Lake Ballaton days at Hullám Hostel in Hungary

When travelling with our teenagers, we often choose a private room in a stylish and family-friendly hostel over an apartment or hotel, which is how we came to select Hullám Hostel in Révfülöp for our stay in the Lake Balaton area of Hungary. This way we got the best of both worlds with an an en suite room, lively atmosphere, other travellers to talk to and free wifi for our kids to get their daily fix of Facebook (and Mum to keep up the blog).

I researched the hostels around the shores of Lake Ballaton to use as a base for our holiday in this area, and from everything I read, the northern shore of the lake, with it’s historic towns and villages,vineyards and castles sounded more our scene, whereas the resorts on the southern shore are more devoted to package tourists and busy nightlife.

The other thing I was wary of in Eastern Europe, is of finding accommodation with that dreary ex-communist feel, with old fashioned fittings that were probably considered chic by the party faithful in their 70s heyday. Not so at Hullám Hostel in Révfülöp which I saw described as a boutique hostel and seemed to get excellent reports and reviews.

When we drew up in our hire car, having driven down from Budapest, we didn’t have a great start, as someone had obviously stayed a little longer than planned in our room and so they proposed to move us down the road for one night to alternative holiday accommodation and move us back in the morning once our room was free. As the other accommodation epitomised that dreary 70s decor, I was a little bit grumpy that evening, but once we had settled in to Hullám Hostel the next day, things started to look up.

Révfülöp is a pleasant small resort town by the lake and from here you can get ferries over to the southern shore, do some fishing or sailing or swim from the club-style lakeside swimming area. From the hostel it was only 5 minutes to walk across the road and over the railway bridge to the lake where there were a number of open air bars and cafes catering for summer holiday visitors.

The Hullám hostel is set in an old building beside the main road that runs down the length of the lake and parallel to the train track that will take you to Budapest in one direction and to the western end of the lake in the other. The old building had obviously been gutted and remodelled to make it into a hostel with white walls and colourful accents of burnt orange and green, with funky murals in the reception area and parts of the exterior, and a proliferation of inexpensive but well designed IKEA style fittings.

We learned later that the hostel was designed by Dora Berkes, a friend of the owners, with bright paintings, murals and tiles throughout. She also designed the Grand Hostel Budapest in similar style and is known for her Raypainting.  Not sure what Raypainting is? Me neither, but I discovered that it’s the painting of well known buildings with projected light paintings, normally for special celebration days. Dora’s online portfolio shows some amazing examples of her Raypaintings from Berlin, Vienna and Budapest.

In the large garden at the back of the hostel, there is a second building with more rooms and I believe some rooms that are suitable for families on the top floor. The garden was a fantastic space to relax, with space for children to run around, a table tennis table that our kids loved using and wooden sculptures and enclosures made from willows bent into shapes, and a hammock under the trees. We also saw a few guests who were camping there in small tents on some nights.

We had specifically asked for a quiet room that was en suite if possible, and our room was perfect – and was worth waiting the extra day until we could get into it. They joked that they were giving us the ‘Presidential suite’ as this was the best room in the house. It was a family room with a double bed and bunk beds with an en suite shower room, although the kids had a separate small room with twin beds next door and used our bathroom. On the same corridor there were other dorm rooms and a girls and boys bathrooms next door to each other.

Bathrooms at Hullam Hostel, Révfülöp by Lake Balaton

Hullam Hostel at Révfülöp at Lake Balaton, Hungary t

The hostel is really designed for warm summer days and only opens in the spring through to autumn, as there is no heating and no indoor sitting room that we saw, but everyone sat in the covered bar area that was open to the road at the front and adjoining the garden at the back. There was a very small kitchen in a wooden lean-to with just a sink and two ring burner, but the hostel got around this by cooking up a one pot stew every evening that almost everyone ate, as it was so delicious and cheap. At weekends, there is often live music in the bar area and for the National Holiday of St Stephen’s day, there was a local jazz band playing all the swingtime favourites.

