After the excitement of the wedding weekend we have come up to the northern side of Lake Balaton for 4 nights for a little relaxation….. We were utterly exhausted – emotionally and physically – when we left Polany on Monday and a good rest up was very much required.
We had booked a lovely Airbnb cottage near the lakeside on Airbnb to share with Penny and David. Stuart and Fi are staying nearby in a hotel. Unfortunately on Saturday night (we were checking in Monday) during the wedding dinner my phone pinged and it was the house owner cancelling our booking as the house had an “electrical fault”. Bit of a shocker as it’s high season here and everywhere is jam packed. I scrambled around on Sunday and managed to book 2 rooms in a hotel in the same area at about the same price. Not as good as our original booking in terms of charm but we were frankly lucky to find somewhere at such short notice. Airbnb were very good – they tried to help and it wasn’t their fault at all – and gave an immediate full refund when I found somewhere outside of their system. I’ve got a feeling there isn’t an electrical fault at all and that the owner got an offer of a week or 2 week booking and dumped our 4 night one…. never mind, we have somewhere to stay at least.
So, we are staying at SziGet23 SZiGET23, Ábrahámhegy (updated prices 2024) (booking.com) which is in the Badacsony region of the north shore, famous for its vineyards and wineries. It is a very pretty area: hilly, vines all over the place and lots of little villages and towns, plus plenty of eateries. It is high season here so there are a lot of tourists but it’s ok.
We checked in at 2pm on Monday – it’s a self check in arrangement, the owners are only around for breakfast really – and had a good rest in the air conditioning before we went out for dinner. Had a nice dinner with Stuart and Fi in Badacsonytomaj. Massive portions and cheap. Stuart and I both went for the Gypsy Roast! It turned out to be a hunk of pork with what can only be described as a Bacon Bender perched on top. Tasty though. Penny went for the “Gigantic Schnitzel” and indeed it was gigantic.
A funny thing we’ve noticed here. Restaurants close very early and I mean very early. Some of them close at 5pm!!!!! What’s that about? Maybe lunch is the big meal? It’s very noticeable. And others close the kitchen at 8pm and the restaurant doors at 9. It’s been quite hard to find restaurants where you can eat at say 8 and take a couple of hours over it. But….. we’ve managed!
Yesterday (Tuesday) Bob and I decided we just needed a chill day, so we planned a day at one of the many beaches around the lakeside. Penny and Dave were staying local waiting for a courier delivery, so they spent time on the beach just down the road from the hotel at Abrahamhegy, our village. We drove back to Badacsony Strand and went to the beach there.
The beach facilities at the lake are just first class. It’s an amazing place for a family holiday. Each beach – which is super clean from our experience – has good shade from big trees, a proper cafe serving meals, snacks, drinks, ice cream, a water sports hut for non motorised sports (no jet skis thank heavens), showers, amazing loos, loungers available. We got a senior rate admission to the beach at £2 each and then a lounger each for £3. An absolute bargain. The lake water was really warm as it is shallow for quite a way out with a sand bottom as far as you can walk. No rocks at all. Not clear – the fine sand takes care of that – but just lovely to swim and wallow in. Lots of people had floats – ideal. It was quiet for a long time but got busier in the afternoon but not hideously so. We still had plenty of space all around us.
The views around the lake were lovely and we will enjoy exploring further tomorrow. The temperature was so hot – 35C – it was just perfect to be in the water and we needed the rest.
In the evening we met up with Stuart and Fi at Tilia restaurant in Badacsony. Tilia – Home – Tilia (tiliabadacsony.hu) An absolutely lovely place in every way. We ate on their terrace under the trees and had a super dinner. I had calf’s liver in breadcrumbs with salad. Bob had rabbit in a fabulous sauce on fried gnocchi, Stuart and Fi and Spanish pork steaks with salad and chips, Dave had a beef soup followed by roast duck with vegetables, Penny had chilled redcurrant soup followed by a charcuterie board. Massive portions and all delicious. We had a mix of beer, g&ts and wine to drink and lots of water too. It came to about £30 each with service. Good value really for the amount and quality of the food and drink. Service was very friendly and helpful.
Parking is very easy all around the lake too. There is roadside parking which the Hungarians seem to go for but also many car parks which at about £4 for a day’s parking are a real bargain. That’s what we paid at the beach for a full day. And parking was free for dinner.
Felt a lot more rested by the time we turned in, and ready for some sightseeing on Wednesday.