Early autumn holiday, 2 October 2024

Graz, Austria

We woke up this morning to grey mist over Lake Balaton, and it only cleared when it started raining. 

We stopped at Tesco in Balatonboglár as I hadn't bought tomatoes yesterday, and needed to rectify that, plus one or two other things. Including a 9-volt battery for the smoke alarm, which has taken to randomly going off when there is no smoke at all around. And it is not the CO monitor, either - that's separate. So we assumed that the battery needed changed. Sadly, it went off again this evening, again for no apparent reason. Googling by the Swan Whisperer tells us that they are prone to do so in high humidity - and today has been nothing if not humid! It has rained the entire day, although it has stopped now, at 19:30! 

We discovered, slightly to our horror, that the road to Graz would take us through Slovenia, and we didn't have a vignette. However, a few minutes' work in the last rest area before the border soon rectified that. It was €16 for a 7 days one. The SW said it was expensive, but I pointed out that you would get about 5 km for that on a French motorway, and I didn't mind paying. The difference, of course, is that he pays for French motorways....

So we continued to drive through a very wet Slovenia and into an even wetter Austria, and finally arrived at this Reisemobilstellplatz on the outskirts of Graz. For some reason I wasn't feeling great - not sure whether car-sickness, or what - and all I wanted to do was to flake out. Even the SW didn't want to go out! So we both flaked out on the bed and fell asleep.

The rain is away now, but it is dark and neither of us feels like going out. I hope it will be dry in the morning so we can have a quick look round Graz before heading on to Vienna tomorrow.

The picture shows the view through the rather wet skylight at about 4.00 pm this afternoon! 

Early autumn holiday, 1 October 2024

Balatonboglár, Hungary

It was SOOOOOO cold this morning! I woke up around 5:30 and had to pull a rug over my duvet. Google said it was 2 C outside, although I think it may have been a little more, so not surprising. But it is not cold enough to use the combined 15-tog duvet, the 9-tog is adequate, and there are rugs if necessary, as it was this morning.

Anyway, the Swan Whisperer put the heating on before he went for his run (only 2k, which is one lap of the running-track in the park), so it was nice and warm when I got up.

After breakfast, we used the services and then headed off. Such a nice aire, not cheap or pretty, and by a very main road, but really, it has all you could want and much more central and cheaper than the campsite. Literally across the road from the park, which I is great.

Anyway, our first port of call was to a huge Tesco Extra, as I had some shopping to do. But oh dear - in most countries, I can power through the shopping as I do at home, only stopping to look at things that are different. But here in Hungary, I had my phone out on Google Translate most of the time.

Some of the things were marked in English, especially the own brands, but not all. I did buy one box of sandwich stuff which I hoped was cream cheese with sausage (intriguing?) and it appears that is exactly what it is!  Delicious, I thought. 

But I had to make sure that I was buying fresh milk, not buttermilk, and what on earth was in those containers (some sort of animal fat or lard, I think)? Anyway, once I had finished shopping, we headed on out through Budapest to the M7 motorway (I have an E-vignette) and drove on it all the way to Balatonboglár! 

We are in a campsite by Lake Balaton, and it is simply gorgeous.

I can see over the lake while I am lying on my bed! At least, I can when it is light. 

Tomorrow we leave Hungary, and start a few days in Austria.