Getting out of town in the winter is essential, especially during the January-February doldrums. People do not think of frozen Balaton as such a destination, but it is quite pretty and quiet in winter. I was lucky enough to get an invitaion from friends Akos and Nori last weekend to go down to Balatonalmadi. The weekend involved some alcohol, reading, movie watching, and lots of food and fresh air. Friendly service, huge portions (they are willing to make you half-portions), and reasonable prices (1000 huf for a main dish) make the Porcio the family favorite for food in Almadi. I had a very good turkey in potato batter with potatoes. Besides watching the news about the protests in Egypt, Tunisia and Jordan, we also watched the quite funny Will Ferrell movie Blades of Glory. Saturday we went on a beautiful, sunny 2-hour hike (probably could have been 1-hour but our group kept stopping to eat rosehips ;-) ) near Almadi through a valley with a half-frozen babbling brook, then up and along a low ridge. On Sunday we took a very short hike up to the Csere-hegy Kilato.