272. Lake Balaton

Where: Balatonfüred, Hungary
When: July 6 - 8, 2017
With: Dave, Pam, Uncle Joe, Aunt Lee, Mary Kate

After our amazing day in Herend visiting family and the sights of Uncle Joe's upbringing, it was time to vacation as the Europeans do: on Lake Balaton, the largest freshwater lake in Europe. Only a thirty minute drive from where Uncle Joe grew up, this region of Hungary was stunning, with rolling hills, lakes and beautiful weather.

The Lake runs long and narrow from east to west, resulting in a unique culture on both the north and south shores. The south shore has been equated to Ibiza, with lots of partying 20-somethings, clubs, techno, and drinking. The north shore has a more relaxed, adult vibe, but also has rolling hills that provide a natural landscape for grape growing, aka wine. I'll take the north, please!

We stayed in a town called Balatonfüred, one of the larger towns on the north side of the lake, but still small and quaint and adorable. We got in just after dark, and strolled the streets where a festival was going on, playing live music and definitely feeling like a summer resort town. 

We had already had dinner with Csilly in Ajka, but we always have room for a couple after-dinner drinks. We sat outside of a little bar at a picnic table with bottles of wine were that all local and less than $10, and sampled a couple of varieties. We toasted the Bachstadt family and kept plugging away at Uncle Joe for stories about his upbringing. 

When Aunt Lee and Uncle Joe went to sleep, we grabbed a couple bottles of wine from a local shop and took them down to the edge of the lake. We sat with our feet dangling over a dock into Lake Balaton and drank wine while watching massive sailboats float by under a full moon. We also could hear the booming music and see the flashing lights of a party on the south shore of the lake, and were quite glad we chose north. 

The next morning couldn't have been a prettier day on the lake. The color of the water was powder blue, such a unique color for water that I've never seen before. No motor boats are allowed on the lake either, so everything was peaceful and quiet. 

Our hotel was across the street from Hungary's premiere heart hospital. There is a natural spring under the town where heart patients can soak in and drink the thermal waters to help lower blood pressure and improve circulation. 

We started the day with a stroll along the main promenade, heading towards the town's beach. It was a shady, tree-lined walk with shops along the way, and glimpses at the water between the beautiful landscaping. 

When we reached the "beach" it was interesting. Entry was only allowed by payment through a turnstyle, and it felt like everyone in Hungary was there. Extra funny was that they were coming through the turnstyle with massive flotation devices, my favorite being an eight foot inflatable unicorn. 

Inside was a massive green lawn, beautifully landscaped but covered from end to end in people. Towels were strewn everywhere, with sunbathers laying out, tents with kids crawling inside, and lots of bright, colorful beach toys. However, the overall mood was quiet and peaceful. We somehow locked down a couple of beach chairs along the water and set up camp for a swim. 

Dave and his infamous "who's coming with me?"

The bottom of the lake was surprisingly soft and sandy, almost silty. The water had a very gentle grade, so it took quite awhile to get into deep water. It was so serene and peaceful.

The best part was how much Uncle Joe was loving it. He was so proud to see how far his country has come. He kept commenting how nice it was to have people playing and enjoying themselves without the need for lifeguards or regulations. 

Enjoying the water!

After hanging around for about an hour, we decided to walk back towards the main town to hop on a ferry boat to Tihany. While we waited, we got some beautiful views of the marina. 

And found some amazing photo opportunities.

On board the ferry boat. 

There was an international sailing race occurring as we ferried across the lake. The sun was peeking out in spots, giving the lake an amazing speckle of coloring, and it was gorgeous with all the boats crisscrossing and floating by.

The view back towards the north shore of the lake. 

So now on to Tihany. Tihany is a peninsula that juts out into the middle of the lake. It is known for some ok wines, lavender, and an abbey, whose twin peaks sit at the top of it. We had some nice views of that abbey as we approached. 

When our ferry landed, we were staring at one long hike up. So we swallowed our pride and paid the $2 to take the double decker tour bus to the top. It was quite adventurous as the bus was so big, it couldn't turn around. We actually had to drive in the wrong direction for five minutes to get to a parking lot big enough to K-turn and head back up the mountain. Also, the bus was so tall that the passengers on top often had to duck heads so that we weren't hit by tree branches. 

When we reached the top, we were met with an adorable tourist trap. Tons of little shops selling everything lavender-related lined the ancient streets. It'd be annoying if it wasn't so dang cute.

We made our way to the top of the winding streets for some epic views of Lake Balaton below. 

Obligatory family shots from the top. 

As we were taking photos, a humorous occurrence: a man rode by on his piano. Yes, I wrote that correctly. A man on a motorized piano went riding by. It was hysterical.

After shaking that one off, we made our way to the abbey. While a monastery has sat here since 1055, the current abbey has been here since the 1700s.  

The church was fairly small, but incredibly ornate. 

The interesting thing about the church was what felt like the longest cave and network of tunnels underneath it that contained various tombs, artifacts, artwork, and the history of Tihany. It went on and on and on. So long in fact, we had to run back to Aunt Lee and Uncle Joe and say "don't go any further! Turn back! Too many stairs! It never ends!"

So Dave and I breezed through and waited on the other side. 

Some views onto the other side of the peninsula. 

So as I mentioned, Tihany has a lot of lavender, and sold it in every shape and form: palinka, ice cream, and...beer. 

So obviously we needed to get some lavender beer with our time here. It was surprisingly better than expected, though more than one glass would be a bit overwhelming. 

After our beers, it started to rain just in time for our ferry. We enjoyed another beer on the boat as we rode back to Balatonfüred and got back just in time for the weather to have cleared again. This gave us some nice daytime views of the town.

And a post-storm harbor view. 

To cap off our last evening in Lake Balaton, we did something a touch unusual. Our hotel, the Anna Grand Hotel, had recently refurbished its...bowling alley? We couldn't resist and capped off the night with a couple of games. Uncle Joe had a blast and couldn't believe there was a bowling alley in Lake Balaton.

This was a beautiful resort town to stop off in on our trip through Hungary. I could have spent days on the edge of the lake just watching the boats go by. I would have stayed longer, but wine region was next so somehow, we found the will to leave.