70th birthday trip, Monday 26 June; travel day 13/15

Today was the last full day of our holiday. We were certainly not going to have breakfast in the hotel - CHF 27 per person!! But last night we had noticed a little bakery-cum-café across the road which looked as though it would do breakfasts, so went to explore this morning, and not only got some extremely good muesli and coffee, but also salads for lunch. The muesli came with a roll and butter, and we saved those for lunch, too.

There was a church clock which chimed every 15 minutes, but not between 22:00 and 07:00. However, at 07:00 it made up for the night's silence by ringing a peal of bells! Nice to wake up to! So after breakfast we wandered down to the church to have a look. I couldn't, however, take any photos of the interior as it was being used for a rehearsal - I assume by a local school, but with an orchestra of older people. We watched for a few minutes, and it looked good, with actors, dancers and gymnasts all aged about 10 or so.

Then it was time to check out of the hotel and head to the station for our train to Mannheim. Which was actually going to Hamburg via Köln - we could have gone straight to Köln and spent the night there. But we didn't. 

We had lovely seats on the train, in the panorama carriage, opposite one another. The only thing is they didn't recline and there was no footrest, bit still reasonably comfortable. And great views. 

We took a taxi to the hotel as it was further from public transport than I'd thought. It's not the nicest hotel - they only give you one duvet between two people, which I suppose is all right in the summer, but how on earth do people manage in the winter? It's literally the only place in this entire trip that hasn't had two duvets! Also only one pillow each, but a lovely and thick one so I haven't bothered to ask for another. And no, there were none in the wardrobe - we looked! Also no kettle or fridge, but not all hotels supply these.

The hotel recommended an Italian restaurant next door, which gave 10% off your main course if you flashed your room key. The SW had pizza, and I had a rather spicy pasta with crayfish, followed by ice cream which wasn't nearly as nice as the stuff we had at the Achensee.

One really nice thing about this hotel is that it faces on to the Rhein, so we have a lovely view from our room.

70th birthday trip, Sunday 25 June; travel day 12/15

Although I think I shall be glad to get home on Tuesday, it was sad to say goodbye to the Achensee for another year.

The bus stops practically outside or hotel, and it was one of the few that goes to Jenbach without having to change at Maurach. We were in good time for our train to Innsbruck, and even found a seat, but when the train got to Innsbruck, we think its locomotive broke down or something (it was headed to Rimini), thus causing a last minute platform change to the Zürich express. Which was rammed! I'm so glad I did book seats, as it was standing room only for those who hadn't. The train did empty a bit as we approached the Swiss border, and we could probably have got seats in 1st class but it would have been a hassle to move our luggage, so we didn't.

We arrived in Zürich on time, and the Swan Whisperer had done his homework and discovered what tram we needed to get to the hotel, where to catch it, and where to get off! He had even bought tickets, not that anybody checked.

After our experience in Hamburg, I was afraid that a "Boutique" hotel would always be nasty, but this one isn't at all. Quite the reverse! And it has Wi-Fi - or I wouldn't be posting this today, as Switzerland is not covered by our roaming policy, so very expensive, and we have firmly turned off data on our phones!

After a cup of tea, we went out to see what we could see. This turned out to be the Rigiblick funicular, which goes  up a very steep hill, stopping three times on the way. At the top you can walk up to a viewpoint, but it looked horribly steep, so we didn't, but contented ourselves with the views of Lake Zürich from the top of the funicular.

Then we not only took the funicular down again, but also a tram to the lakeside itself, which was lovely, if got. We were amused by an animatronic heron, which was remarkably lifelike!

Our tickets were about to expire, so we got the next tram back and treated ourselves to supper in a nearby restaurant. We both chose rösti, and very good they were, too, but filling to the point that we didn't have room for pudding (just as well, at Swiss prices!). 

70th birthday trip, Saturday 24 June

The Swan Whisperer went for a run this morning, of course, stopping off at the Dorfladen (village shop) on his way back to get fresh rolls for breakfast. This apartment has a coffee machine so we were able to enjoy a decent cup of coffee (or two!) with our breakfast.

After which the SW went off to walk up the Karwendel and back (sooner him than me!) and I had meant to go into Maurach to get something for supper, but got held up trying to book seats on all of our remaining trains, which took far longer than it should have done, and there were no first class seats left on the Innsbruck-Zürich train tomorrow. Have got us second class seats in the quiet coach though.

So by the time I was ready to go out, most of the morning had gone, and I wasn't  going to get back to Pertisau until about 13:30. So I rang the SW and suggested he come and join me and we could have lunch at Klingler's, which we know from experience is good.

So when I had finished my shopping, I went down to the Achenseebahn station there and watched the world go by, mostly hang-gliders landing in the field,

and a train came past, which was lovely. So, incidentally, was our lunch - the SW, who said he had had a large slice of apfelstrudel on top of Karwendel, had two sausages with bread and mustard, and I had Leberkäse (nothing to do with either liver or cheese, but a sort of cross between a sausage and luncheon-meat) with a fried egg on top, and some chips, which the SW ate most of. Then I had a scoop of strawberry and a scoop of raspberry ice cream with whipped cream on top, and the SW had an iced coffee, ditto!

Then we caught the bus back to Pertisau and rested for a bit, and then decided to go out for a walk in the warmth of the evening. We had hoped to get to the Dripping Rock, but when it came to it, I was too tired (and so, I expect, was the SW, although I don't expect him to admit it) , so we just went about a kilometre along the lake shore and back again. And then drank beer, and I suppose one of us will have to get supper soon. More photos on Facebook. 

And tomorrow we start for home, taking three days over it! 

