Leg 07 - Hungary

Just in case you haven't noticed, this is not quite your standard blog as I'm organising it into legs.  So within a leg, the entries are chronological.  The legs, as seperate posts, come up in reverse chronological order as per a normal blog.  The header date for the post does not therefore represent the latest addition as most entries are edits of a previously dated post.  That's why I put a date against each day in a post, as follows.  All this allows me to update and manage the show, ie fill in the gaps.  Thanks Jayne for that note.

27 Nov 09 (cont)

Nevertheless, the change as soon as we crossed into Hungary was marked. A wealthier and prouder country – our immediate sense is of a more Western country; cleaner and tidier than Romania. The language is harder tho’ as it is not Latin based at all – it has bits of Swedish and Asian languages. Don’t know enough about languages to give you the roots of it – teachers sign language is fairly international tho’.  Afternote: Apparently Finnish (not Swedish) and as we got more used to it there seemed to be an Italian flavour to it as well.

Out into Eger this evening, too late to see any in daylight – our 1st Christmas market was on show and, most importantly our 1st gluhwein. Also our first real rain, so waterprofs out at last; appropiately you may say for a Christmas market, we felt the cold for the first time.  The most significant buildings had some illumination, but we have yet to see a town make the most of itself with night illumination. Most before here, sadly lacking any. It must be linked with the idea of customer service – as in Bulgaria, where the idea of serving a customer was alien, their shop displays were just piles of stuff in a window and their buildings were not lit – presumably the “communist” way of doing business. Hungary is a pleasant change and so much more Western focussed. Eger was fairly quiet, way out of season, and we had our 1st real rain tonight, following some afternoon fog – must get the waterproofs out. It seems pretty and we’ll explore the castle tomorrow before we set off for Lake Balaton. Another mark of Hungary’s international outlook – changed those Bulgarian lira we’d been carrying.

Despite our hotel’s claimed wifi it is not effective in our room so this blog will be yet another day behind.

28 Nov 09
 

We woke to a cold, damp, overcast day with a thick mist and stil trying to rain.  A good wander around the town - confident that we'll get to Lake Balaton later today without difficulty as it's nearly all motorway cruising.  Retrospectively, checked that Eger was where daughter Melanie used to come on her own to advise a local steel mill on HR matters.  Don't think she took time out to sight see - pity as we enjoyed the wander about and crawl over the castle ruins.  Like many of the towns we have visited, Eger has an excellent museum - it's just that museums more than the real artifacts and buidlings 'in the wild' tend to be of a muchness and lose impact when all seen together.  We're struggling enough seperating the towns and cities, but thanks to this blog I'm helped to reinforce my memories and think about where we've been.

 

Set-off for Lake Balaton - the largest lake in mainland Europe and Hungary's playground, tho' out of season now.  Mostly a steady cruise, but that suspect wheel bearing (suspect since Syria) was noisier at the end of the long run - just slightly concerned, tho' we have driven across Western Europe before with a badly failed bearing.  Looks like the rear left as that is a little warmer than the other hubs.  Bearing failures are a pig (can I use that word now?) to identify: there is no obvious looseness; the rythmic rubbing/tyre noise sound reveberates around the car body, so the particular wheel can't be identified and the sound comes and goes.  They tend to be noisier when on the inside of a turn and there is less weight on the suspect wheel. So now you can all identify one, eh ... I'd trust a garage!  On the plus side the the variable nature of the slow puncture (same wheel, since Turkey) is varying to the particularly slow side at the moment.  Still, considering having both looked at in Budapest; with all the stuff in the truck it'll be a time waste as we'll probably have to stay and watch the job. 

