European Tour: Nove Mesto nad Vahom/Move/Budapest

Wednesday 8^th Aug: Definitely a rest and unwind day with some admin, first job was to of course comply with our Toll Police observations and get a sticker for the trailer – another 10 Euros to the Slovakian economy. A quick tour round the site confirmed that we are at a Leisure Site with some water sports facilities and it must have been very busy and nice in its day – a bit tired now though but suitable for our quick stop over. Local area look see included the town which was surprisingly large and Trencin. Touched base with family to confirm we are OK and our spirits are somewhat lifted – onwards and upwards with a stiff upper lip! Nice sunny 27C day.

Zelena Voda Site Slovakia

Thursday 9^th Aug: Took the opportunity to visit Bratislava (had to get our value out of these tolls vignettes) and really was grateful we had decided to include it in our itinerary. Safe trip into the city and successfully found a safe parking garage near the areas we wanted to see (the list had been reduced a bit as it was a HOT day and we did not want to tax ourselves too much). Bratislava is a really nice city with an incredible history and is uniquely placed for one to see 3 different countries over the Danube from a window in the castle. We had a good look round which included lunch at cafe established in 1878 in the old market square and then headed back to the campsite – once again in awe of more new visual experiences. As mentioned a bright and sunny day with 30C.

Primatial Palace Bratislava

Old Market Square Bratislava

On top of the world Bratislava

Over the Danube from
Bratislava castle

Batislava Castle

Friday 10^th Aug: A quick pack up for the move to Hungary and ‘on the road again’. When we pulled in for our normal ‘anything hanging off’ check we had another Slovakian Toll Police check (they certainly earn their money) which resulted in another long discussion and head scratching and would you believe it, Neil won! So once again we set off for Hungary who have a wonderful toll system, you just go online, fill in your details/dates, pay by card (a lot less than Slovakia I might add) and they send you an email back with your vignette for the journey – easy peasy. Things going too well so back to earth with a bump and the site who had agreed to take us were much smaller than our back garden! “Whoops you are big, sorry”. They did however redirect us to a site on the outskirts of Budapest but did not mention the owners doom and gloom demeanour and strict business manner (big RV so must have money so charge for 2 pitches) – hence our decisions to only stay 3 nights. The site probably used to be very nice but is definitely in its twilight years with very little attempt/enthusiasm to recapture its previous standards, but it is a secure ‘port’. Guess what? We had our first face to face contact with fellow Brits since we left; a nice couple with a black lab (Andy, Kate & Eva) – they even came from Halifax in God’s county. Good excuse (if needed) to open a bottle of wine and have a natter after an up and down day with sunny and cloudy 26C weather.

Saturday 11^th Aug: Wow, last night we had to put a blanket on the bed it was freezing at 16C. During last night’s social activities we had agreed to dog sit Eva whilst Andy and Kate visited Budapest so this enabled us to rest up, think through and organise our trip to Budapest and eventually Slovenia (more different toll systems to find about and sort out). A quiet, sunny with a bit of cloud and 24C day was concluded with a chat and wine with our fellow Brits before their departure the next day.

Dog sitting, Daisy & Eva.

Sunday 12^th Aug: The Glorious 12^th! Happy Anniversary Sandra & Jon who have swapped English rain for Spanish rain. Drove into Budapest on the A road (prevented yet another toll) and Mr Tom Tom successfully got us to a safe parking garage just at the foot of the Buda mountain table area (we have taken to using this more expensive form of parking to ensure car safety and no wheel clamping). Neil did not win anymore popularity with Linda and it was up 191 steps to the castle area – well worth it for the spectacular view over the Danube into Pest. Lots of recently renovated historical buildings and much more work being completed on the old castle ruined foundations. Of course we were put back in our place with everybody fussing over the DOG! She must have had her photo taken 10 to 20 times and everybody wanted to pet her, she did look the part with her cold water soaked red neckerchief round her neck. Had a pleasant snack outside the Hungarian National Gallery before heading down the steps to the car, we had seen most of Pest’s sights from the viewpoints on top of the mountain table so decided to cut short and get some pre move packing done. On the way back to the site we popped into the local B&Q equivalent to get a replacement fire extinguisher – used the other one on the trailer debacle A bit changeable weather wise with sun, cloud, 27C and some light rain in the evening. We had to make some more home phone calls as Linda’s mum is not too well at the moment, so we are a bit worried but at the moment hopefully and with fingers crossed she will rally around and improve a bit.