Budapest, Hungary. Thursday, 18th May 2017
It is now 07:06. Urmila's getting ready. Remembering this day of the previous year - at this time we were in the Etihad Airways flight, approaching Zurich. Sorry - just looked up diary entry which says that the flight had landed at Zurich at 06:35. Probably, we were using the Flughafen (airport) washroom at this time!
I resume writing today's diary entry at 17:00. What a fantastic visit! A small village called Tovaroskert, 74 kms. from the capital, captured our hearts! Set off after breakfast, at 08:20. Metro rail M2 to Budapest Deli station, 7 stops away. It being peak time, the train was quite crowded. Exited the metro station and went up to Deli main train station. Watched a group
of youngsters with what looked like their teachers. Probably off on some excursion. Waited for a long time watching the indicator to know the platform for our train, scheduled to depart at 09:20. At 09:10, the platform no. was displayed - no. 11. Walked briskly to no. 11 and boarded the waiting train, which was rather a short one, with just four coaches . The train departed late by 9 minutes. As usual, we spent time admiring the countryside - vast, green plains punctuated by tiny villages, sometimes by a factory. I consulted my TAB thanks to the free wi-fi in the train and noticed that the halt before Tata - Tovaroskert - would be more
convenient to reach the lake. We duly left the train at Tovaroskert station - just two bare platforms, one open to the countryside and the other backed by a wood. Following directions from Google, we turned left onto Baji Utca - a wonderful. straight road, with a row of cosy cottages to the left and an open, green area to the right. A petite pathway ran parallel to the road, close to the row of cottages. We strolled along leisurely, admiring and
commenting on each and every home that had a wooden gate, a small pathway leading to the main door, a mini garden; and a garage for a few. Asked a couple of old ladies walking just ahead of us, the way to the lake and though they could not speak English, we gathered that we were on the right track. A little ahead we came upon a 'T' junction and what appeared to be the main road, as the traffic had increased and we spotted a couple of commercial establishments in addition to the residences. Turned left and walked on. Suddenly, we caught a glimpse of the lake peeping through the greenery, to our right. There came a rather large restaurant in the woods and Urmila suggested we turn and walk down a flight of steps, adjacent to the restaurant. Within half a minute, we were standing on the shores of a huge, beautiful lake with the Hungarian countryside in the background and one stately mansion on the opposite shore, dominating the vista. The mansion dwarfed another
dwelling adjacent to it. The lake had a beautiful pathway close to its shore and the pathway seemed to cover the entire perimeter of the lake. The tranquility of the waters was suddenly broken by the sound of paddles and the joyful cries of kids. A long, narrow boat, at the head of which was fashioned the head of a monster, carrying kids learning to row, appeared to our right. To our left, beyond the pathway, there nestled hotels and restaurants, trying to make their presence felt amidst the greenery. We both felt that we had landed into some Enid Blyton adventure tale ! Strolling along the pathway, we soon met the group of kids
with their teachers. They willingly posed for photographs with us. Walked on farther, admiring the scene on either side - the mysterious woods to our left beyond which ran vehicles on the main road; to our right the enchanting waters of the lake shimmering in the afternoon sun, with the soft sound of the waves lapping the shores. Lovely! Rested for a while on a sunny bench facing the lake; then retraced our steps. Spotting a string of restaurants in a clearing in the woods, we approached the first one, named 'Haluci'. It was a petite wooden structure, with outside and inside seating. We preferred the outdoors, providing a 'lake view'. The next hour was spent sipping draught beer, ginger ale and
savouring grilled chicken on a rice base with vegetables, served on a rectangular wooden platform; followed by dessert - cheesecake! This was one of my best gastronomical experiences in Europe, similar to the one by the riverside at Cesky Krumlov in Czechia, three years ago.
Started the walk back to the railway station, clicking away. (I lost my camera case somewhere!) Once again a leisurely walk; relieving myself in a quiet, shady area in the open behind the railway station, Indian style. Sat on a bench on the modest platform, taking in the view before us - a timber yard behind the opposite platform, a few houses behind the yard and verdant (thick!) hills in the background. Great ! Serene! Peaceful!
The train arrived on time and departed at 14:30. After a comfortable journey of an hour and five minutes, we were back at Deli railway station. Took the metro to Keleti. Less crowded than it was this morning. Exited at Keleti, went to the enquiry counter of BKK but the dumbos could not help us. On our own we located platforms 10-13 and asked a railway employee about tomorrow's train to Salzburg, Austria. The gentleman took us to a chart pasted on a board behind and we saw that the train in question departed from platform no. 9. Fine ! Back to the hotel via SPAR supermarket(mineral water, biscuits, Ritter Sport and marzipan chocolates).
Informed the hotel of our early departure tomorrow and they offered to pack breakfast for us. Laundry clothes will arrive later this evening, as per reception. Back to the room for rest; room not cleaned! Finally done by 17:15. Enjoyed tea, watching the road below; people coming and going; a good pass-time after a wonderful day's outing.
A big fiasco happened earlier this evening, at the hotel! We had reminded reception about our clothes given for laundry yesterday morning. At approximately 18:00, a maid came to our room carrying our clothes - not well pressed and ready to be packed as we had assumed, but dripping wet !! The lady who brought them could not speak English, so we spoke to reception who tried to plead helplessness; but the matter was taken up in right earnest by Urmila. We carried the wet clothes down to reception and Urmila deliberately spoke in a loud and strong voice. The lady at the reception had to call the chambermaid, who took the clothes with her, us in tow. We first went to the third floor, then to the fourth. A laundromat was present in one of the service rooms and the maid struggled for some time before getting the machine to start. She spoke to reception who informed us that the clothes would be delivered to our room by 22:00! In the meanwhile, Urmila spoke to a German couple who was waiting for the lift. They too were surprised at the hotel's attitude and the gentleman offered to speak to the receptionist, who understood German. We hope all that will not be necessary. Later, I slipped down to SPAR to purchase fruit, chocolate and water. It is now 20:50 and I do hope we get our clothes well dried, if not dried and ironed, by 22:00. Need to pack our bags for the early morning departure to Austria!