concentration during the ride.

As we started to set up tents we were joined by Alex and his 13 year old son, who it turns out were a displaced Ukrainian family from the East of Ukraine near Kharkiv. They were both really interested in the bikes and a conversation ensued which resulted in Andy and I been invited to join a Hungarian and Ukrainian family tea party consisting of Ghoulash, bread and cakes and lots of shots of Unicom a Hungarian spirit.

 

A sudden downpour forced us all into the community hall where the hospitality mixed with dancing and more Unicom. The families were so warm and hospitable it was over whelming and unforgettable; such lovely people.

We returned to finish off our unpacking and sat contemplating the day with a coffee under the trees.