The best things about the Hullám hostel was the relaxed atmosphere with good humoured and helpful staff who seemed to be a loosely connected group of friends, cousins and extended family of the owners, who would bring their children and babies along with them.  Although most of the guests were an international backbacker crowd in their 20s, there was definitely a very welcoming atmosphere for families too. We had some great chats with Zoli, one of the co-owners and Artur who was working there for the summer season, both of whom spoke excellent English and gave us lots of information about the area. Every evening we sat around in the bar to the sounds of jazz and world music, playing cards and chatting to other travellers from the UK and using the free wifi in the bar area to catch up with things online. The weather in the summer in the area is pleasantly warm, with the odd shower or thunderstorm to cool things down, and so it was great to sit and relax outside, although I suspect that outside the main summer months the lack of an indoor sitting room might have been more of an issue.

Garden at Hullam Hostel, Révfülöp by Lake Balaton

Hullam Hostel, Révfülöp by Lake Balaton

Every day we ate the stew that was cooked up in the big Hungarian cooking pot – one day it was Hungarian goulash, another cabbage and bacon with sour cream, served with slices of bread, and you could go back and help yourself to seconds, all in the price of 1000 HUF ($5, €3.60, £3) a head, which saved us trying to cook.

We had hired a car to drive down from Budapest which takes 2-3 hours, depending on the traffic (the roads around Lake Ballaton area get very busy on summer weekends). The alternative was to reach the hostel by train from Budapest and we met some travellers at the hostel who had done this, although it had taken them the best part of a day to get there. Once at the hostel you could get around by train or bus that went up and down the side of the lake, stopping at other resorts and you could hire bikes at the hostel., to explore the immediate area.

The hostel is well placed for shops and provisions and bang next door there was a wonderful fruit and vegetable shop where we admired the piles of  glossy red and yellow peppers and bought our favourite watermelon.  Then there was a small supermarket, with a wine merchant’s at the front that stayed open into the evening after the main shop had closed. These were literally next door, but 5 minutes up the road there was a slightly larger supermarket and a few other shops

Evening meal at Hullam Hostel, Révfülöp by Lake Balaton

Cooking Hungarian stew at Hullam hostel, Révfülöp

While we were at Hullám Hostel we enjoyed exploring the area on the northern shore of Lake Ballaton, visiting the castle at Szigliget with wonderful views over the lake from the battlements and tried the sour cherry soup in the picturesque village of Salföld with its traditional whitewashed and thatched houses. On another day we wandered around the gardens of the Festetics palace at  Keszthely, tried the coffee and cakes at the marzipan museum and floated around in the waterlilies in the thermal lake at Hévíz. On our last day we decided to bond with the lake and took the ferry across to the resort of Balatonboglar on the other side, where the crowds were out for the fun fair on the national holiday of St Stephen’s day. It was all a bit brash and busy and after a couple of hours we were glad to escape back to the more peaceful northern shore.

We decided that Hullám Hostel was definitely the sort of place where you might arrive for a day or two and end up staying a week – we just loved the style and the atmosphere of the place, and especially the super helpful Zoli and the rest of the crew. If want to visit the Lake Ballaton area or get out of Budapest to relax for a few days, we highly recommend Hullam Hostel as a great place to stay while you explore the area.

Get the info

• Hullám Hostel, Révfülöp, Lake Ballaton, Hungary email: info@balatonhostel.hu
• Prices for private rooms range from $20 per person/night for a 4 person shared room to €45 for a single en suite room. Prices for dorms are €13-17 per person per night (Guide prices from the hostel website)
• The hostel also welcomes group bookings and can arrange guides and transport in the local area.
• The hostel is open from March to October
• Book Hullam Hostel, Lake Ballaton, Hungary with Hostelbookers.com

