Monday 7th till Friday 11th October

Monday we took a train from Budapest to Siofok which is by Lake Balaton, we had booked into the Residence Wellness Hotel as we had enjoyed staying at the one at Matrahaza so much.

From the hotel it was less than a five min walk to the lake and perfect for me to catch up with some running 🙂

Biking near lake Balaton

On the Tuesday we hired some bikes and took a leisurely 43 mile ride along the Balaton lake bike route, the whole place was closed up for winter but I expect its hugely popular in summer.

It was disappointing to see how built up all the towns had become right down to the Lake edge making the bike route slightly in land but the ride was still very enjoyable.

We caught the train back to Siofok, the trains here are not very bike or even people friendly as its such a high steep couple of steps into the train so getting the bikes on was a bit of a challenge !

After dinner we made full use of the spa facilities .

Wednesday we took the bus to Heviz to sample the biggest natural Thermal Lake in Europe and what a great experience it was, one that will make me smile forever.

The water was not as warm as we expected it to be but the sight of dozens of retired people floating round a lake with bright frilly swim hats and floats was quite amusing ….

Swimming with the Lillies

I swam the whole way round the lake and swimming among the lilies was quite relaxing.

Thursday we hoped to take the ferry across to the other side of the lake but unfortunately its out of season so only running at the weekends.

So instead we walked into town and along the stretch of lake we had not done.

Then back to the hotel to enjoy the spa and another fantastic sports massage.

I even managed to fit in 3 runs by the Lake, a total of 9 miles and very enjoyable too !