<p> “ Lazing Round The Lake”</p><p>An evening view across Lake Balaton taken from the promenade at Balatonfüred, looking towards the Tihany peninsula and the Abbey church. As June and I rarely have a fortnight off together we’d split our Summer holidays into two separate weeks. The first had been in Poland and the second was planned for Hungary. We’ve not spent much time in Hungary over the last few years so we planned a few days lakeside at Balatonfüred as well as visits to Győr and Budapest. The biggest problem we had was finding suitable flights but in the end we decided on Riotscare from Manchester to Budapest. The only drawback was the late arrival time so we had to find a hotel in Budapest that was accessible and with twenty four hour reception in case the flight was delayed. As with Poland, I applied for my coupons but as June once again wasn’t entitled to them and we weren’t planning too many journeys we decided to buy tickets for her as we went.</p><p>All opinions and comments in this report are my own unless otherwise stated and I make no apologies for any typos or grammatical mistakes! As usual, new loco’s are marked in bold, late running is highlighted red and unscheduled stops are shown in italics. A review of the hotel, beers and railways follows at the end of the report.</p><p>Saturday 11/08/2012 Today was basically just the journey to Budapest although the evening flight made for a very leisurely start (just as well as we’d been supping beers at my brothers until the early hours!). Our neighbours kindly dropped us off at the station and we headed for Manchester. Progress was slow though as a FHH coal train was dragging its heels in front of us, resulting in a fifteen minute delay by the time we reached Shrewsbury – strange how I’m often told I haven’t got a path as I might delay a passenger service… We picked up time en route to Manchester, partly due to the slack scheduling so we still had time for a couple of quick pints and a meal in town. We ate at “The Piccadilly” which is a Wetherspoons clone and I have to say that the food was pretty good and the Vale “Black Beauty” slipped down very well! We did follow this up with a quick visit to the real Wetherspoons “The Manchester and County” as I’ve got plenty of CAMRA vouchers to use up, sampling the Peerless “Red Rocks” and the 3 Bees “Pinch Noggin” before heading back to the station and off to the airport. Airport security was painless with only a short queue although it was a bit of a trek from the station to Terminal three so we didn’t have long before the gate was put on the screens. For a change, the queues were quite sensible and even included seats but despite being fairly close to the front of the queue we missed out on the row in front of the wing seats (as these are now reserved for an extra fee we aim for the row in front as the next best – you don’t get knees sticking in your back1). Instead we stayed near the front as this would hopefully give us a sharp exit off the plane and a chance of catching the last airport bus. We touched down ten minutes early and disembarked pretty quickly but then had to wait while everyone else piled onto the two buses to take us to the terminal so things would to be tight if there was a queue at security. Luckily there wasn’t so after finding the airport bus stop and failing to get the ticket machine to accept anything other than one coin we paid the excess and bought two 400HUF single tickets off the driver. The bus dropped us outside Kőbánya-Kispest station and the last 200E bus (22:54 from the airport) connects with the last metro at 23:16 into the centre. I later discovered that the 320HUF single tickets do not include a change so we had actually effed the metro. After the short walk to the hotel, we checked in and decided on a nightcap before heading up to the room. The hotel bar quoted a 24:00 closing time but we went in at 23:50 and people were still being served at 00:20 so we had plenty of time for a relaxed Dreher “Bak” before turning in for the night.</p><p>Ryanair EI-DPY 19:05 Manchester (T3) - Budapest (T2B) 22:40 FR8358 19:05 Manchester (T3) - Budapest (T2B)</p><p>Sunday 12/08/2012 The plan for today was to head to Balatonfüred, our base for three nights. As the HRS hotel deal hadn’t included breakfast we called into the Spar opposite Nyugati station to pick up a few supplies. Burger King didn’t do breakfasts but their opposite number did so after a McReggeli each we walked across to Kossuth Tér and caught the metro to Déli. The walk took longer than expected but as there were plenty of ticket windows open at Déli we had time to get June’s ticket and wander up the platform, joining an almost empty compo coach at the front of the Tapolca train. I was pleased to see a required 418 (M41 in old numbers!) waiting at Székesfehérvár although it was one of the re- engined sub-class. However, a standard 418 arrived from Tapolca just as we departed and when I checked I found that it was another winner! After an enjoyable run along the north side of Lake Balaton, the day got even better as we crossed yet another winner at Balatonfüred so I persuaded June that we could hop back to Alsóörs for a quick beer in the local bar (actually the old station building). The icing on the cake was 418.149 returned from Székesfehérvár complete with a required Sergei acting as pilot, making four required loco’s on three trains! Needless to say, after checking in and deciding on a return visit to Alsóörs for our evening meal, nothing else was required despite two other Sergei’s putting in appearances. Most of the trains that we saw were