 

More interesting matters, Lake Balaton - flat, well of course, but so is the surrounding area except for a few interesting hillocks on the north side.  The sky had cleared progressively and we enjoyed a superb sunset again and super views over the lake, tho' our chosen town of Keszthely was disappointing - got all the old buildings and stuff alright, but - despite their own PR and the LP claims - it was like Blackpool and St Annes-on-Sea off-season - dead.  We arrived with an hour of daylight to play with, but after driving around the outside of the town and not finding our Pension for the night it was almost dark when we did find it.  The worst accom we've had so far - communist era mattresses (at least 20 years old), thought the bed would collapse from all the creaking whenever we moved, hit the pillow and a cloud of asthmatic dust came out of the Hapsburg era foam rubber lumps (did the Hapsburgs have foam rubber(?), they'd have been better off without this stuff), the sheets were too short for the bed and the towels were time-expired ... otherwise a lovely spot except for the lack of heating and no water from the shower in the morning ...  Refused to pay the agreed price in the morning, perhaps not surpisingly a reduction was quickly agreed!  A Trip Advisor entry will be coming their way.  One point of note - had the 'Country Goulash' in the 'pub' last night and the flavours of naturally pruduced food were fantastic - good meat, crisp veg and the best sauerkraut I've ever tasted.

 

29 Nov 09
 

A speedy deparure from this western end of the lake having checked out the internet cafe where we bought  the card last night (non in the pension!), useless as it connects but doesn't give the web connection(!), in hindsight could be a use once card; checked out the local castle/stately home and (for me) the Marzipan Museum (damn, it's closed). Completed the circuit of the lake (a mere 100 miles) - most interesting and cared for towns were towards the eastern end.  Plenty of cycling and walking routes, so should be good in season.

Back on the motorway and off to Budapest.  This has been an aiming point that has kept a little girl with me sane and focussed on our travels.  She will also have a rather significant birthday while we are in the city ...

30 Nov 09

No driving for 3 days hurrah.  It had been heavy rain over night and is still raining.  Off to catch a bus, they stop right outside our hotel which is just a 100 m from the Fisherman's Bastion where all the great view pics are taken looking down on the Pest half of the city.  Post Office for the bus tickets, unusually not the friendliest lady, but it is Monday moning and she seems to be doing the monthly return ...  She's certainly not serving us.  Afer a few days on the road, first stop is a doby (washing for the uninitiated) place reputed to be at the end of the bus line.  A couple of older people are v helpful and we eventually find it - launderette translates to something like "dobrit dira", but that didn't work anyway!  Then someone's eyes light up (despite awful cold) as we're off to the local equivalent of "5th Avenue".  Thanks LP, you got that wrong - the first 300 m of the 2 km road we went to wrong end of had some posh shops.  Anyway. looked around Hero's Square, did a Christmas market (well the gluhwein bit of it), saw some shops (nothing outstanding) and had a great posh lunch.  Ambled back to hotel to chill for an hour and now getting ready for concert in the Opera House - a stunning building ... bye.

The only Opera Housr show that suited our timing was a "jazz/opera fusion" - sounds whacky but worked okay as it was essentially a range of jazz styles with a limited number of songs and some modern ballet.  I liked the improvisation, but Chris was less enamoured.  The best part was being in the stunning Opera House while in use, rather than just buying into the stagnant atmosphere of a guided tour. The big shows (Tannhauser was on on the night of our arrival and another oera on our last night) get booked up early both by locals and all the tour operators.  We were happy with our arrangement.  With doing B and B everywhere we (oops, I) tend to have a large breakfast, we have a late morning coffee and cake and then a late afternoon / early evening meal and often early to bed.  So for evening peformnces we will eat beforehand, this just allows say a drink on our return at the end of the evening ... and so it was on this night, as tomorrow is an important day.

1 Dec 09

The birthday girl has a good lie in and today will be chilled in that we will, more than normal, just take the day as it comes.  I have no big presents here for her as we hoped to find something unusual enroute and that has not materialised.  Cards and stuff we normally keep for the evening and when we returned to our hotel last night we dropped in at the Hlton which is 100 m away across our square and booked a window table for dinner in their posh new restaurant.  The position is to die for as it is next to the Fisherman's Bastion.  Daughter Melanie had been giving me rocks for not spoiling my lady with a posh 5* hotel - all with the best of intentions, for Mummy to have a great day.  The way we travel that is rather a waste tho'.  We both resent paying for the upkeep of the swimming pool, sauna, jacuzzi and terrace restaurant etc in a posh hotel when we arrive about 7 in the evening; go out to a bar to eat as we do not need a particularly large meal before sleeping; retire to www and sleep in a dark room; up/shower/breakfast and out to see the sights or move on.  The 5* is meaningless - we are a bit inclined to the US Motel 7 chain motto: "who cares what the room is like when the lights are out".  Well perhaps that's a bit extreme, but you see where we're at.  So, back to Budapest and 'our' birthday, the Burg Hotel was quite ordinary, the staff we're brilliant, good English and helpful and the position was to die for with free street parking outside the front door (important as we are are not that secure on the roofrack).  Staying in the castle walls, we had walked around the castle area on our arrival night and seen all the brilliantly lit sights, so today was off to see the Parliament building and do some shopping ... errm, in the rain again.

