My wife and I are planning a trip to Austria and Hungary this summer. <BR>Has anyone been to Lake Balaton? <BR> <BR>How were the trains or road between there and Budapest? <BR> <BR>Could language be a problem since we speak only english (and read very little German and Spanish? <BR> <BR>We were thinking of going to Siofok since it is near the center line of the Eclipse on Aug 11. <BR> <BR>Thanks for your help.

Lake Balaton is a very beautiful area but the trains are usually full so it has to be an early rise and shine in order to aboard the train. If you can rent a car at a resonable price, I suggest it. Otherwise it can be quite tiresome (from what I heard) for comfort and the trip. There is a lot of English spoken there but always take a dictionary for assistance.

Fodors <BR> <BR>Dear Mr Jones, <BR> <BR>I've been to Lake Balaton three times. It's almost two places: the brash, young people's resorts on the southern shore, and the beautiful, quieter, places on the northern. I find Keszthely perfect. Not that it has no young people: they stroll the main street of a summer evening arm in arm, listening to bands in pavement cafes. The young women are beautiful, and wear Europe's hottest hot pants. Alas, I'm aged 63. <BR> <BR>The reference library of a city near you may have the Thomas Cook European Timetable. Table 1220 shows that trains leave Budapest Keleti station at 0625 (InterCity with restaurant car), 1000, 1205 (with buffet car), 1355 (Fridays and Sundays only, InterCity with buffet car), 1510, and 1845 and take two hours to noisy Siofok and three to beautiful Keszthely. Others leave Budapest Deli station at 0706, 0806, 1330, 1606, and (Fridays and Sundays) 1712 and take two hours to Siofok and four to Keszthely. <BR> <BR>In August, holiday season, it's true that trains can get full. And in Hungary second class compartments have four seats to each bench, which gives little elbow room. So you should book second class in a saloon coach on an InterCity train, or first class in any coach. Budapest to Keszthely is 200 kilometers, 1310 florins or five US dollars second class single, 1630 florins or six dollars InterCity, or eight dollars first class single. A pleasant place to book for a trifling extra fee is Wagons-Lits Carlson, on Doroteer Ul, just left of the great cafe Gerbeaud on Vorosmarty Ter. They speak English, take credit cards, and have comfortable armchairs. <BR> <BR>I've not found the trip tiresome. <BR> <BR>I'd stay in Kesthely and take a train 60 to 90 minutes or a boat a few hours to Siofok for the eclipse. <BR> <BR>Many young Hungarians speak English, and Hungarian courtesy is high. <BR> <BR>Please write if can help further. If you do, please would you say where you are now ? <BR> <BR>Ben Haines <BR> <BR>

This is the "route planner" for the Hungarian railways: <BR>http://elvira.mavinformatika.hu/index2.htm <BR>You fill out from where, where, when, and when the timetable comes up, <BR>'indulas' means 'starts at' <BR>erkezes=arrival <BR>tartam=how long it takes <BR>atszallas=transfers <BR>1.o.dij=price of first class <BR>2.o.dij=price of second class <BR> <BR>Balaton is the favourite summer destination among Hungarians as well, so it's pretty crowded in the summer, and service prices are higher than in other parts of Hungary. But since it's a popular tourist destination, English and German are widely spoken there, so I don't think you'll have problems with that. And in Hungary, most people HAVE TO study at least two foreign languages to graduate. (not that 2-3 years studying would make one a good speaker) <BR>By the way are you talking about the solar eclipse of last year?

I was in Hungary last Sept and took a side trip to Lake Balaton. It is a beatuiful area and I enjoyed it very much. I didn't find as many people speaking english as the others, but I speak German and most of the older people (like me) speak German. It is true that the younger people are learning English. I did notice that the prices on products were in Hungarian and German however. To see everything that Budapest has to offer, you could easily spend 10 days there. Have a great trip. <BR>

The original post is dated 3/25/1999 which explains the eclipse reference