running 10 to 15 minutes late – one of the drawbacks of a long single line route despite there being numerous passing points. The meal in the Alsóörs old station refresh was tasty and much cheaper than anything in Balatonfüred so June’s ticket was a small price to pay – literally (40p!). Back at Balatonfüred we headed down to the promenade for our first visit to the wine festival. We stopped off en route as there was a stage set up just before the promenade, hosting some traditional dancing that was in full swing. In total there were 24 wine stalls at the festival, each showcasing their wares so we only had one question – where to start! After paying 500HUF each for the glass deposit, I sampled a couple of reds while June went for the Rosé instead. We then stumbled on a Merlot at the Gyukla Pince – wow! It was so rich and smooth that it was heading towards a port, definitely my favourite. We ended up sat on a bench looking out over the lake and I was just pondering whether we should call it a night when someone paused opposite me – Denzil!! We didn’t know for certain whether Denzil was visiting the lake this year so it was quite a surprise to see him wandering down the promenade at 22:30 with a kid on his shoulders. After a very brief chat he headed off for something to eat and said he’d be back so I went back for more Merlot while we waited. I had a slight problem when ordering though – two glasses turned into a double so I had no option but to get June the same! ;-) Not surprisingly considering the time and the long drive that they’d had, Denzil and co didn’t re-appear and as we were drinking far too much wine we decided to call it a night before either of us regretted it. </p><p>628.306 (ex M62.306) departs Balatonfured with train S19708,the lack of the customary Sergei black smoke indicating that this is one of the rebuilt loco’s!</p><p>MÁV 431.122 10:26 Budapest Déli - Székesfehérvár 11:28 1974 10:26 Budapest Déli - Tapolca MÁV 418.330 11:40 Székesfehérvár - Balatonfüred 12:53 1974 10:26 Budapest Déli - Tapolca MÁV 418.310 13:02 Balatonfüred - Alsóörs 13:12 S16906 11:38 Tapolca - Záhony MÁV 628.317 13:02 Alsóörs - Balatonfüred 13:43 S16907 05:36 Záhony - Tapolca MÁV 418.149 13:32 Alsóörs - Balatonfüred 13:43 S16907 05:36 Záhony - Tapolca MÁV 628.305 16:10 Balatonfüred - Alsóörs 16:22 19713 16:10 Balatonfüred - Székesfehérvár MÁV 628.306 18:43 Alsóörs - Balatonfüred 18:53 S19708 16:16 Budapest Déli - Tapolca</p><p>Monday 13/08/2012 Our room had optional air conditioning (for a small surcharge) but when checking in we were told that we probably wouldn’t need it so we’d given the room a go as it was. Despite the large opening window (complete with bug screen) the room had stayed very warm so neither of us had a great night’s sleep. After a relaxed breakfast and a check of the MÁV loco mapper in case anything new had appeared, we headed off to the supermarket to pick up a bottle of water before wandering back down to the promenade. The stalls had opened at 10:00 but were still pretty quiet so there was a polite request to return the glasses rather than paying a deposit. We only stayed for one as we wanted to hit the beach (Esterházy Strand) at the far end of the promenade. Quite a bit of the lake is hard to access due to the rocks and reeds so where beaches do exist they are often private or charge a small entrance fee. It was worth paying though as there were good facilities including changing rooms, toilets, bars and restaurants. The main area was grass with some trees providing a degree of shade although there was also a small sand area with easy access into the water as well as several sets of steps amongst the rocks. The water wasn’t as hot as we’d expected but it was still enjoyable going for a swim and then drying off lazing in the sun. I’d not heard anything form Denzil and didn’t know which phone he was using but I expected that he was probably still sleeping off the long journey. It started to cloud over mid afternoon so we had a wander back to the wine festival, also grabbing a snack from one of the food kiosks. I was keen to get a fot of the Szombathely – Budapest train as it was formed of GySEV (ex Austrian) Schlieren coaches, so I suggested another quick visit to Alsóörs. June agreed as she had an ungripped ticket to get her there and we’d have time for another beer stop. Things didn’t quite pan out as I’d expected though as the train to Alsóörs was running about thirty minutes late so I was now expecting it to cross the train I wanted to fot at Alsóörs – not ideal when I also needed to buy June a ticket back to Balatonfüred. Instead, we retired to the station refresh “Peron Pizzeria” for a beer and as a bonus I discovered that they had free WiFi so I was able to keep track of the train and head up the track from the station as it arrived. I set up a nice fot by standing on a convenient pile of sleepers but just as the train started to pull out one old boy decided to walk up the track towards me so I had to jump down and leg it towards him to salvage a fot – not impressed! I returned to the pizzeria to finish my beer and June rang Denzil as we still hadn’t had a reply to our texts and we arranged to meet up later at the wine festival but as they’d already eaten we decided to stay and have a pizza, washed down with another Dreher Bak. We also managed to confirm a get together with Ferenc for the following evening so it looked like quite a bit of wine was going to be consumed in the next forty eight hours! As Denzil knew one of the families running a stall at the wine festival it didn’t take a brain surgeon to work out where he’d be, especially as he was getting “staff discount”!! We also got to meet his new squeeze, Magda although I was a bit confused as to what they’d done with Magda’s daughter until Denzil explained that Magda’s goddaughter was also with them so she was babysitting for the night – no such thing as a free holiday! We ended up staying until the festival closed for the night so June and I had to take our glasess back to the pension with us to avoid losing the deposit!