A week into Romania and we only realised that the clock had to be put forward another hour! Having trouble with time/date orientation alot, so lets hope nobody decides to perform a mini mental assessment on us.
We are currently in Transylvania, readying ourselves for a trek into the biggest peaks of the Carpathian Mountains. Hoping the weather gets a little cooler up at 2000 metres. Romania seems to be having a heatwave at the moment, so it can be tough going!! Funny to be complaining about too much sun, when we hear how it is the opposite a little west of us in the British Isles.
Internet resources are scant, so fuller details of our adventures will have to wait till times are more plentyful.
Friday 20 July 2007
Monday 9 July 2007
No photos today
Sorry guys, can't seem to upload any photos today. You'll have to just use your imaginations!
Peachy Pécs
Vini Vidi we left! Excuse my poor latin, I hope you are not reading Diddler Doyle. Lake Balaton, that greatest of freshwater lakes in mainland Europe (outside of Scandinavia). Great in size I hasten to add. It is massive and popular with those lovers of water sports and invisible tan lines – all over. Coincidentally there did seem to be a large amount of German registration plates, but then they do like to holiday in Hungary. So a quick drive around some of the western and north eastern sides and off to Pécs in the southwest of Hungary.
This is a visibly old town that has endured various occupations and consequently has lots of architectural relics of these times, roman, hun, ottoman, Hapsburg and others! ‘Tis a small town in size, with a lazy feel to it. According to script we struggled to find our chosen campsite, because it was extinct. Oh lonely planet why dost thou lead me to despair. Luckily the mad lady owner of Familia Camping back in the town was more welcoming. I say mad, maybe moody is a better word. Initially we observed her rooting through our bin bags after we had deposited them in the refuse area. There are no signs to indicate separate bags for recycling etc, but this was the reason behind the sorting. Was ist los mit meinen rubbish bitte? did not throw any light on the subject. Later she demonstrated to Laura how to wash up dishes – properly! Perhaps she has too much time on her hands, certainly too little distance between the business end and the personal views.
She finally made it into the mad league by screaming and shouting at some happy French campers who did not want to camp there, but wanted to pay for use of the facilities, i.e. empty chemical toilet and refill their water tank. The French could not parlais Deutch nur Anglais, but they still appreciated the volatility of this woman “ze wife is mad, oui”? “oui”
On Tuesday we head for Szeged for a brief visit before heading into the world of Romania!
This is a visibly old town that has endured various occupations and consequently has lots of architectural relics of these times, roman, hun, ottoman, Hapsburg and others! ‘Tis a small town in size, with a lazy feel to it. According to script we struggled to find our chosen campsite, because it was extinct. Oh lonely planet why dost thou lead me to despair. Luckily the mad lady owner of Familia Camping back in the town was more welcoming. I say mad, maybe moody is a better word. Initially we observed her rooting through our bin bags after we had deposited them in the refuse area. There are no signs to indicate separate bags for recycling etc, but this was the reason behind the sorting. Was ist los mit meinen rubbish bitte? did not throw any light on the subject. Later she demonstrated to Laura how to wash up dishes – properly! Perhaps she has too much time on her hands, certainly too little distance between the business end and the personal views.
She finally made it into the mad league by screaming and shouting at some happy French campers who did not want to camp there, but wanted to pay for use of the facilities, i.e. empty chemical toilet and refill their water tank. The French could not parlais Deutch nur Anglais, but they still appreciated the volatility of this woman “ze wife is mad, oui”? “oui”
On Tuesday we head for Szeged for a brief visit before heading into the world of Romania!
We dipped but got no tingle
While travelling through Hungary we felt it almost impolite not to sample the very popular national pastime of dipping in thermal baths (unsure of correct verb). There is no swimming allowed, we were seriously informed, you must just sit. So sit we did in 36 degree mineral rich water and waited for something to happen. It was not unpleasant, rather like a giant bath tub (without the bubbles), mostly full of people of an older generation hoping for relief from various aches, pains and disorders. We stayed till we were good and wrinkly and with free access because we were camping in the grounds we wanted our money’s worth of thermal healing. Myself I’m not sure I’d bother again, Tom said he would as long as it smelt more eggy (slightly suspicious of true mineral content). Personally I can’t think of anything much worse than eggy water so he’d be on his own there.
A Tale of Two Cities
This is an invitation to Ken Livingstone to come and visit this city and experience public transport in a major capital city achieving its goal. Transport for London eat your heart out. With a combination of bus, train, metro and tram at your disposal, Budapest is very easy to navigate. The ticket options are broad and wait for it…cheap…a public service for the public and not the pockets of the private and few.
Budapest straddles the Danube in ancient history and modern elegance. While Buda is very old and somewhat sleepy it is a suitable contrast to the more lively and energetic Pest. We teutonically didn’t mix the two sides, seeing each side separately. It’s important to have a system, especially in this heat and humidity! I guess you get the humidity in most cities, but with the extra heat you start to look like a sweaty athlete. Still so far its better than rain and the unfortunate floods that are happening in the UK. Hope everybody is ok.
As our finances naturally are decreasing, we are becoming more aware of spending! So we ate in a cafeteria housed in an old cloister for £3 each with lion sized portions of goulash. Hard to know what the authentic goulash is as it seems to vary so much, but it is delicious and the belly seems to like it. It is always good to see locals in your chosen eatery scoffing down the same meal as yourself.
