May 29 travelling from Budapest to Zagreb

May 29

Today we travelled from our lovely lakeside hotel in Balatonfured to Zagreb. We had to almost circumnavigate the lake to get to the motorway which would take us across the border into Croatia.

We passed through a mostly flat rural landscape. I was fascinated with spotting the country of origin of the trucks as we passed, Romania, Italy, Slovakia, Slovenia and of course Hungary. Interestingly, I did not see any from Croatia.

The border crossing was an interesting experience, as is often the case, but we were not held up for too long. Our passports were checked by the Hungarian authorities, stamped and returned to us. Then a Croatian officer came on the bus and checked or passports. Neither country is in the Eurozone yet, so certainly not part of the Shengan group where borders have been abolished.

Before arriving in Zagreb we spent time in the historic town of Varazdin a former capital of Croatia. A very attractive town with loads of history imparted to us by a very knowledgeable guide. Sadly, we went into information overload and the tour went far too long.

Castle in Varazdin

Blacksmith 'minting' coins for the tourists

Town Hall in the main square dating from 1523

The usual form of transport in town

Croatian National Theatre

Room in the castle museum dedicated to the Guilds of the town

The town has a beautiful cemetery which is more like a park

Cemetery

We arrived in Zagreb late in the afternoon. After settling in, Our tour director took us out on a quick orientation of the city which is very compact and easy to get about. Some steps and hills proved a challenge for some which may prove difficult as we progress on our tour. We shall see.

View over a sunny Zagreb

It was lovely to be able to sit outside and eat.

May 28 Budapest to Balatonfured

May 28

Goodbye Budapest, what a lovely city.

Today we travelled west to Balatonfured a town located on Lake Balaton. Before we settled into our hotel however we visited Tihany. On this peninsula of land rising high above the water, a Benedictine Abbey stands.

It was a lovely walk up from where the coach dropped us. Interesting thatched buildings lined the road and of course there were many gift shops.

The view from the top would have been wonderful but it was a bit hazy.

Benedictine Abbey at Tihany

Shop selling paprika - decorated with hundreds of pods!!

When we had settled in to our hotel the sun was coming out and it was decidedly warmer - as it is supposed to be at this time of year.

The hotel is situated on the shores of the lake and it was a beautiful blue. This is Hungary's holiday area. it is easy to see why.

Beautiful rose garden  on the lake shore

Statues of the Fisherman and the Ferryboatman - our guides in between

It's just possible to see the Abbey on the top of the peninsula in the distance

Only one night here. Tomorrow we head for Zagreb

May 26-27 London to Budapest

May 26

Early start to get to the terminal in good time. Some minor hiccups with the flight ( self serve check in, self serve baggage tagging, late or non arriving passengers) nothing too bad. We just went with the flow.

Arriving in Budapest just a little late it was lovely being met and transported to our hotel. After checking in and settling in our room we had plenty of time to explore.

With a reasonable map and a reasonable sense of direction we went in search of Cafe Gerbeaud. Highly recommended it did not disappoint.

We had time for a rest before we joined the rest of our tour group for an evening of very good food and entertainment. Restaurant Georgy (or similar) is set in what looks like an old wine cellar. Lots of atmosphere and traditional gypsy musicians and dancers who were excellent.

A great start to our Jewels of Dalmatia tour.

May 27

After a lovely breakfast at the hotel we met our guide, Anamaria, and our local guide Peter, for a prompt departure for our morning tour.

The sights and buildings in Budapest are amazing and we covered a good portion of the main sights on both sides of the river. The history is substantial and the post-war years until the revolution in 1956 were only briefly touched on. A dark time in Hungary's history.

Here its just a taste of what we saw during the morning.

Memorial to the people of the city who were lined up and shot by the Russians and fell into the river

Chain Bridge

Hero Square

Hero Square

Bath houses

High up in Buda

Cathedral reflected in the windows of the Hilton Hotel
Money talks!!!!

Parliament building

Overlooking the Danube

After a quick visit to our room to drop off some things, we teamed up with another couple to explore. First stop Cafe New York.

Cafe New York

This extraordinary cafe is a city icon. The food was beautifully presented and we soaked up the atmosphere while enjoying our lunch.

We then decided we would walk to the basilica as it had been suggested it was worth it. You can be the judge

Then we walked down to the river and along to the famous parliament buildings.

The legs were telling me it was time to head back. No chance we were going out again so we dined in the hotel.

Next stop Balatonfured.

May 24 and 25 - Hereford and Stroud

May 24

Similar weather today, so all rugged up we set off for Hereford. Hereford cathedral houses the Mappa Mundi, an ancient world map, illustrating known facts and places in the world at the time - around the late 13th century. Created on vellum it is an astonishingly interesting map centering the world on Jerusalem.

Also in the cathedral is a chain library dating back more than 600 years.

Hereford cathedral itself has many interesting and absorbing features. It's fascinating to see how different and individual each cathedral is that we have visited.

May 25

With the sun shining on our last day with Lawrence and Jean, we had a leisurely start to the day and started our packing.

We drove down to Stroud where there is a farmer's market on a Saturday. It was fun strolling the stalls and trying different foods.

Then we pushed on to another lovely pub for the last time. 

Returning to Cheltenham we drove along a lovely wooded road and found swathes of bluebells, such a lovely sight. A quick stop on such a lovely day to take in the view over Cheltenham ended our visit.

Church at Painswick

Bluebells in the woods

Overlooking Cheltenham

Now for the continent