More tales from Lake Ballaton

Hungarian goulash and other one pot cooking
Thermal springs and rubber rings at Hévíz – in Hungary
Sour cherry soup at Salföld in Hungary

www.flickr.com heatheronhertravels’ Hungary – Hullam Hostel photoset

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Boot slapping, skirt twirling, Hungarian folk dancing – at the Festival of Folk Arts in Budapest – video

On our visit to Budapest in August 2010, we did the usual tourist thing of visiting the main sites of the Castle district and came across the Festival of Folk Arts that’s held in the area around the Buda Royal Palace. The festival is held every year for four days in August around the National holiday of St Stephen’s day on 20 August, when Hungarians commemorate the founding of their nation 1000 years ago.

You can reach the area around the Buda Palace and the Hungarian National Gallery, set on the hill, by crossing the Chain Bridge and then climbing steeply up, or taking the Buda Castle Funicular to the top of the hill. We approached from a different direction , having climbed up the cobbled streets behind Art’otel where we were staying, and admiring the view from the Fisherman’s Bastion and colourful Mátyás Church, before walking along the street that runs along the top of the hill, overlooking the Danube.

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There were a few stalls along the approach to the main festival, but once we reached the wrought iron gates, we paid the entrance fee  to enter the main festival. This Folk festival must be the place to see all the top notch Hungarian crafts and there was everything from beautifully embroidered textiles, to painted eggs, to country style pottery.  There were also dough shapes piped with intricate designs, that I don’t think were designed for eating, although there was plenty that you could eat, including the  Kürtős Kalács that we enjoyed – a sweet dough that is wrapped around a metal cylinder and roasted over the fire then rolled in sugar and cinnamon.

There was also a stage where a succession of folk groups and singers were performing as well as traditional Hungarian dancers with plenty of skirt twirling by the ladies and boot slapping by the men. As a lover of fashion and textiles, I was fascinated by the costumes which varied from floral printed country style dresses, to close fitting velvet jackets and full sprigged skirts with plenty of petticoats under them. The common theme seemed to be that the men were the stars of the dance, with much leaping and boot slapping, while the role of the ladies seemed to be to look demure and dance daintily around their menfolk.

You really couldn’t fault the Festival for location, as we wound our way around the beautiful old palace buildings, now housing the Hungarian National Gallery, with glimpses across the Danube. I admired many of the ceramics and other lovely handicrafts, but I don’t think we actually bought more than a few postcards or small food items, mindful of the fact that we would have to bring it home in our carry on  cases that were already at their weight limit.

Hungarian Folk art festival in Budapest

Hungarian Folk art festival in Budapest

If you’re not visiting in August you can still find many excellent Hungarian souvenirs, such a the painted eggs and embroidered textiles, on the top floor of the Central Market that is devoted to crafts. There was also a section for food stalls, which we found an excellent venue for an inexpensive snack lunch, where we tried the typical Hungarian snack of Langos that’s like a puffy pancake, topped with sour cream and cheese, although there were other toppings too.

Hungarian Folk art festival in Budapest

Royal Palace in Budapest

I’d also recommend the Festival of Folk Arts as a family outing and there were plenty of craft demonstrations going on and we also stopped to watch a childrens’ entertainer on a different stage who had all the children up and dancing to his songs. The cost was 1500HUF (£4.70, €5.50, $7.60) for adults and 500HUF for children under 14 with children under 4 free. I hope you enjoy the boot slapping and skirt twirling and the mournful gypsy violins as we did.

While visiting Budapest we stayed at Art’Otel Budapest

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www.flickr.com  heatheronhertravels’ Budapest – around Budapest photoset

 

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Seek out the Hidden Hot Spots of Berlin

If you want recommendations for lesser known places to see in Berlin, this article from Yuli Linssen Kaminitz will send you to seek out an artist’s warehouse, an abandoned theme park, an inexpensive bus tour to see the sights, not to mention unusual places to stay or find live music and nightlife.

