Day Sixteen

DAY SIXTEEN

The day started out on a fairly relaxed note with us up and about after 7am. Kurt cooked up a tasty breakfast and after all our morning routines were taken care of we were out on the road by 9am. Our campsite was 15 minutes from the Hungarian border so we only had a short time to contemplate whether we’d have to go through our first border post or not. Kurt had to go through border controls in 2002 during his last trip to the country so it was with some surprise that we found the border open. Not only that but the new highway system in Slovenia stretched welcomingly on towards Budapest 290 km to the north. Most of the road stretches had been built in 2005/2006 – a great improvement on the roads Kurt previously travelled on. Like most of the other countries we had to buy a vignette, a tax for using their road system. To do this we stopped of at a hotel and enjoyed a cappuccino at the same time.

The weather was pretty foul the whole day with snow falling intermittently throughout. The new highway although in excellent condition had only two out of three lanes working due to serious icing of the far lane. This was unusual given that all the other northern countries permanently keep their highways clear of ice. Most of our trip passed snow covered agricultural land with the odd town and city. The signs of a recent communist past are obvious in the endlessly similar houses one sees on the way. Unlike Slovenia all are the same colour and mostly the same design. Eighties cars also aren’t that uncommon on the roads, although there are plenty of newer models around too.

We had some trouble finding an open campsite around Budapest, having to travel to three closed camps before finally finding this one. While this took about two hours it did give us an opportunity to get a good look at the city. Ultra modern construction competes everywhere with bland dilapidated communist era buildings. While the government is clearly trying hard to modernize the country for entry to the EU, the nation’s size is clearly a huge drawback to progress.

The camp site we eventually found is nestled into a small valley in the hills above Budapest, once having been a small tram station in the years passed. It turns out to be the most expensive camp site yet, the only real benefit being the ‘free’ internet they provide here. One curiosity is that the shower building is located on the other side of a small ice skating rink – apart from wading through three feet of snow we’ll have to risk the crossing if we’re going to get a wash. Now I understand that Europeans generally only bath once a week in winter, but to make your guests walk across an ice rink? Crazy..

We’ve just enjoyed a Hungarian soup and a Beef goulash for dinner which were VERY filling. A movie is to follow and tomorrow we’re planning to take in the castle and probably a museum. Interestingly the ‘heroes park’ has now been renamed ‘Memento park – a reminder of the previous communist dictatorship’. No fond memories here. Apparently in 1953 there was an attempted rebellion against the Soviets but it was ruthlessly put down.