Summer invasion 2

The summer continues with even more guests. They range from the small but very mobile, via his parents, to his 'wicked' uncle and the Daughter-in-Law Elect.

Despite what you read on the Met Office site, it did not rain continuously, was not cold and did not involve huddling in corners on frozen beaches wondering whether it might be a degree warmer.

It did involve lots of tractors, diggers, visitor attractions and - two new discoveries for one member of the party  - ice creams and blackberries.

New boat?

Rumours that we have bought a new boat are unfounded.

Summer invasion 1

The summer invasion starts with some young people who have real personalities and lots of charm, doing the sorts of things children do in Cornwall. See below or here.

Cycling the Danube

Two old folks who should know better have done it again. This year's activity holiday took us by bicycle from the banks of the Donau in Vienna and the Dunai in Bratislava to the Moson Duna and then Duna in Budapest. Some 413km (258 miles) according to the on-bike odometers.

The going, much of it along the tops of flood defence dykes, was not what one could call hilly: it made Norfolk look mountainous and was ideal for people who just wanted to ride, look into others' gardens, stop and admire the scenery, visit spas and breathe. You had to like a scenery of sunflowers, sweetcorn and wheat. The sweetcorn harvest made the Hungarian national news but in what context we could not quite translate.

We started with a day in Vienna, visiting the old city, the Mozart house, the Kunsthistoriches Museum to admire half the 5thC Szilágysomlyó gold and generally admiring the Secessionist architecture. Then we set off. In summary:

• Day 1: we followed the river to Petronel-Carnuntum, where a roman villa or two have been artfully reconstructed and where gladiators were playing in an amphitheatre
• Day 2: through Hainburg and into Slovakia for lunch with chums in Bratislava; then on to Halaszi in Hungary, following the Moson Duna leg of the river
• Day 3: a brief stop for some health-giving relaxation at the Lipot spa (36 - 38 degrees of sheer bliss) and on to the town of Gyor
• Day 4: mostly along roads to Tata, a charming small historic town set beside a lake where we walked around a lake in the 'English Park'
• Day 5: an early train ride to Komarno in Slovakia to rejoin the main river and then along the north bank to Sturovo where we crossed back into Hungary and stayed the night at Esztergom with its over-large late 19thC basilica
• Day 6: the final leg using three ferries, down round the Danube bend and between some hills until we emerged in the Great Hungarian Plain and greeted Buda and Pest. Yippee!

A full day in Budapest allowed us to visit the Szechenyi spa to soothe our limbs, visit the National Museum to see the other half of the Szilágysomlyó treasure, cross the 'Marlow' chain bridge to Buda castle and Palace and have a final goulash before flying home.

There is more about the treasure on the Kunsthistorisches site and our pictures are on Picasa.