Welcome to HUNGARY
... still zick zack around ...
4th June - 7th June | 2022
This morning I was really good: all packed up on the bike within 2 hours! Today I wanted to see the deserted soviet military places north of Balaton. So it will be a long day driving in the heat. One would be thinking I am used to the heat, but here it is also really humid; but as long as you are driving it is ok bearable.
However, it was interesting to see the old leftovers but to wander around the "lost places" I would have to leave my bike alone. I guess here in Hungary not a problem, but there is always a chance and due to the high bushes I wouldn’t be able even to check it from distance occasionally.
After a crappy lunch I went on to the south of Balaton as I found an interesting place through a new app I found: Caravanya. I went to the GPS dates and ended up at a graveyard! I checked the app again and I found an address which was just one of the houses down the road. The owner, once they found one in the family who speaks English, scratched his head as he didn’t know what that is, conclusion: a fake! Yes, you get in touch with lots of people, but unfortunately, they are dead as the GPS coordinates are on the graveyard! He recommended a small hotel in the next village that also offers camping. So off I go, back 10km. The hotel doesn’t do tents, just the camping down the road. The room would be €15/night, but fully booked. So off to the camping and it was one of these massive touristic ones. No way I am going to camp here!
So back to the roots and using iOverlander took me to a lovely family camping place, 25km away! So finally after 350km in the humid heat of the day, I had a place to pitch up my tent before the rain - HURRAY! Thank you Debbie and Mark from "hungariancountrycamping.com". Such a lovely, quiet camping space! And I slept like a log during the thunderstorm!
The next morning blue sky, hot and humid again. Today it is only a short distance to Pécs, where I will meet Peter and his wife Eszter, which I met over 30 years ago during a school exchange! I am really curious!! Now travelling solo I get more talking to people so I was a bit behind on the blog preparation. As it was only a short distance to Pécs, I did the necessary work, whilst chatting with Debbie and Mark.
Around lunchtime, I was then on the way to Pécs, only 60km away. It was so nice to see them both after such a long time! At their house, I also met their lovely daughters Timea and Domenica, and of course Bobby, the family dog. Bobby reminded me of his behaviour so much to my little devil Frieda; who is now happy as at least James returned home safely. We had a lovely evening talking about the past, the current travel, their life, etc.
The next morning, bank holiday here, we all took it easy. We went up to TV Torony, the tallest building in Hungary. It was very windy and cold up there, but you have a fantastic panoramic view. There you can see how green Pécs is.
Then we went downtown to Pécs, where we spend lots of time during our school exchange! It was so great to see the rebuilt Szechenyi tér, but I could remember it all. It really has changed a lot, no traffic at all now! Of course, we also walked down to the school, that is still in use as a school. That was all really fantastic to see after such a long time, and it feels like in another life!
For the rest of the afternoon, we took it easy at home by talking, eating, talking and more talking.
The next morning, Eszter and Peter had to leave very early to work, so I got up to say goodbye and Köszönöm! Hopefully, it will be not again over 30years before we will meet again! The plan is to have a little school meeting in the summer of 2024 in the Algarve, Portugal! Finger crossed we will get that organized!
Later that morning I left Pécs in the direction of Mohács to cross over the Danube river by ferry boat. In Mohács I tried to get a SIM card for the internet. What an odyssey here in Hungaria! I left my bike in front of a cafe shop and the owner kindly promised to keep an eye on Schimmelchen, so I could do it all by walking within walking distance.
First I queued up at a Telekom shop and nearly had the card until the girl realised I have no Hungarian residency! Oh, something new! So on the way back to my bike, I asked at the Vodafone shop and they send me to the post office. After finding someone german-speaking in the back office, they tried to sell me a Telekom card. I asked them if I need a Hungarian residency and they said I just need to activate it. Hallo, I am not speaking Hungarian, so I persuaded this lady that one of her staff has to do it. She was and was not very helpful! Finally, a lovely lady from Germany, born in Hungary, helped me and volunteered.
Obviously, for the activation, we had to do that at the Telekom shop; so back again. In the end, Judit (1000 DANK nach Esslingen für die wertvolle Zeit, die Du geopfert hast, um mir zu helfen!) had to register the card in her name. We managed to activate it, but when I wanted to top it up, the guy in the shop said, I still have to wait until I will get the card activated; I should get an SMS and then 24 hrs later I can top the card up. Just for information: by the end of the day, the internet is still not working! Sounds like, Telekom will get a visit tomorrow!
After that, I finally could continue my journey towards Kecskemét, where I stay in a hotel as I have got tickets for tomorrow morning to see a horse show in the Puszta! Another dream will finally come true!!
Stay tuned for the next blog about the horseshow and how long it takes me to get to Dracula in Romania!
And SORRY for lots of text, but some of you might be interested in the problems or troubles one can get whilst travel, but you cannot take pictures of it ...
Places | Cities:
Öriszentpeter, Heviz, Tapolca, Veszprem, Hajmasker, Varpalota, Balatonvilagos, Balatonföldvar, Koppányszántó, Pécs, Mohács, Baja, Hajos, Kecel, Izsák, Kecskemét.
Driven km | Trip:
Total | Steffi: 14015 km
Maintenance | Breakdown:
./.
Health issues:
./.
Special thanks to:
Debbie and Mark of "hungariancountrycamping.com" to look after me so well.
Peter and Eszter for their 5***** service
Judit to help me with Telekom HU / SIM card