</p><p>The Fodorvin wine stall, one of twenty four at the Balaton Borhetek (wine festival), from the neighbouring village of Balatonaracs and run by friends of Denzil.</p><p>Tuesday 14/08/2012 After a better sleep due to the air con, we enjoyed a relaxing breakfast and I popped up to the railway for a second attempt at fotting the M41 & GySEV Schlierens. This time the location was good but the one tiny cloud in the area made a dash for the sun just as the train approached – Doh! Not surprisingly, the rest of the morning saw unbroken sun so we took advantage of the weather and headed back to the beach. As we were a bit earlier than the previous day we decided to have lunch down at the beach after a swim and a lie in the sun, making use of one of the bar/restaurants. As Feri was arriving just before 17:00, we left the beach in plenty of time to freshen up at the hotel and to settle our bill. The latter took longer than expected as it first had to be converted from Euro to HUF (not a brilliant rate either), then the city tax was added followed by the supplement for the air con. Just when I thought we were sorted, Ada started hunting through a book for my details but she couldn’t find them. It turned out to be the register for the deposits so it was no wonder that she couldn’t find my name as I’d got ours waived! We eventually got it sorted but I was glad that we hadn’t left it until the morning as we’d probably have missed our planned train. I just had enough time to head off to the station to meet Feri although as expected it was running about ten minutes late. After collecting June from the hotel we wandered down to the wine festival and our new “expert taster” Feri suggested a couple of good ones to try. Denzil and Magda eventually arrived, this time with her daughter and god daughter so after a quick glass of wine we headed off to the Bella etterem for a slap up meal. We started off with a plum Palinka, a first for Magda and a good quality one to start with - very smooth and very warming. Magda’s daughter, three year old Natalia seemed to take a shine to Feri as she followed him everywhere and paid attention to everything he said! June and I had gone for the set three course meal, smaller portions compared to the main menu but as we’d already eaten earlier in the day it was a good way of having a varied meal and the price saving was substantial. We mulled over having a final Palinka after the meal until Feri noticed the prices - 1400HUF each! Instead we headed back to the wine festival and Denzil’s friends at the Fodorvin stall. The wine flowed very well and Natalia again followed Feri when he went for a chat with the stall owners. Ferenc had to leave to catch the last train back towards Badacsony but almost left it too late as he had to say farewell to everyone so it was a relief when Denzil received a text saying he’d made it okay. We shared a final bottle of “Dorina” (named after the owners daughter who’d served us!) with Denzil and Magda, but the two girls were starting to flag. As Feri had gone, it was my turn to adopt Natalia, lifting her onto my shoulders for a wander along the stalls to meet June who’d been back to the Gyukli stall for a night cap of our favourite Merlot. Denzil had a quick taste, agreeing that it was pretty good before Natalia swapped to his shoulders and they headed off to their appartment. As June had ordered doubles, we also decided to call it a day after we’d finished, heading back up the hill to the panzio for the final time.</p><p>A sunny view of Esterházy Strand, possibly the best beach area for enjoying the sun and the lake at Balatonfüred.</p><p>Wednesday 15/08/2012 We’d decided the night before not to get up too early, sacrificing an extra loco for an extra hour in bed and an easier move to the brewpub for lunch. As we’d paid for the room the previous afternoon, it was simply a case of having breakfast and wandering to the station where courtesy of the free WiFi in the pizzeria I discovered that our train was fifteen minutes late – time for a quick beer then! The late running was putting our connection in Tapolca at risk so we were glad to see that common sense had prevailed and it was held for eight minutes. After suffering my first unit of the trip in the shape of a BzMOT to Vonyarcvashegy (we sat in the trailer vestibule to take advantage of the pull down windows!) we set off for the walk to the brewpub. Denzil had warned that it was a bit of a hike in the heat of the day so we were surprised that it only took us just over twenty minutes. We did pause briefly en route as a couple of excitable puppies came running over to their garden fence to say hello as we passed, a change from the crazed guard dogs that I’ve often encountered! The brewpub also features a restaurant and a pension so it’s a shame that it isn’t on a line with a better train service as it would make for a good base. We sat down and scanned the menu, deciding on a dark beer and a traditional meal so we were gutted to find out that they’d run out of dark beer and the next batch was still in the fermenter! The blond was still quite good, the meal was excellent