We had one of the best guides we can remember around the Parliament, 3rd largest such buildling if I remember correctly, after the Romanian and UK ones.  It is a stunning buliding and well looked after.  It runs on Western lines, but only has 1 house surpisingly.  There are some checks and balances tho' not as strong as a 2 house/chamber system.  They do have a long tradition of rights for the people, so communism must not have sat comfortably with the people at all; their equivalent of our Magna Carta is an only slightly younger document and for the Americans amongst my readers, he enjoyed pointing out that they stopped burning witches several hundred years before the US, who I think he quoted as burning their last in 1632.

Now don't laugh too loudly: this was followed with a bit of shopping.  Would we find the present to remember for the birthday girl - no, but we found a watch for me ...
I did so want to surpirse her tho' so - following an article in the local news, we went for H1N1 injections ... certainly surprised her there.  Yes, apparently more virilant than expected, Hungary had bought in enough for the whole population, so as EU members we went for it.  A little premature - the government supplies weren't out and the free for the over 60s(!) weren't yet available -so we both paid at a private clinic.  What service, done in half an hour with personal advice from the doctor who introduced herself and shook hands, all for £10 each - a bargain.  Wake up UK.  That's one less concern travelling Europe.

Back for a pre-dinner drink and off to the Hilton - superb, service and food, a cracking view and a live pianist ... I won on that one.  An able player; Summertime is difficult; Take Five is even harder; he volunteered the second and we requested the first.

2 Dec 09

We remain a day ahead of our itinerary and had an extra day in Budapest.  Today is a take it as it comes day and as we had 2 days of rain in B'pest it is pleasant to enjoy some blue sky with just a bit of overcast., tho' some mist  An early walk along the Fisherman's Bastion for me before we pack and depart.  The parking was well organised on castle hill - as staying we qualified for a parking ticket which was validated by the hotel.  On deparure we stick this in the machine and away - which machine will that be, oh the one in the other lane.  Have seen another car coming behind, but he's already gone to the other machine, saw him turn - smack.  Oh, so he has changed his mind to our lane and is hidding in my rear quarter, way below the line of vision.  My fault (reversing car) but what a slow prat he was, couldn't have hidden himself better if he was trying.  Must also have been v close as I do nothing quickly in this truck as the vision is terrible.  Thankfully only a crack in a bumper light - new one I fitted in Kuwait for the rear-fog lights which are required in Europe, but all still work.  And he was in the wrong lane anyway!  One of the few points of minor annoyance in Hungary - generally an aware people and a well run country.

We'd seen a Tesco sign as soon as we crossed the border (impressed) and had wanted to drop in just to compare with the UK (you understand (!), also have Ikea and C and A the German chain); this morning we went out of our way to find one - big with a similar layout to a UK Tesco hypermarket, no petrol station (tho' later ones we saw did have - they are all over Hungary).  We chose some local wines for Christmas and a tube of superglue to fix that light lens before the water gets in.  Found a knive blade scrapper as well - why you may ask.  In Kuwait because of the sand blasting that cars get, it is common to cover lights at the front with fablon (adhesive plastic film) to protect them.  Windscreens akso get pitted very quickly, but they are less imporatant as they get broken, chipped and replaced frequently.  Ourt truck's screen has 3 stone chips and a crack which will all go when we replace the screen.  The fablon on the lights tho' has baked on in Kuwait's sun and is now a rigid, hard plastic film bonded to the lights.  This diffuses the light and has turned brown, so our lights are annoying and not very effective.  They will never pass the EU assessment and may need to be replaced, but I just want to have a go at scrapping off the film in case I can save the £250 that new lights will probably cost; it won't be easy as the lens are plastic as well and will want to be scrapped off at the same time!  Where was I, shopping in Tesco - it was successful.