Ever since the famous Berlin wall collapsed, the city has been reborn and changed completely from what it used to be. From a dark, sleepy and unknown destination, Berlin today is one of the trendiest places to visit. The relatively cheap prices, alternative vibe, historical landmarks and the amazing people, all contribute to the immense popularity of Berlin.

Because the city is rather big there are so many things to see and do. Everybody knows that the places where the local go to are the best ones and also the most unknown for tourists. We managed to get some inside tips on the top hidden hot spots:

Kunsthaus Tacheles

It might be very hard to believe, but this super unconventional spot used to be a luxury department store in the past. The place transformed itself a few years ago to an underground display area which showcase art works of very talented and upcoming artists. Local Berliners love to go there and meet the new “starts” in town. The general atmosphere there is relaxed and natural, even if you are not an art lover you can still go there and no one will grudge your lack of knowledge; here everyone is welcome. Visit the Kunsthaus Tacheles website here.

Address: Oranienburger Str. 53 10117

Spreepark

This next hidden hot spot is not only unfamiliar to tourists and some locals; it also has a unique history to it. The “Spreepark” used to be an entertainment park with many visitors during the years, nearly two millions per year, to be exact. Unfortunately, the park’s theme was changed and with that the visits from the general public dropped off. After few years of decline, the park finally got closed. Even though the park was no longer open, the attractions that so many people loved remain there. The place became sort of an urban myth and people from all over the world travelled there in order to see what it was all about. Although the park is closed to visitors, you may be able to get access to look around and there are sometimes guided tours, check out the website for more information.

Address: Kiehnwerderallee 1-3 D-12437

Propeller Island City Lodge

Bizarre, amazing, shocking and funny will be your first thoughts when you arrive to this mind blowing hotel. After one look, you will quickly understand this is not just a simple hotel; this is a piece of art! Created and designed by extraordinary artist, Lars Stroschen this location is worth a visit even if you didn’t plan to stay overnight. Each room here has a different vision to it: some rooms embody a far away reality or a fantasy of the designer, some look like they were taken from a scene in a horror film and some are just so crazy that you will never understand how a person can think of such an insane idea. “Mirrors room”, “Flying bed room” and “Upside down room” are just some of the available themes. Check out their website here.

Address: Albrecht-Achilles-Strabe 58 10709

Number 100 public bus line

This might not be a hidden attraction, but you can be certain it’s a top tip! Instead of exploring the city like the rest of the tourists, (usually using the expensive tourist buses) why not taking advantage of the extremely organized German public transport? Bus line 100 will take you on the complete route through the most important landmarks in Berlin. This bus is normally used by locals but it happens to be also a very useful and cheap solution for visitors. In order to learn more about the bus route, please click here.

Cassiopeia club

This night club is highly recommended by locals. Aside from good music, (every night different tunes) friendly people, welcoming atmosphere and relatively cheap beverages, there are some extra factors that make this place stand out in the vibrant Berlin’s nightlife: a climbing wall in the backyard, (don’t try it if your drunk!) a small movie theatre for those who tire of dancing, crazy theme parties and many more treats. For more info, visit their official website.

Address: Revaler Strasse 99, Tor II, 10245

Thanks for this sponsored post to EasyToBook.com and to guest writer Yuli Linssen Kaminitz for an inside track on some of the lesser known things to see and do in Berlin.  To get the best prices and book your  hotel in Berlin visit EasyToBook.com today!

Photo credits: Kusthaus Tacheles by Heatheronhertravels, Spreepark by Ani!, Flying Bed from Propeller Island Website, Cassiopeia Club by Landii

More cool things to see in Berlin

Inspired by the Anne Frank Museum in Berlin
White Trash Fast Food and meeting the bloggers in Berlin
A Cool street-art hang-out at Kunsthaus Tacheles

This article is originally published at Heatheronhertravels.com – Read more travel articles at Travel Blog Home

You’ll also find our sister blog with tips on how to build a successful travel blog at My Blogging Journey

Don’t miss out – subscribe to Heather on her travels

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