People are constantly worried about their age these days. You could say it has always been that way, but what can I say? In any case, lakes don't have parents, so I can't ask mine how old I am either. some say I’m 18,000 years old. That’s quite a while, and in that time, I've had many different names, but nowadays most people call me Lake Balaton, or even ‘the Balcsi’, especially the children who play on my beach, which is why I really love that name. There is a tradition of people calling me the ‘Hungarian sea’, even though water in the sea is salty, while mine is sweet. It is true that strong winds can stir me up so much that my waves) sometimes even wash out of my bed. Perhaps it was waves like that which inspired the poet Ádám Pálóczi Horváth to first call me by this name. However, I spend most of my days in calm contemplation. I watch the grapes grow on my north side, which are then used to make famous wines. In the summer, the swimmers and the sailing boats plough through my waves, and of course I cheer for the competitors of the Balaton crossing.