and the waitress was also friendly and helpful. I found out that the small brewery was located in the cellar (actually visible at the bottom of the ramp as you arrive at the brewpub) and it’s often possible to have a look at the brewery in the evening if no work is going on. We left some extra time for the walk back to the station as it was getting even hotter but we’d needn’t have worried as the unit was ten late. After a Weissbeer in the refresh outside Tapolca station, we wandered back onto the platform and waited for the through diesel to Szombathely. As it was running late we grabbed a few snacks form the kiosk and passed the time feeding crumbs to the sparrows although a few crumbs were snapped up by an ant colony. We must have been getting bored as it was surprisingly entertaining watching the ants trying to heave the crumbs into the nest – probably the equivalent of us manhandling a garage door! The train eventually turned up fifty minutes late with a required 418 on ex DB opens and we headed off to Szombathely (I’d half expected a delay as it’s a portion off a Budapest train which runs along the south side of the lake). Some good running saw us arrive only twenty late and we set off on foot for the hotel. This wouldn’t have been a problem normally but we were both exhausted from the heat of the day and the hotel was a 2km walk. By the time we got there and checked in we were pretty tired so after enjoying some air con we decided to eat in the hotel restaurant and have an early night. 418.156 (ex M41.2156) rolls past the signalbox as it approaches Tapolca with train S19804, formed of ex DB stock.</p><p>MÁV 418.330 11:01 Balatonfüred - Tapolca 12:21 S19702 08:26 Budapest Déli - Tapolca MÁV BzMOT 12:26 Tapolca - Vonyarcvashegy 12:53 19635 11:30 Ukk - Keszthely MÁV DMU 16:06 Vonyarcvashegy - Tapolca 16:27 9626 15:47 Balatonszentgyörgy - Ukk MÁV 418.156 17:12 Tapolca - Szombathely 19:09 S19804 16:20 Balatonszentgyörgy - Szombathely</p><p>Thursday 16/08/2012 We were up fairly early for our planned 09:00 train as we didn’t want to rush breakfast before the long trek back to the station but as the temperature was already climbing we decided to ching out for taxi (1000HUF) who turned up ten minutes early! This did at least mean that we had plenty of time to get June’s ticket and both our reservations – a task that had proved difficult in Poland – I think I need to learn the phrase “I already have a ticket”!! The IC worked through from Graz and Szentgotthard so it was already quite full when we boarded, sadly with very poor air con and far too many brats sounding like Alvin the chipmunk! The GySEV 430 gave way to a MÁV 418 although GySEV are in the process of leasing some 232’s from DB Schenker to avoid the MÁV hire charges, one of my reasons for staying in Szombathely. Sadly, the only one that they’ve currently got had failed a few days previously after suffering an engine room fire (probably the turbo), dashing my hopes of being one of the first to have it so instead it was a dud 418 that took us to Csorna. The reason I’d picked this particular train was the portion shunt at Csorna, performed by a GySEV 449 when the electric portion is worked my a MÁV loco. I’d never had a GySEV 449 before (re-engined version of the MÁV 449 / M44) so I knew it would be required and as a bonus, so was the electric. We were on time into Győr which was a bit too early to check into our pension so I left June with a beer and her book in the station refresh and popped out for some phots. I had a choice of two moves – one with electrics and one with diesels. Surprisingly both were required so I went for the diesel over the new TRAXX electric. The plan was to take the 418 to its first stop (after passing through Győr Gyarvaros junction station non stop as half the diesels do) for a twenty five minute wait and another 418 back to Győr so I was surprised when I felt the train kicking over into the loop. Not as surprised as I was when I saw a Sergei sat on the next track with a late running service from Celldömölk but as I was getting off anyway I was ready for a leap and managed a wrong side bale onto the train with ease. The only downside was missing what would have been a couple of good fots but the Sergei was required so I couldn’t turn it down. Back at Győr, I took a couple of fots and waited to view the two original return trains – both dud so I’d definitely done the right move. June had a beer waiting for me when I got back to the station refresh so after chilling for a bit we had a leisurely stroll up to our pension, just off the main square. The Pension was quite small, situated over a bar and our room didn’t have air con which would have been a concern had they not provided a large pedestal fan! We relaxed in the bar with a beer (Kronenbourg Blanc of all things!) while looking up some moves and some tourist gen on the laptop before we headed off for a wander. The city centre had quite a cosmopolitan feel but ~June decided to forego the shops in favour of a better look round so we ended up having a stroll along the river bank taking in the views before doubling back round to the centre. As the temperature had kept on rising we were both glad to get back to the pension and out of the heat so after cooling off I headed back to the station for a quick electric spin including the required TRAXX that I’d flagged in the morning. Typically, the diagrams had changed and it had morphed into one of the GySEV 430’s that I’d had before but it made for a good fot and I scored the TRAXX on the return. During our wander round we’d sussed out a few restaurants for our evening meal and we decided on the Hajo etterem and Pizzeria, a river boat made up as a paddle steamer. Despite having “tourist trap” written all over it, it was actually cheaper than the main square restaurants and the John Bull pub (very disappointing!) and knocked out some good food including a range of pizzas and a cheap as chips daily lunch special. Having been in an Italian themed restaurant the previous night eating Hungarian food, we decided on the flipside tonight, going for pizzas and a bottle of wine! After a relaxed meal and a few night fots of the psychedelic river bridge and the main square, we headed back to the pension and turned in.