Our Hungarian Adventure

Well we safely made it into Hungary.No queuing to buy vignettes. Just a simple pay at the service station. No stickers as it's all electronic. I can't remember how much it cost but it was cheap. Less then £20 or I would have remembered! The only problem that we did have was trying to get forints at the service area. They all advertised that they took visa but in reality only Mastercard!  Grrr! Crazy as soon as you hit the small towns and villages the ATM s are the same as in the UK!
We headed to a British owned campsite in the Country for a bit of a chill. Tranquil Pines. Very basic and rural with a pool and a bar but very hospitable hosts. The weather was very kind to us. We were able to have a "muck out" and chill. One day we travelled from Tranquil Pines to Lake Balaton and we were hooked! Water lovers this IS THE PLACE!

I have been to many of the famous lakes in the world but this is something else. It's huge but it's shallow so it's about 28 degrees. No tides and heaped with fun. No egines alod so  plenty of windsurfing, sailing and swimming. We dropped lucky and found a site that had a few vacancies. We took the last deluxe pitch and it was worth every penny

What a view to wake up to and go to bed to! Absolute heaven..it got better just along the road from the campsite pizzas to die for

We pushed the boat out here. .all for £4 and she ate it all! We had a bad storm whilst we were here but got off unscathed. We then found that there was a caravan club approved site on the other side of the lake directly opposite to where we were...we must explore! 

We had the choice of getting a ferry across the lake or to go by road. No one could give us the price for the Caravan which is quite big so we went by road. With it being with the Caravan Club we did expect to find other Brits here or at least English spoken and we did expect it to be organised..WRONG! 

We had been able to book quite easily on the Web page and it quite happily took my money about 5 days prior. We arrived at Reception and a nice young man said to me "did you get my email I sent you this morning?" "Errr well no I wouldn't I was travelling here!" "You have to stay on a normal pitch for 2 nights and then move to your deluxe pitch for the rest of your 9 day stay!"  OK so Cock ups happen..until I saw the deluxe pitch..10 metres from the main train line around the lake!  Still trying to Mrs reasonable although I had wanted and paid for deluxe I would take whatever ...ok this now involved 3 pitch changes. ..ok still being Mrs reasonable but then boss woman came to see us....no we have found you a pitch for the rest of your stay..only the one move..great! We are very happy with a refund from the caravan club but the irony is that the original pitch is still empty. We could have just stayed there! There are empty pitches all over the place!
Now we settled..what do we think? This is not a site that I would normally have chosen with kids clubs etc but I have for the grandaughter but I can honestly say it's the best site that I have ever stayed on in high season ANYWHERE! That is really going some. It's not noisey and chaotic like many of the Spanish and English ones. It's not full of drunken lager louts though Dave is trying to put that right!  It's calm with families enjoying themselves and is a pleasure to see. The place is not overrun with fertile kids and dogs. We are the only Brits on the site. Thank god the Dutch are here to speak to!  Last night Molly went to the kids club and before I knew it she was singing and dancing in German! Even my German is coming on a treat! That's a big criticism of the site. It caters primarily for Germans. There are few Hungarians here. Austrians, Slovakians, Dutch  but mainly Germans. The toilets, restaurant, shops etc are all Spotlessly clean. There is everything here including the weather at very good prices. Apart from their booking system and lukewarm warm showers it's very very good so good that I'm toying with the idea of stopping LONGER!

The weather has been very strange. Hitting the 30s most days but during the evening g really freaky thunderstorms-the dreaded hailstones golf ball size. I think we've seen 4 storms.The weather is predicted to get even hotter 38 tomorrow! Loving it!
Oh the Hungarians are lovely. Molly wanted a mermaid outfit..well she needed a treat for a good school report....do I really have to be seen on a beach with her dressed like this?

Thank god we are not in a tent! Boy can it rain!
So today should be interesting. Another hot one. Molly insists on going to kids gymnastics. Should be fun ....in German! Lol
Whatever  you are doing and wherever you are have fun!