Whenever I have used face masks I have found them to be ineffectual with all the breathed air coming around the side, so it was no surprise when the UK declared that they were of no effect against the swine flue virus ...  Our Budapest doctor advised strongly to wear a mask and we could buy them next door.  The reasoning was that once we were injected our immune systems would be weakened for a couple of weeks while it acted.  We were therefore more susceptible to picking up germs etc, especially when in crowded places.  We decided the Hilton for the birthday meal was not a crowded place and the vaccine would not have taken effect by then - but Tescos ...  We did get the attention for wearing them there - stared at, just as we stare at other such numpties ....

It was midday before we escaped the clutches of B'pest and were off up the Danube to see the 'Bend Towns'.  The bend towns, on a bend in the river, are known for an easy day out from the capital, but as they are in the direction we are travelling we'd left our arrangements open.  I was not convinced that they would be as unique as LP suggested and that was indeed the case.  Szentendre is a pretty town.  It's off-season of course so few people around and many outlets closed; we enjoyed the town and a light lunch overlooking a Danube tributary.  Then we pressed: a castle was given a miss (just been staying in a rather grand one) and on to Esztergom the seat of power for a while in Hungary.  Their 1st king, St Stephen crowned there and very much the point of pigrimmage for Hungarians.  There is a huge church, but little decoration to it, so not fantastically impressive; panoramic views over the Danube were there to be enjoyed.  We twice hit lucky: it was one of the clearest (but cold) days we've had and with an organised visit that had the organist on hand - may not be especially well decorated, but I would like to here a royal fanfare entrance here - a strunningly loud organ with more trumpets than a recall seeing for a long time.

Time for an assessment - we look like being 2 days ahead of plan and with a choice of routes to cross the border to Bucharest.  The more direct to Bucharest was a bit too long to arrive comfortably to find accommodation in a capital city.  Plan B via Sopron and to cross the border via Austria to Bucharest tomorrow was the favourite.  What a delightful town Sopron turned out to be, except it was bitterly cold.  The truck also developed an annoying warning beep whenever I started it!  No warning lights tho'.  Often referred to as little Prague, Sopron nestles up in the NW corner of Hungary; another circular town within its old walls the pedestrianised area is a delight to wander around.  This was capped with a good quality hotel - shame we didn't have time to explore the 400 year old wine cellar.  The hotel was a mere youth at 300 years old.  Having decided it was a one nighter (yet again), we had time to walk about in the evening and following morning but no time to linger.  Yes, enjoying the quality beverages as we travel is not easy; all the European countries (except Bulgaria) we have passed thro'so far have a zero tolerance attitude to drinking and driving (only marginally better than the Middle East some would say) and this will continue until Germany.  This only leaves the short evenings to sample the produce - best I press-on then ... The produce is steadily improving as we progress.

3 Dec 09

Early breakfast as have limited time - have to load parking machine from 0800 for the max of 3 hrs.  Town walk and away.  It is low cloud, even on the church spires - an awful, cold, gray day and poor for viewing anything.  That annoying beep still there on start-up - that will be the below 3 degrees ice warning then - it is cold.  Worked that out while also working out how to reset the truck's clock - another Mitsubishi idiosyncrasy.  Had to ask the time in back in Eger castle - that was why no-one else was in breakfast that morning then ...  Two hrs is enough,off to the Austrian border.  Not as easy as you might think for what should be a 50 mile shortcut.  Is Austria in the EU; can't remember, it is 15 years since we were there; will we have the Green Card faff again - we have no info 'cos it was not in the primary plan and our E Europe LP doesn't cover it.  www tells us it is EU, so no significant border checks expected.  Does it have a motorway tax, yes we think so, but don't want to pay that for just 20 miles of motorway.  So finally, no Green Card faff, but a bit of a faff to avoid the motorways which are tolled/taxed.  It is so gray and we climb to all of 800ft altitude which nearly puts us in cloud, that Austria is not worth lingering in for any sights, there are no sights to be seen.  What does smack us in the face is the clean tidy and wealthy appearance which we had forgotten.  Shame it only lasted 50 miles ...

Apologies for all those of you who were content that we were doing 13 countries and had remembered all the flags - this will make it 14 ...