</p><p>The decorative Jedlik híd, lights up the Mosoni-Duna, one of the three rivers that meet in Győr. </p><p>MÁV 418.204 09:00 Szombathely - Csorna 09:50 IC917 08:11 Szentgotthard - Budapest Keleti GySEV 448.303 09:54 Portion shunt @ Csorna 09:58 IC917 08:11 Szentgotthard - Budapest Keleti MÁV 480.021 10:02 Csorna - Győr 10:21 IC917 08:11 Szentgotthard - Budapest Keleti MÁV 418.311 10:40 Győr - Győrszabadhegy 10:46 9302 08:38 Budapest Keleti - Szombathely MÁV 628.325 10:34 Győrszabadhegy - Győr 10:44 9227 09:13 Celldömölk - Győr GySEV 430.324 18:38 Győr - Ikrény 18:46 9918 18:38 Győr - Sopron MÁV 480.005 19:02 Ikrény - Győr 19:10 991 18:00 Sopron - Győr</p><p>Friday 17/08/2012 After a more relaxed breakfast than the previous day, we had a slow wander back to the station with June doing a bit of window shopping en route. We arrived just as our train arrived from Celldömölk so we were able to grab a bay of four with an opening window in the front coach. I was pleased to see one of my three required 470’s back onto the train but gobsmacked when another rolled in next to us multied up with a required 480 on EN467. June told me to run over for it as I had my coupons but I didn’t think it was worth the hassle without a reservation and it was on the move very quickly. Judging by the poor air con on the IC the previous day, I was better off staying put anyway, with the bonus entertainment of a white cat sat on the window shelf opposite! The owners turned out to unexpectedly be a pair of studded / tattoo couple, not what either of us expected. The train was pretty wedged by the time we reached Budapest so it was good to head across the road, check in at the Baross and relax in an air conditioned room. Not wanting to waste the afternoon, I suggested that we headed off to the brewery tap in Csepel for lunch where we could plan the rest of the day. June agreed so we headed round the square to access the metro (most of the square is cordoned off while they build the new Metro line 4 – allegedly due to be finished at the end of this year). Considering all the work going on which restricted access to the metro, the fact that Keleti is the arrival point for a large number of international trains and that it was Friday afternoon, you’d have thought that they’d have had more than one ticket window open, especially when the only available machine was refusing notes!! After a lengthy wait we eventually got our 24 hour tickets (1550HUF) and headed off via metro and tram to Boráros tér, the terminus for the HÉV line 7 to Csepel. Trains were running every ten minutes and the journey time to Csepel was thirteen minutes, passing a freight yard en route with an M44 just visible. I’d printed off a map for the new Rizmajer brewery tap (only five minutes away from the actual microbrewery) so we found it easily and we were both impressed to see five beers on tap. As we were both getting peckish we checked the menu and although it only contained snacks I have to say that their burgers were excellent. After sampling all the beers, using the free WiFi (the code was written on the wall and translated as dark beer!) and buying a polo shirt we were getting ready to leave when I asked about the brewery. Five minutes later after a quick phone call, we were being escorted down the road by one of the regulars and met at the brewery by the owner/brewer. The brewery was in an opened out cellar under the family home and a pretty impressive set up. We had a guided tour, explained in a mix of English, German and Hungarian and I was surprised to see that he had eleven fermenters until he explained that the beer is conditioned for two months! We left with a souvenir bottle of Fekete (dark) and headed back to the bar for a final beer and toilet stop (no loos on the HÉV!). We were now much later than planned so decided against heading back to the hotel. Matt Reeves had told me about another new bar and as it was fairly close to the HÉV terminus we walked there instead. “Beer Bier” had four beers on tap (two Hungarian, one British and one American) and had a reasonable bottled selection although not as many Hungarian as I was hoping for. They serve burgers from the adjacent “Black Cab Burger Bar” and as you might have guessed there’s a London connection – Fullers. It’s likely that once the Summer temperatures drop off there might be a Fullers beer on hand pull – possibly unique for Hungary?!? As neither of us was very hungry, we decided to head back to the hotel although in the end we did pop in to Burger King for a snack as it’s almost next to the hotel (no-where near as good as the one we’d had earlier though!).</p><p>A small display of barrels outside the Rizmajer microbrewery, complete with a very appropriate sign!