On the way from the Czech Republic to Hungary
On Sunday morning we woke up refreshed and ready to continue. In the morning the girls played in the playground, then we ate breakfast and packed everything into the car.
We had the route through Austria ahead of us towards Hungary. The road led through rural areas away from the highway. We drove across the artificial lake on the Dyje River, where a narrow road leads through the middle of it. The route continued through almost deserted Austria. We were surprised because Sunday in Austria is a day off from work and no one was visible on the streets. We were traveling along the Austrian-Slovak border to the south. At some point a huge bridge appeared in front of us – it was a bridge over the Danube River – it’s impressive. We crossed the Austrian-Hungarian border in Pamhagen. The crossing was quick, since all these countries are in the Schengen area.
After entering the territory of Hungary, the world came alive. There were people walking again, and more cars on the streets.
Our destination that day was the famous Lake Balaton. We wanted to visit the ruins of Szigliget Castle, which is located on a hill on the northern shore of the lake.
Visiting the Szigliget castle
We stopped at a free car park under the castle and went sightseeing. First, we had to climb the steep hill, where we saw that there are two parking lots. It happens. At the top of the mountain there was a restaurant and castle ruins.
We bought tickets at the ticket office and entered the area. The tickets were very affordable. Walking among the ruins, we could learn what life in the castle was once like. In the rooms there were exhibits relating to the room’s original function. And so we visited: blacksmith’s room, bakery and archer’s workshop.
Apparently, sometimes at the Szigliget castle you can see displays of medieval arts and crafts – unfortunately during our visit there were no events. In addition to exploring the rooms, you could also climb the high walls, from which there was an amazing view of the entire area. From above, we saw Lake Balaton and the surrounding vineyards. Watch our video:
Leaving the castle grounds, we stopped for the obligatory ice cream, which we bought in a restaurant next to the upper parking lot.
You can find more information about the castle on the castle’s website
Evening
After two hours of sightseeing, we entered the town of Keszthely to find a place to stay. We hadn’t made any reservation at the campsite, which gave us the freedom to choose any place we liked. It turned out that we underestimated the popularity of this area a little. It turned out that only single places were available. The decision was quick, we took what was acceptable.
Our choice was Caravan Camping. We pitched the tent and went to the lake to take a bath. We couldn’t be right next to this famous lake and not go for a swim.
And here came a small disappointment – the water was cloudy, which was a bit of a shock for us, because we expected much better conditions for swimming. The lake is huge and we probably just didn’t have much luck with our choice of beach. Maybe next time we’ll try somewhere else. Instead of swimming in the Balaton, we chose to bathe in the pool at the campsite.
On the way back to the campsite, we bought a traditional Hungarian snack – Langos. It’s a deep fried yeast cake served with cheese, cream and garlic. There was also a version with marmalade, which the kids liked more.
At the end of the day dark clouds appeared and a heavy storm passed over us. The rain gave us some fresh air on this steamy day.
Route in numbers: 340km, 5h 30m
This page is part of the Balkans 2017 trip.