Our Eastern Adventure. Camping in Hungary

Well we are finally off and on another adventure complete with 7 year old grandaughter.
There's been very little planning involved and in the true wandering spirit booked a cheap DFDS ferry and here I am sitting in a car on a campsite somewhere in Belgium near the Dutch border.  I am in the car not because I'm travelling but because the other sleepy heads are still asleep!
The trip down yo Dover was horrendously long and boring but we got there safe and sound and found a lovely CL to stay on. It was very rural yet 4 miles from the ferry port. In fact you could see the channel from it. No facilities other than water,electricity and a chemical point but lovely. I can't understand why people buy caravans with all facilities and don't use them-we certainly do. I'm not into £25-£30 a night at a caravan club site. It's the Caravanners equivalent to the Motorhomes Aires but much nicer. Some are remote which I love. This particular one was a working farm.
So the ferry DFDS was cheap £84 for car and caravan to Dunkirk but it was noisey. Not because of the passengers or kids but it seemed almost constant that the ships tannin was rabbittng on about something! Hey Ho!
A quick an uneventful journey across Northern France and into Belgium. The only memorable thing was the disgusting service areas. Third world. It was Sunday and all the lorries were parked up everywhere. Gangs of eastern European lorry drivers selling knives! I don't think that they were about to do a bit if cooking! Bins overflowing  and rubbish everywhere. Talk about first impressions if a Country!  Anyhow  after not being able to safely stop we headed for a campsite near Hasselt. Lovely. What a difference. Just off the motorway yet in woodland with a lake and a bar! Clean facilities. A bit on the pricey side at €26 a night but there again I am of Scottish /Yorkshire mix!

This place was really quiet. We stated 2 days just chilling. We visited a lovely nearby town and were suprised at how reasonably priced things were. Onwards we must go and into Germany.

Suddenly all the motorway service areas were Spotless. "Ahh for Germany good open roads" We couldn't have been more wrong. Am I back in the UK?  We stopped at a lovely site just outside Frankfurt. I nipped out the car to register us at reception and what a lovely suprise I got in 35 degree heat..a beautiful lake with a beach beside it 

Somehow Molly made friends again without speaking a word of German or they English! The only downside to this site were dogs in and out of the water uncontrolled and besides children and shaking their coats beside us adults supervising the children oo  and the aircraft noise from Frankfurt airport....well you can't have it all can you?! 

Onwards again. This stop was near Nuremburg. Very difficult to find but beautiful.  A lovely kids playground,  a reasonably priced restaurant and bar serving proper German food and wine. I was impressed how they serve red wine 

MY Sort of glass! 

So here I am again sitting in the car whilst the others sleep and I'm in Austria overlooking the River Danube and the sun continues to shine. I can honestly say that after thousands if not millions of miles of driving around Europe and Africa I have never ever experienced roadworks as bad as A3 in Germany. Sat Navs/Google etc say 2 hours. In reality 6 hours and more!  I think it would have been better just to have closed the road. Just DON'T DO IT! One thing is for certain. I'm not going back that way! 

This campsite is lovely. Spotlessly clean but a bit on the pricey side at €36. The views are superb though but the noise. Right at the side of a main road with not only traffic noise but boat traffic and a railway line to boot!  All we need is an airport nearby and we've cracked it!  

So today is Hungary I think. Ahh yes a months vignette for Austria €8.90. I don't have a problem with that I wished the UK did the same to foreigners! 

So far the weather has amazed me. It's been soooo hot. Belgium is prettier than I remember. Germany is a pretty country that is not coping.  It's not just a UK thing (broken roads/ overcrowding etc) It's really gone down hill. Austria is a quiet forgotten efficient little Country just rumbling along. Maybe I speak too soon-I've yet to get to Hungary! Lol oh and the thing that has really suprised me is the number if spanish I've met! Crazy. Helping to translate in Nuremburg and then again here in Austria. (Not that I speak any German!) Hopefully I speak a little English as long as Yorkshire Counts! 

Every campsite so far has had brilliant internet and the wifi is free! Yes camping in the UK is a total rip off. There's a lot to be said for my £84 ferry ticket. Why more people don't do it  I will never know but now I have to use it to convert currency. How many florist to the pound /to the euro? Hundreds to a pound-that's all I know!  I just hope Hungary is as lovely as I remember it!  

Whatever you are doing and wherever you are I hope you have a good day too!