In Pest we travelled on continental Europe’s oldest metro, which seemed to have air conditioning! Splashed out on some very tasty food and walked our legs off. So many wonderful styles of architecture to be seen, which I am too ignorant to know, plenty of money in them there bricks though. I imagine that property is not cheap here at all, as outside the centre you can see lots of tower blocks, which seem to be inhabited by middle class people too. They are not the population to be seen in Ballymun or Tower Hamlets.
Whatever about the Danube being beautiful, it is also a mosquito infested backwater, or so Laura might say! I can play join the lumps on her legs, where the mozys have attacked her. Luckily my Mediterranean-Irish blood is not so tasty.
We are off to a thermal spa for a bit of pampering tomorrow as we head for Lake Velencei-to. Our campsite there has free access to the bathing waters. Luckily my burns have healed and are turning into warrior scars!
Budapest straddles the Danube in ancient history and modern elegance. While Buda is very old and somewhat sleepy it is a suitable contrast to the more lively and energetic Pest. We teutonically didn’t mix the two sides, seeing each side separately. It’s important to have a system, especially in this heat and humidity! I guess you get the humidity in most cities, but with the extra heat you start to look like a sweaty athlete. Still so far its better than rain and the unfortunate floods that are happening in the UK. Hope everybody is ok.
As our finances naturally are decreasing, we are becoming more aware of spending! So we ate in a cafeteria housed in an old cloister for £3 each with lion sized portions of goulash. Hard to know what the authentic goulash is as it seems to vary so much, but it is delicious and the belly seems to like it. It is always good to see locals in your chosen eatery scoffing down the same meal as yourself.
In Pest we travelled on continental Europe’s oldest metro, which seemed to have air conditioning! Splashed out on some very tasty food and walked our legs off. So many wonderful styles of architecture to be seen, which I am too ignorant to know, plenty of money in them there bricks though. I imagine that property is not cheap here at all, as outside the centre you can see lots of tower blocks, which seem to be inhabited by middle class people too. They are not the population to be seen in Ballymun or Tower Hamlets.
Whatever about the Danube being beautiful, it is also a mosquito infested backwater, or so Laura might say! I can play join the lumps on her legs, where the mozys have attacked her. Luckily my Mediterranean-Irish blood is not so tasty.
We are off to a thermal spa for a bit of pampering tomorrow as we head for Lake Velencei-to. Our campsite there has free access to the bathing waters. Luckily my burns have healed and are turning into warrior scars!
Modern Living
This is one of the reconstructed houses viewable in the ethnographic museum outside Szetendre. Lots of wood and straw and wattle clay walls.Bliss on the Danube
Camping on the Danube Bend, that most beautiful of European waterways. Sadly, we picked a campsite that was also home to an unruly mob of yoga lovers! I thought these chaps were into peaceful meditation and sitting quietly in odd positions. At 5am I was awoken to loud bell ringing as the yoga master summoned his flock. Then just as I was returning to my beautiful slumber the laughing began. What worsened the situation was that this large group of obviously insane people, maybe 30 in population and only 8 metres from Napoleon and his two soldiers, were forcing themselves to laugh and at 5 in the morning too. There was no laughter inside Napoleon for a while.
At a more sensible hour we emerged and cycled up alongside the Danube to Szob, a mere jaunt at 13 km either way. Szob almost bordering Slovakia should be twinned with Lands’ End in Cornwall for its theme park and emptiness.
Across the Danube we could make out the ruins of the Citadel of Visigrad perched high and lofty on ‘the bend’, while the upper class cut up the river in happy abandonment. No need to fear for the frog population in this area, the males are singing a song of love and loneliness at night time, they even answered my singing they were so desperate.
After a day or so we caught the ferry across to the western side of the river, and headed for Budapest, with a little detour at Szetendre and its ethnographic museum. This is well worth a visit. Essentially it’s a large 10 acre site, displaying remnants of rural Hungarian life of the last millennium. The Hungarian state has moved cottages, farmsteads and other vestiges of rural life to this site in order to preserve them and educate people. Ironically, while life for the villagers then would have been difficult at times, these villages and the rural life on view seems so appealing to me now! the little cottage industries of bee keeping, fabric making, gardening, a few hens, and houses made of local resources. I can see Kevin McCloud of Grand Designs nodding along in approval at the manner these homes were constructed.Onwards to the ancient city of Budapest.
At a more sensible hour we emerged and cycled up alongside the Danube to Szob, a mere jaunt at 13 km either way. Szob almost bordering Slovakia should be twinned with Lands’ End in Cornwall for its theme park and emptiness.
Across the Danube we could make out the ruins of the Citadel of Visigrad perched high and lofty on ‘the bend’, while the upper class cut up the river in happy abandonment. No need to fear for the frog population in this area, the males are singing a song of love and loneliness at night time, they even answered my singing they were so desperate.
After a day or so we caught the ferry across to the western side of the river, and headed for Budapest, with a little detour at Szetendre and its ethnographic museum. This is well worth a visit. Essentially it’s a large 10 acre site, displaying remnants of rural Hungarian life of the last millennium. The Hungarian state has moved cottages, farmsteads and other vestiges of rural life to this site in order to preserve them and educate people. Ironically, while life for the villagers then would have been difficult at times, these villages and the rural life on view seems so appealing to me now! the little cottage industries of bee keeping, fabric making, gardening, a few hens, and houses made of local resources. I can see Kevin McCloud of Grand Designs nodding along in approval at the manner these homes were constructed.Onwards to the ancient city of Budapest.
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