After leaving Austria we headed into Hungary, we drove through an old border post reminicent of the cold war. The road we took was not a main highway so it was the back country road that we encountered. These were not in the best of condition, a patchwork of bitument and road narrow and undulating. Still the countryside was lush and green with pockets of forest so much nicer to look at and as we were in no hurry we were happy to take our time. We eventually joined the main highway for a while where we found a Macca’s and decided to stop, use their loo and check if they had wifi internet. Yaa, they did and we spent the next 2 hours there, had our lunch and was able to talk to family in Australia. One thing about being on the road in a foreign country is that you feel very disconnected with everything, we haven”t seen the news for 6 weeks and the only newspapers have been in Dutch or German. Ewout has been able to read the Dutch and sometimes understand a bit of the German. But still this not news of home and so the internet when we find it is a bit of a God send which enables us to feel more connected. Even though I find facebook a bit crap, it has been great to connect with people home and find out snippets of information about their goings-on.

So back to the blog: We got back on the road and headed back north towards the Danube, the campsite books we have don’t have much in Hungary so we thought we would try what we had. Well, that was a dud, no campsite at that place so we tried another co-ordinate and that was another 1 hr away, but as the weather was cold and windy thought we had nothing better to do. Funny thing is that we programmed it with the shortest distance and it took us over the river to Slovakia and then back into Hungary. Nice scenery though, farms, small villages and countryside, very pleasant. When we drove over the bridge we found we were not in a small village but a very large town. The town was called Esztergon and it was the first capital of Hungary. We found a campsite quite close to the river and town and decided this would be it. It We walked to the centre of town, but because was getting late it was quite deserted. We walked through some back streets that were quite run down and decided that tomorrow would be a better time to have a look.

The next morning we woke up to a bright and sunny day and rode our bikes into town. What a difference, the town was quite busy and there was a market set up in the middle of town. We walked through the crowds amongst the stalls filled with all sorts vegetables, clothing, all sorts of things and Ewout even bought a shirt. We stopped and bought some fresh strudel, 1 piece of cherry and 1 apple to have for our afternoon tea. (It was delicious) then we headed up the hill to visit the large Basilica that looks out over the Danube and town. This we found to be very interesting. Not as gaudy as others we have seen. The view over the town and river was great as well so well worth the clilmb.

We had a quick lunch back at camp and decided it might be a good idea to head straight to Budapest and find someplace to stay for a few days. The road to Budapest was a bit slow going,encountered a lot of traffic and there was a considerable hold up. It went in and out of towns and there was road works in some places but we finally reached Budapest in the late afternoon only to find the GPS co -ordinates were incorrect. We apparently haven’t been the only ones this has happened to. Driving in the peak hour traffic was not so pleasant in the big camper so we pulled off into a citypark for a break and a coffee. While we were there decided to consult our other book and found that when we entered it into Tom Tom it was only a couple of kms away. Sounded good to us so we decided that was the easiest. Good thing too, it is pretty good, close to town, one fee for everything. We even have unlimited free wireless internet so are making use of it as much as possible. .
We had some really nice dutch neighbours who were really welcoming offering us a drink and a chat, before we had even set up. Funny thing is sometimes when things haven’t gone to plan we have have some very nice surprises. Things we weren’t expecting to see or meeting some people or finding a beautiful place, so we are learning it is better to go with the flow and just let things happen.
Today we will head off on our bikes to see what the city has to offer, we don’t know much about it yet so it will be a nice surprise. The bikes have been a wonderful bonus, we can get around a lot easier and quicker and we see so much more. I especially like the ability to explore some of the out of the way places, the area’s where people live and the backstreets. I think this is good way to really get the feel of the place and you see some amazing things. (some things not so nice, but that is the real stuff) So far we have not had any real trouble, people have been helpful and even with some limited english have been able to communicate. The weather also has not been much of a problem, the days we have had rain has mainly been days when we were in transit so no real problem and also have been a good opportunity to have a rest, read and just chill out for a while. ( a bit of an enforced break from sightseeing) I am hoping as we get further south that there will be more opportunities to just sit and chill by a lake or beach and not be on the go.