28 5 14 Drive to Budapest then stay at Bicske

A small courtyard where we had a morning coffee

The buildings all had thatched roofs

Great to watch it work in a down pour

Another thatched roof in one of the small towns we went past

This is a chili house

Castle of Szigliget

overlooking Lake Balaton

 Lake Balaton

This old boy was fishing by the lake

had all the gear and successful 

Some of the signs and place names are real goodies 

More Hungarian countryside 

Tihanyi Medieval Monastery 

Quick drive through Budapest 

Drive on the 27 5 14 up to Lake Balaton

Hotel in Hungary great place to stay with good food

Hungarian Countryside

At Lake Balaton camp ground

the local train track was behind the trees

Hungary - Budapest (almost)

We survived the night at Camp Delta, and made our way to Castle Szigliget, that is now an impressive ruin that looks down on Lake Balaton.  It was first built in the 12th century and added too over time. The castle was really interesting and there were lots of displays, info boards and an interactive timeline that you could view of its changes over time. There was even a medieval soldier with bow and arrows if you wanted to have a go. 

The views were great, though it was a bit drizzley and cloudy today, but still ok to sight see. We then stopped at the town of Tihany which was a very smart Hungarian village, trimmed and polished for the tourist, just lovely. We must say that Hungary is a lovely country and very well kept, not a bit of rubbish anywhere. There are many lovely towns, beautiful churches and buildings. What we have noticed and left it a bit late to photograph is all the lovely church steeples. There are also cycle tracks everywhere, including one all the way around the lake. 

We drove on to Budapest and intended to stop and look around the central area of the town next to the Danube River, not to be. We saw some impressive buildings including the Hungarian Parliment Building, but the traffic was horrible and beyond us to find anywhere to park so we did a circuit in the car and headed away.

We have done some research tonight and have been considering going back but it's a bit of a nightmare without the GPS for Hungrary and the language signage and traffic.  Also we are meeting our friend Barbara tomorrow in Austria, so may cut it a bit fine time wise.

Hungary - Lake Balaton

We have driven to Lake  Balaton today through the countryside of flat farming and mainly cropping land. Of interest was large fields of sunflower plants, not yet in bloom, but sure to look spectacular when they are. The small towns are reasonably close together, some more prosperous looking than others. The homes along the main streets are very state housing like and similar in design to each other, some of the larger towns have very simple looking apartment blocks, and a mixture of pre war and modern designs. 

We are camping again tonight making the most of the nice weather. The camp ground is a real charmer, run by two old boys who only speak Hungarian and Italian, so communication about the price for the night was a real laugh. They have a lovely sense of honour and very helpful; as much as they can be with our lack of being able to communicate with them. We are the only ones in the camping ground, so hopefully they aren't axe murderers! We are at Camp Delta, just in case and it's the 27th May, haha. We think one of them is Grandvilles father (Open All Hours).

Croatia into Hungary

Our day in the Plitvicka Jezera National Park

I think this is a trout but there were also a lot of carp

The DOC workers in Croatia 

There where boats available to transport you down the lake

All run by the Park and part of your entrance fee of 15 Euro each

The boat captain told me these were carp

The largest waterfall in the park

Also bus trains to take you around

I think we should get these at Lake Chalice for Heather 

Once we left the park we traveled through Croatia 

these were a frequent sight on power poles

The Hungary Croatian Border

Crossed without incident 

Plitvicka Jezera National Park - Croatia

We visited the Plitvicka Jezera National Park lakes today and if there is ever a place in Croatia to visit this is it. We spent about five hours walking around the lake and viewing the spectacular waterfalls. They start up the valley, so starting with bus ride up to the head of the lakes you then walk down over a few kilometres of track and boardwalks passing numerous waterfalls to the bottom lake, where you board a boat to the largest waterfall then walk further to catch another bus back to the car park entrance. Very picturesque and the water is a emerald green colour. The area is renowned for its abundance of unique flora and fauna. As it is spring here there was plenty of water and in some cases lapping onto the boardwalks. 

Check out the link 

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/98

We have stayed in accommodation tonight after a long drive over the border into Hungary, a town called Csokonyavisonta, and a place called the Korona Apartmanhaz. It has thermal hot pools which we might have a look at or maybe a dip.

Treviso to Croatia and Camp Njivice

Our trip inland through the National Park

Our trip through Slovenia and into Croatia