</p><p>MÁV 470.002 09:31 Győr - Budapest Keleti 11:20 9307 07:09 Szombathely - Budapest Keleti</p><p>Saturday 18/08/2012 As we were flying home today we didn’t want to do much so I’d suggested a visit to the Budapest Children’s Railway, in the Budakeszi-erdő (forest). June had never been so quite liked the idea and I’d seen a recent posting on ERG mentioning the three loco’s in use as the three that I needed! After a relaxed start I was worried that we’d left things a bit late and would miss our intended train but with a good metro / tram connection at Széll Kálmán tér we reached Hüvösvölgy tram terminus just before 10:00 so we had ten minutes to walk up the steps to the station – or not in this case! I’d downloaded the timetable but hadn’t spotted that there were two, one for weekdays and one for weekends so the train was due out at 10:00! Luckily the guard waited for us and we set off into the hills with an unknown loco on the front. As we were in the half brake, there were three members of staff, two children and a supervisor so one of kids put me in my place by telling me that I had the wrong timetable! I managed to fot the timetable at one of the stations and worked out that there would be three loco’s in use as well as the heritage train so after passing a required Mk45 at Szépjuhászné we baled off at Virágvölgy to double back for it. I was very pleased to find another winner on the front but amazed when the third one rolled into Virágvölgy! We decided to double back to Jánoshegy as we’d noticed a tower on the hillside and a footpath leading to it from the station. I left June relaxing in the shade and headed uphill to the tower. I reached a clearing with a shop and restaurant after about ten minutes but realised that the tower was still a few minutes away up a road so I had to give it a miss and head back to the station. That was where I had problems as I took the wrong path and by the time I realised I was quite a way off track. I asked some walkers who said that I was going the right way so I carried on but I think that they were sending me to the wrong station so I doubled back when I heard the train pass in the distance – there goes my final winner!! After fotting the tower as compensation, I found the right path and walked back down to the station in urgent need of a sit down and a drink of water. Not surprisingly, June was concerned and far from impressed that I’d forgotten to take my phone with me but she could see how exhausted I was and took pity on me. We decided to sit it out for the return working of Mk45.2003 although it meant that June wouldn’t get to the end of the line and we wouldn’t have much time to spare for our flight home. Back at the tram terminus, I bought two 490HUF transfer tickets to get us back to the hotel (our 24 tickets had just expired) although we stopped off at Burger King for a quick snack and some free air con on the way. I’d toyed with the idea of heading to Ferihegy by train from Nyugati but it meant extra tickets and we’d still have to find the 200E bus stop so in the end we retraced our outward move by heading to Kőbánya-Kispest on the metro and changing onto the 200E bus. The bus hadn’t stopped at Ferihegy on our way in and as it was dark I hadn’t spotted the stop but it turned out to be right outside the station so I’ll probably use the train next time. The flight home was a late start after a farce with the transfer buses to the plane. Despite “boarding” being announced on time, we had to wait downstairs on the buses until everyone was ready then headed off in convoy. The priority passengers had a sectioned area of the first bus but as all three stopped together all the doors were opened together leading to a stampede for the plane steps and utter chaos trying to deal with everyone at once!! Despite the twenty minute late start, we touched down five minutes early so we had time to catch a train into Manchester, grab some drinks and jump on the 19:30 back to Hereford.</p><p>Mk45.2004 arrives at Virágvölgy on the Budapest Children’s Railway, receiving the customary salute from the switch operator.</p><p>MÁV Mk45.2005 10:00 Hüvösvölgy - Virágvölgy 10:31 31317 10:00 Hüvösvölgy - Széchenyihegy MÁV Mk45.2004 10:40 Virágvölgy - Jánoshegy 10:48 31212 10:30 Széchenyihegy - Hüvösvölgy MÁV Mk45.2003 12:19 Jánoshegy - Hüvösvölgy 12:48 31114 12:00 Széchenyihegy - Hüvösvölgy Ryanair EI-DPY 16:40 Budapest (T2B) - Manchester (T3) 18:40 FR8357 16:40 Budapest (T2B) - Manchester (T3)</p><p>Summary A few sneezes prior to coming away got me flapping a bit having come down with a cold on our last holiday but luckily it didn’t develop into anything. We both really enjoyed our time at Balatonfüred. It’s a nice resort town but the combination of a fair bit of expenditure doing it up and the annual wine festival made it even more enjoyable. The weather started off sunny and in the mid twenties, getting hotter and hotter as we went and it was into the thirties by the time we flew home from Budapest. I didn’t do much in the way of railways as we’d planned a few days relaxing by the lake but I was pleased to pick up a few diesels including the GySEV 448 and the two 628 “Sergei’s”. It was disappointing that the ex DB Ludmilla had begun service with GySEV but failed a couple of days before we got to Szombathely so that will hopefully be one for next time. Győr was a nice place and it was the first time that we’d spent any real time there but judging by the number of shops, June will want to return at some point! We didn’t have much time to look around Budapest although we’ve been before but it was nice to sample a few local beers. June was impressed with the childrens railway in Budapest but not with me disappearing into the trees without my phone!!