70th birthday trip, Friday 23 June; travel day 11/15

The weather, which has been absolutely glorious for the past 2 1/2 weeks, has broken and it has rained most of the day. But as we have been on a train most of the day, that wasn't a problem.

The hotel breakfast was lovely, and I rescued some hard-boiled eggs and paté and bananas to have later, although we couldn't make sandwiches as the beeswax wraps hadn't been washed. But we now have breakfast, and perhaps lunch. stuff for a couple of days!

It shouldn't take the whole day to go from Vienna to Jenbach by train, but we quite literally went the pretty way! I wanted to go on the Semmeringbahn to Graz, and then the SW discovered that the direct route from Graz to Innsbruck also went straight through the mountains and was very scenic, even though it did take 6 1/2 hours to do it.

It was, actually, a very pleasant ride, even though I did nap for a bit on the second leg. I don't know though, why Austrian and Hungarian "Inter-city" trains have to be quite so tatty - this one was made up of any old coaches strung together. Not nearly as smart or as comfortable as the Railjets!

I had been a bit worried about today, as I didn't know whether there would be any taxis at Jenbach, and if there were, whether they would be willing to go up to Pertisau (the last bus and train having long since gone). And I hadn't booked our accommodation through Booking.com (who didn't have any nice places), and had stupidly left the confirmation email on my computer at home, so wasn't 100% sure of it. But all was well, and we were just in time to get a meal in the restaurant. The food was good, but the service was dire - we won't go back.

Then it was time to explore our apartment, and honestly, I kid you not, it is much bigger than our flat at home. Can we swap? Huge sitting-room with dining annex, kitchen twice the size of ours, shower room and separate loo, big bedroom. Only thing is no chairs in the bedroom, and I do like to put my clothes over a chair at night!

It is raining! 

70th birthday trip, Thursday 22 June; travel day 10/15

We were finishing a late breakfast (fried tomatoes on toast, which the Swan Whisperer hadn't known was a thing, but is now totally converted!) when the landlord arrived and wanted to be paid! I hadn't realised we hadn't already done so. The SW had no luck setting up an IBAN to do this, so I did and he paid me back.

Anyway, our taxi turned up a few minutes early and we had half an hour to wait for our train. I wandered off into the very seaside-resort square behind (or perhaps in front of) the station where I got us each a coffee - quite the nicest coffee I had in Hungary.

Our train was pretty punctual, and we arrived in good time to change at Budapest Kelenfold, but I was a bit concerned as the train before ours was running 20 minutes late. However, it went through in time not to hold our train up, and we enjoyed the journey to Vienna, including a large beer each!

The quickest way to our hotel was a train to the next station, Matzleindorfer Platz, which was covered by our passes, so we did that, and then the hotel was just around the corner. 

The SW went out to have a quick look at the city, and I stayed in the cool and read the new St Mary's book that came out today. We tried to have supper in the hotel restaurant, but it appeared to be closed, so we ate in the bar instead. It was okay, but only okay. Hope the breakfast is better.

The room is great - lots of room, lovely view, and even a bath in the bathroom! First time we've met one of those! But why do hotels have either far too many pillows or not enough? This one only provides one pillow, and I know I could ask for another at reception, but I cba! I have my inflatable pillow which works well as an under-pillow. 

70th birthday trip, Wednesday 21 June

Today was always going to be a rest day, and I didn't realise quite how badly we needed one until we had it!

The Swan Whisperer went for a run this morning, while it was still cool - I went back to sleep the second he'd gone, and didn't stir until he came back, having stopped to do some shopping on the way. Sadly, some of the eggs he bought were bad, which is very rare nowadays. But we quickly changed our minds about having an omelette for lunch! Later in the morning the SW went to Lidl, quite a long way away, but "I'm not going to that Spar again!" and got rolls, ham, beer and ice-cream!

I, meanwhile, was having a very happy morning reading and dozing and doing puzzles on my tablet. I did get up and shower at some stage before lunch, I think.

Mid-afternoon, however, I got my second wind and the SW and I went for a really enjoyable swim in the lake. It's incredibly shallow, you can go about 200 metres before it even comes up to your waist so doesn't make for good swimming, but it was cool, and we spent a very happy 45 minutes splashing around, swimming a bit, floating a bit, and generally enjoying ourselves.

If the SW hadn't suggested we eat supper on the terrace, I'd have got straight back into my nightie after showering, but as it was, I did dress again. And we did eat on the terrace - it was cooling by then - and after supper I went down to the lake again to see if there were any bats, but I didn't see any and then a couple of people came down for a twilight swim, so I came away. 

70th birthday trip, Tuesday 20 June. Travel day 9/15

Photo: Robert Smyth

I am confused about how many travel days we have actually used! I thought it was 10, but may have miscounted, as the app says 9. Oh well, that's the right way round.

We discovered that one of our breakfast eggs had broken, so we had to share the last one between us, but we had a tomato, too. 

Our train left from Budapest Déli station, which was new to us. And, for almost the first time this holiday, it was on time. It was only a little over an hour to Balatonlelle, which is on the shores of Lake Balaton. 

The apartment is okay, very near the lake but feels rather far from anywhere else!  And, too silly, the landlady who let us in was wearing identical trousers to mine - Lidl's best from last year! What are the odds? 

The Swan Whisperer did go back into town to buy food, and of course we both wandered to the lake. He went for a swim, but I didn't want to.

We walked to a nearby restaurant, but it felt an awful long way there, and my main course ought to have been delicious, but was far too salty. I am very tired tonight, and just want a quiet day doing nothing tomorrow, although I shall feel guilty if I don't make my step count, and break my current streak of 20 days!