Delayed post today as no Internet in room so filling this out as I have breaky. Photos not here either as connection not strong enough to upload – so if you’re skimming for photos perhaps wait ’til tomorrow.
Distance travelled: we stopped counting at 55- bike computer switched off – but the last 5 were round in circles so probably don’t count!
If today was about character building – our characters will be as big as Texas!
Headed off to Hungary today – over what the Brats.avians call the UFO bridge (for reasons obvious when you see it) and straight down the Danube. We aren’t quite sure exactly where we crossed the border (as border crossings have now been removed), but at some stage (about 20 km down the track – little banks -for currency exchange started popping up – Hungary has their own currency as they are not part of the EU – we went in with 100 Euro & came out rich!! 300 Florens to the Euro.
Today was a day of many little (and some not so little) challenges:
Challenge 1: how to find restrooms when it is raining, restaurants & cafes are closed and there are no obvious public buildings…. Lets just say that there is a bush behind this little church that will bloom a bit brighter this year.
Challenge 2:changing tyre under cover of minute bus shelter – actually this was challenge 2c- 2a: walking the 2km back to town in search of a bike shop (no luck); 2b: getting on to our luggage taxi man, who fortunately hadn’t yet gone past us, and organising for him to meet us at said bus shelter with our spare tyre (which we had inadvertently left in our suitcase!!!). Lessons learnt? Other than the obvious… It’s better to change the tyre ina bus shelter AFTER the bus has left.
Challenge 3: carrying the new spare tyre once we found a village that DID have a bike shop – ended up carrying it round my waist like a hula hoop (for about 25km)- quite a vision I assure you!
Challenges 4 to infinity: Navigating our way in and out of large Hungarian towns – streets don’t seem to have labels – or if they do we are looking in the wrong place – furthermore Most Hungarians (or at least those out walking in the rain) have little English and we have NO Hungarian – despite their best intentions this made getting directions near on impossible. We have now worked out that banks and service stations are the two businesses most likely to have English speaking staff.
Well you know what they say..what doesn’t kill you..and all that jazz. David now plotting out our route for tomorrow in infinite detail….so if there are no further blog entries you will know we are lost in the wilds of Hungary – but having a great time (or at least we think we are after a hot shower, a feed and 8 hour sleep)!
And here are the pics…