</p><p>© Neil Aitken 19/08/2012 Hotel Gen We used a combination of www.hrs.com and www.booking.com for our hotels. Note that hotel booking sites tend to quote Hungarian hotel prices in Euro’s although you’re often asked to pay in Forints. Most hotels in Hungary will also levy a small city tax on top of the bill.</p><p>City Hotel Ring Szent István krt. 22 1137 Budapest Tel: +36 1 340 5440 Fax: +36 1 340 4884 Web: http://www.cityhotel.hu/en/city-hotel-ring-budapest/ E-mail: [email protected] Located about 5 minutes walk from Nyugati station. A twin room without breakfast cost €50.15. Free WiFi was available in the lobby area as was a computer terminal. The room had air con and the reception was open 24 hours a day.</p><p>Korona Panzio / Pension Krone Vörösmarty u. 4 8230 Balatonfüred Tel: +36 87 343 278 Fax: +36 87 580 711 Web: http://www.koronapanzio.hu/ E-mail: [email protected] Located less than 10 minutes walk from station. A double room including breakfast cost €55 a night but the bill was paid in Forints. Their website mentions the minimum of a three night stay during the Summer. Free WiFi was available although the signal was very poor in our room and air con was available for an extra €5 a day. Reception was open 24 hours a day. They do not accept credit cards and requested a deposit by bank transfer which was waived when I explained how expensive this is to do!</p><p>Il Gallo Nero (Fekete Kakas / Black Rooster) Rumi út 21 9700 Szombathely Tel: +36 94 509 447 Fax: +36 94 509 448 Web: http://www.gallonero.hu/ E-mail: [email protected] This Italian themed guest house and restaurant is located about 2km from Szombathely station - a good 25 minute walk. A double room including breakfast cost €53. Free WiFi was available and air con cost an additional 1000HUF.</p><p>Soho Café & Pension Kenyér köz 7 9022 Győr Tel: +36 96 550 465 Fax: +36 96 550 466 Web: http://www.sohocafe.hu/?lang=en E-mail: [email protected] A small pension located over a bar, approx 10-15 minutes walk from Győr station. A double room including breakfast cost €38, but was paid in cash (HUF). First floor rooms have air con and second floor rooms have a fan. Free WiFi was available and the reception was open 24 hours a day.</p><p>Baross City Hotel Baross ter 15 1077 Budapest Tel: +36 1 461 3010 Fax: +36 1 343 2770 Web: http://www.barosshotel.hu/ E-mail: [email protected] A three star hotel located opposite Keleti station. A double room including breakfast cost €56, Free WiFi was available, the room had air con and the reception was open 24 hours a day. Beer (& wine) Gen Hungary isn’t high on people’s lists when it comes to micro-breweries but things are slowly improving and we made up for the lack of beer with some excellent local wine. A few brewpubs are popping up and some are accessible by public transport. I used a combination of http://www.sorfozdek.hu, http://www.pivonka.eoldal.hu, http://www.sorlap.hu and www.beerme.com to put together some gen. Thanks also to Matt Reeves who sent me the gen on the Budapest brewpub and put me onto the beer websites.</p><p>Bakter Bisztró Alsóörs Füredi utca 38-42 8226 Alsóörs A bar/restaurant located in the old station building. Goof food at good prices and a couple of bottled dark beers too. Open daily 11:00 – 22:00.</p><p>Balatonfüredi Borhetek http://balatonfured.info.hu/programok_kiallitasok/program/balatonfuredi-borhetek The annual wine festival located on the promenade at Balatonfüred, this year running from 4th to the 26th of August. 24 stalls showcased the best wines produced in the area, together with food, Palinka and craft stalls. The festival was open daily 10:00 – 24:00. Wine - gen on Balaton festival & thanks to Feri for being our unofficial tasting guide!</p><p>Peron Pizzeria Balatonfüred station http://pizzza.hu/pizzeria/Peron Very convenient and cheaper than restarants near the promenade. Free WiFi was available and they had a couple of bottled dark beers available. Open 24 hours I think.</p><p>Bella Étterem Tagore Sétány 3 8230 Balatonfüred Web: http://www.bellaetterem.hu/ Located at the Eastern end of the promenade near to the beach. Good quality meals and the menu included a three course set. No dark beers but a Weiss was available (with bloody lemon stuck in it!!) Open daily 11:30 – 23:00.</p><p>Blonder Étterem Fő u. 9 8314 Vonyarcvashegy Tel: +36 83 349 799 E-mail: [email protected] Web: http://www.blonder.hu/ About a 20 minute walk from Vonyarcvashegy station. They Brew a light and a dark, also having a restaurant and a pension on site. If you go in the evening it may be possible to see the small brewery in the cellar.</p><p>Hajó Étterem & Pizzeria Móricz Zsigmond-rkp, III. Győr Web: www.hajoetterem.hu A river boat restaurant, five minutes from the main square. Serving a good range of food including pizzas and a daily lunch special. Nothing special beer wise but a reasonable wine menu.</p><p>John Bull pub Győr Web: www.johnbullpub.hu I thought this place might be of interest but… They were advertising Bombardier but no Hungarian beers of interest and the food seemed overpriced too so we didn’t bother finding out more.