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Sunday 3rd October Szob - Budapest
Luckily the gates were open in the morning as there was no way we were getting those bikes over as well! Due to poor sign posting and a bad map (we know, excuses, excuses, blahblah) it took us longer than expected to do the last 35miles into Budapest centre. At least the boys came to meet us and took us to play a bit of footie (just what you need after a month on the road) on Margit Island in the Danube. Monday 4th October
Resting in Budapest The hugely steep hill up to the apartment is perhaps not ideal but we have been so glad of somewhere warm and dry to sleep and we are now feeling more rested than we have done since the beginning of our travels. Tuesday 5th October Resting in Budapest Wednesday 6th October 1,510 miles, Budapest My eyes feel sore and puffy this morning - feeling extremely sad today. Mum phoned last night to tell me that Uncle Graham Cutler died of a heart attack on Monday. He and Hildegard had gone on holiday to Spain and this happened all of a sudden. He's only 60 years old, fit as anything, always running about, and lively, active, approachable friendly person. I'm still in complete shock and cannot begin to understand what the family must be going through. Although Hildegard has got her children around her to support each other, she must be feeling completely empty, alone, distraught, shocked and confused. To have something so close and dear to you, spending many years of happiness, laughter, tears and love, be completely and suddenly wrenched away from you in one split second. Feeling so helpless over here at the moment. I know I can't do anything to relieve the pain and tears and I realise that Graham would not have wanted us to stop the trip but to continue and fulfill it. I just wish that I could be there physically to provide comfort and offer support - even if a phone call is all it needs. I would like to phone Ali soon before it becomes too hard to find phones and let her know that I'm here for her and her family despite being thousands of miles away. He was such a lovely, kind, extremely cheeky and wise man - full of fun, jokes and giggles. Always there being inquisitive, interested in everyone's' lives, both young and old. He's been an extremely close family friend for many years, starting in Zambia and ending here in Britain. A keen fisherman, chef and golfer and a fantastic family man - always giving big strong hugs and forever doting on his wife - a person who has made such big differences to other peoples' lives and who will now be greatly missed. He was loved by all who met him and I'll look up into the sky and know that he's now one of the many bright shining stars checking up on all of us. I'm sorry that I can't make the funeral, nor be there but I want to let Hildegard, Ali, Rob, Ant and Steve and the rest of his family know that I'm thinking of them and my heart goes out to them and I will say a little prayer for them to the stars. Take care Uncle Graham - we'll be there to try and be like the rock you once were for Hildegard and family but never to take your place. Sleep well. Love Katy
It seems very strange and hard to now write our diary for the past week after hearing about Graham Cutler last night but it needs to be done so we've tried to write it with our usual enthusiasm and humour.
It's now our third day in Budapest staying as guests of the wonderful Greg and Eoin, who have made us feel so welcome in their comparatively luxurious apartment. It's amazing how many things you take for granted. It's only when you spend over a month in a tent tripping over guy ropes to get to the toilet in the middle of the night and piling on extra clothes to stay warm in the sleeping bag that you begin to understand. Kate also loves the fact that she can make cups of tea as and when she wants without using too much petrol! We'll hopefully go out with the boys (for a few cheeky beers or a meal) tomorrow night to say thank you for their hospitality, and to say goodbye as we'll be setting off towards Romania on Friday. We'll hopefully follow the northern bank of the Danube in Romania before crossing the Ruse "friendship bridge" into Bulgaria and pushing on down to Istanbul for the end of the month. Hopefully catch up with you then. Thursday 7th October Budapest was a wonderful few days of relaxation. What we can say about Budapest is that we never really found a square or street with cafes or bars that we could relax in. We did find an amazing bakery there which we spent far too much time in (we did have some serious calorie restocking to do). Also we had a massive farewell dinner Hungarian style, with Greg, Eoin and a mate of theirs, Lee. Friday 8th October We left reasonably early on Friday morning to catch the rush hour traffic out of the city. The realisation that once out of the city, the road we had intended on using that day was prohibited for cyclists. This forced us (most of the time!) to search out other more contrived routes towards our destination, Kecksemet (i.e. winding, potholed yet still really busy country roads). Somehow on this stage of our journey, the locals seemed more interested in us. In one village where we stopped briefly to check our map, we gained a friend of the canine variety who followed us all the way out of the village and managed to wind up every other dog it passed. Curtains began to twitch as we left the village. In another village, where we stopped to fill our water bottles at a water pump we were surrounded by young inquisitive lads, who although were friendly would have quite happily walked off with Kate's necklace and half our possessions including the prized hippo hooter! Interesting experience. On the way out of Budapest it also took Kate a while to realise that the pretty ladies waiting for lifts at the side of the road were not actually waiting for lifts! Bless! Naivety at it's best. Kecksemet, unlike Budapest has a wonderful central square but the campsite gates were locked shut despite its brochure saying that the season ran until 15th October - Oh well. Instead, we ended up in a lovely empty youth hostel down the road. Paul still bears the mosquito bites all over. Saturday 9th October The next day our route finding problems worsened as this time it really was the only road we could take. We ended up cycling along the dirt track by a railway until we got more out into the country. At Varosfold, the first village we arrived at, we asked for directions and ended up sitting with Franz senior and junior, Katrina, Christina and Dora in their living room, drinking coffee and tea. It was such a kind and generous and uplifting gesture at such a low point in our day. Despite their lack of material wealth (although the dad was quite keen to point out that they had CNN) they were so keen to give what they could. In return we answered all the questions that were firing at us through the daughter who spoke German and some English. The son even rode out with us to ensure that we found the right way. In high spirits we continued on our way across the Great Plain towards the border with Romania. Later in the day we were forced to cross the River Tiza. Far away from any bridges we had to use the local ferry. A look of bemusement crossed Kate's face when she realised that the method used for steering the ferry was a canoe with a motor at the end! Well, it certainly worked and got us to the other side in one piece. By this time we were tired and needing a place to stay. It had been one of those days where we were on the road for hours and not seeming to get anywhere. The first village we came upon was a place called Mateley. To our surprise it actually had a campsite.... but somewhat less surprising, it was closed. The locals seemed to find it difficult to grasp the idea that we still wanted to camp despite the site being closed. Eventually a lady took us to see a local couple who spoke English. They offered us a house to rent out for the night at a price we felt was out of our budget unfortunately. So they allowed us to camp in their garden and use their bathroom (including clean fluffy towels - pure luxury) and kitchen for 5 euros instead. They were very proud to show us their beautiful garden and little 'lake' (pond!) and introduced us to the pets, which again kept Kate busy. They also invited us to brekkie with them to which we gladly accepted. It was absolutely delicious and as a gift for our travels they allowed us to have the night for nothing. After visiting the local shop for some supplies we bade them farewell and were back on our way. Paul and Kate x
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Challoner's, Fasiledes, Amersham, Buckinghamshire