</p><p>Rizmajer és Társa Kft. Szebeni u. 16 1212 Budapest Tel: +36 20 945 9026 E-mail: [email protected] Web: www .rizmajersor.hu Open: Mon-Fri 08:00 – 16:00, Sat 08:00 – 12:00 (off sales). A microbrewery sey up in the basement under the family home in the Southern suburb of Csepel. The brewer was very friendly so if you contact him in advance you’ll probably get a tour of the brewery. They’ve been brewing since 1994 but in April this year they opened a brewery tap just round the corner from the brewery at Táncsics Mihály u.110 and open daily 06:00 – 23:00. Food is limited to the likes of burgers (very good though!), sandwiches and cheese pastries. All four of the regular beers were available in the tap as well as a seasonal:- Világos (pale lager) Gyömbér (ginger beer) Kukorica (corn beer) Fekete (porter) Konyakos Meggy (cherry beer)</p><p>Beer Bier Mester utca. 46 1095 Budapest A new beer bar getting good reviews. The four tap beers are regularly changed (often two Hungarian, one British and one other foreign) and there was a reasonable bottled selection. They serve burgers from the adjacent “Black Cab Burger Bar” and as you might have guessed there’s a London connection – Fullers. They hope to get a Fullers beer on handpull once the Summer temperatures drop off. The tap beers during our visit were:- Ko-Cse “Brandecker Bodzás” 4.0% Osterbrau (Fóti Kézműves) Keserü Méz 6.2% Brewdog “Hardcore” 9.2% Huyghe “Campus Premium” 5.0%</p><p>Railway Gen Yahoo group http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/hunrail/, a private group for news and reports on Hungarian Railways including trip reports and loco diagrams/observations. New members are welcomed but everyone is asked to post gen when visiting Hungary.</p><p>The main focus of the holiday was the north shore of Lake Balaton which sees an influx of people during the Summer months resulting in an exhanced train service. In the past this has meant M41’s and M62’s drafted in from other depots but the local manager has banned the use of the “old and dirty” unrebuilt M62’s and the closure of T1 to Esztergom for engineering work meant that there were plenty of Desiros available to assit this year. Despite that, there were up to nine different loco’s in action each day and the heaviest trains (load nine or ten) would often get a rebuilt M62 as pilot.</p><p>The following websites were used to help plan our journeys:- Train mapper - http://vonatinfo.mav-start.hu/ Loco mapper - http://iemig.mav-trakcio.hu/3.0/ Journey planner - http://elvira.mav-start.hu/elvira.dll Timetables - http://www.mav-start.hu/utazas/vasuti_menetrend_letoltese.php Engineering work - http://www.mav.hu/utasok.php Budapest city transport – http://www.bkv.hu/ Budapest Children’s Railway- http://www.gyermekvasut.hu</p><p>Sun 12/08/12 418.143 = 1976 418.149 = 19607 / 16907# / 19723 418.310 = 16906 / 19606 418.313 = 19701 418.324 = 1975 / 9704 / 971# 418.330 = 1974 628.305 = 19713 628.306 = 19708 #628.317 = 16907 / 971 piloting, in tandem with train engine Note - 19607 & 19606 were formed of GySEV "schlieren" coaches.</p><p>Wed 15/08/12 418.108 = 8801 418.120 = 1974 418.149 = 1975 / 9704 / 971 418.156 = 19807 / 19804 418.310 = 8802 418.324 = 19712 418.330 = 19702 418.332 = 19723 628.334+418.313 = 16906 (in tandem) 470.503 = 9176</p><p>Thu 16/08/12 418.105 = 9207 (Celldomolk – Gyor) / 9206 (Gyor - Celldomolk) 418.112 = 39514 418.204 = IC917 (Szombathely - Csorna) 418.311 = 9302 (Gyor – Celldomolk) 418.315 = IC912 (Csorna - Szombathely, so the Ludmilla is still oos) 480.005 = 991 480.013 = IC912 (Budapest – Csorna) / 9206 (Budapest - Gyor) 480.019 = 9912 480.021 = IC917 (Csorna - Budapest) 480.024 = 9302 (Budapest – Gyor) 628.325 = 9227 (Celldomolk – Gyor) 630.152 = stabled on stock at Szombathely, possibly for train 905? GySEV 430.320 = IC917 (Szentgotthard – Szombathely) GySEV 430.324 = 9918 (with 430.333 DOR) GySEV 448.303 = IC917 (shunt @ Csorna) GySEV 470.501 & 470.504 = both at Gyor on sets of stock for Sopron @ 11:00 GySEV 1116.063 = 997 & 9207 (Gyor – Budapest) GySEV 1116.064 = 9122 Loco’s dumped at Gyor included M44.103 / M44.123 / V46.031 (collision damage). Others that were renumbered but looked dodgy were 228.107 / 448.142 / 448.076 / 460.030. A heating lok (ex V43.1169) was also visible and seemed to be having some work done on it.</p><p>Friday 17/08/12 418.197 = 39514 418.311 = 9307 (Celldomolk – Gyor) 470.002 = 9307(Gyor – Bud) 480.001+470.008 = EN467 (appeared to be multied up , assume from Wien West) 480.005 = 9912 Pair of Floyd cans westbound through Nagyszent Janos at 09:50 heading towards Gyor with a cereal train. 469.103 stabled at Komarom (DBS Hungaria, ex 290.536).</p><p>Saturday 18/08/12 Mk45.2003 / Mk45.2004 & Mk45.2005 were in use on the Budapest Childrens Railway. At the weekend there’s a forty five minute frequency so a third loco is required for the service (only two are required for the hourly weekday service). There should have been two heritage services but the steam is out of service so the only extra was a vintage railcar and trailer. For anyone who’s not been before, the railway runs from March to early November and is still staffed by children although adult supervisors are around and the loco’s are obviously crewed by trained adult drivers. The best way of reaching the railway is by tram 61 (connects with the metro at Deli station or Szell Kalman ter) for an approximate 20 minute run to the end of the line at Huvosvolgy. As you exit the tram, head up left hand set of steps and follow the path to the station. Tickets can be bought on the train (700HUF single, 1400HUF return or 600HUF point to point) and the railway winds a scenic route up into the hills, stopping at various stations with access to the hill paths before terminating at Szechenyihegy. The whole journey takes about 45 minutes and leaping at the crossing points seemed pretty safe. One of the intermediate stations (Szepluhaszne) is on bus route 22/222 which heads back into town, also meeting up with tram 61. From Szechenyihegy it’s a short walk to the Cogwheel railway (line 60) which takes you back downhill to Varosmajor, connecting back into trams 59 and 61 towards Deli.</p>