MOTORHOME TRAVELLERS' DIARY FOR SEPTEMBER 2003

ROMANIA, HUNGARY AND SLOVENIA

Barry and Margaret Williamson

01 SEPTEMBER 2003 RO CAMPING INTERNATIONAL, TIMISOARA

Rode Alf into the city centre, about 4 miles, and found ourselves in the familiar Austro-Hungarian Victory Square. For 20p an hour Alf was safely parked at the Hotel Timisoara, where we'd stayed with our bicycles in the summer of 89 - still recognisable despite its facelift.

We walked round, lunched at McDonald's (the only new addition to the square), visited the Metropolitan Orthodox Cathedral (1946), where the many flowers, candles and memorials we'd seen on our second visit, to those killed in December 89, had largely disappeared.

Then to the Java Coffee House for 2 hrs of internet (and coffee). We checked the HSBC and had several Emails in, from: Ian & Judit (2); Barney & June (2) - off to Denmark on 10 September till mid-November, then flying to Goa on 22 December for 2 months; Keith Durham - with lots of motorhoming questions; Agata & Karsten - mit Gruss und Kuss; Paul Walsh - in hospital in Lake Macquarie after another heart attack; Martin & Clare. We replied briefly to all except the last 2, which need more thought.

Back to the camping at teatime, very peaceful (just one other, German, sharing the huge site). An evening of maps and guidebooks, planning our next moves and a mail-drop.

Back to the Hotel Timisoara on Alf and another 2 hrs of Emailing, this time at the 'Non-stop Bastion Internet' on Hektor Str, in a section of the city's 18thC fortifications, with coffee from the adjacent bar. We had new Emails from Ian and Keith, to which we replied (at length to Keith with help on European campsites). Also wrote to Barney & June (re trains in India), Paul Walsh (get well soon), and Mum (post to Keszthely on Lake Balaton, please). We looked at Amazon Books' amazing website and ordered the LP Guide to the Trans-Siberian Express train, to be sent to Keszthely (Ł10.39 + post). Then we lunched on sausage rolls and apple turnovers from a busy stall followed by coffee and ices at McDonalds, watched and pestered by gypsy kids.

A long walk through the Baroque square of Piata Unirii, down to the Habsburg square of Piata Libertatii, past the column topped by Romulus and Remus and the wolf (a gift from Rome) and the Romanian Orthodox Cathedral (visited yesterday) and over the bridge across the Bega Canal (which leads to Yugoslavia via the Tisza River). Further along the 'Blvd 16 Dec 1989', on the left and difficult to spot, is the 'Biserica (=church) Reformata Tokés'. A plaque on the outside wall declared (in Romanian, German, Hungarian and Russian) that 'the Revolution which led to the overthrow of the Dictator began here on 15 Dec 1989'. This Reformed Protestant Church served the local ethnic-Hungarian community, Laszlo Tokés its priest. Inside, upstairs among flats and offices, we found locked doors and photos showing a new church being built. Father Tokés spoke out publicly against 'the Dictator' after being removed from his post on 15 December and next day a noisy support group gathered at his home.

Arrests followed, by 17 Dec crowds were confronting the army and Securitate in what is now Victory Square. An order came from Bucharest to shoot the demonstrators but on 19 Dec the army joined the demo. When Ceausescu returned from a State Visit to Iran on 20 Dec, he ordered elite troops to Timisoara to crush the rebellion and followed up with the fatal address to a mass rally in Bucharest next day. On 22 Dec Mr & Mrs Dictator were taken off the Senate roof by helicopter, on 23 Dec they were arrested and tried and by Christmas Day they were executed, and we were in India missing all this action! In Timisoara, 115 died (total killed was officially 1,033 overall, most in Bucharest). It seems the Party sacrificed the Ceausescu's to a quick end to prevent them naming names in a trial, then the old gang effectively carried on ruling, some still there today.

Back to the camping to clean and cook, update the hand-written diary and prepare to move on.

A frustrating drive from the campsite to shop at the Metro Cash & Carry, 5 miles out of the city on the Belgrade road (59), which meant crossing the city centre and the canal in a maze of diversions and roadworks, dodging the trams. We finally found it and were rewarded with groceries, a can of WD40 and a new fire extinguisher to replace the Greek one which is out of date and didn't work (luckily it is one of 3). Back across the city (no ring road, no signs) till we got onto the potholed Timisoara transit route and gratefully lunched in a layby before continuing on a good road to Arad, initially improved into 2 lanes. It was much quieter when we cycled this way in 1989 on our way to Istanbul!

Sadly, Arad's campsite had disappeared under a new tennis club but luckily we saw a truck-stop motel/restaurant/TIR parking on the left about 4 miles before the city. For 100,000 lei or 3 Euros, we could stay on the large car-park behind, under the watchful eyes of a flock of geese, a coop of hens, several dogs and a night-watchman in a small ancient caravan - a worthy recipient of our penultimate packet of duty-free Marlboro from Turkey.

A pot of tea, then we Alfed into the centre of Arad and struggled to get our bearings. Bright shop fronts had appeared along Revolution Blvd and the neo-classical Town Hall (1876) looked very impressive with a white facelift, its memorial to those killed in Dec 89, a simple list of names, now devoid of flowers or candles. We searched for Scarisoara Str and eventually found it after asking 3 times (the road had changed its name to 'Constantin Brîncoveanu Str' and we recognised little after 13 years). Rain threatened, it would soon be dark, we decided to return and surprise the Fizedeans tomorrow morning.

Back at the TIR-park we had a simple meal in the truckers' restaurant and were later joined by 2 Bulgarian lorries for the night.

68 miles. Ł2.00

We rode Alf into Arad again and found the Fizedean home at 55 Scarisoara Str (or whatever) without difficulty (aim for the Hotel Roberto). Ringing the bell, Lucretia didn't recognise Margaret at first but soon all was remembered when she saw Barry too and we spoke in English! After hugs and kisses we were sitting in the familiar back-yard in the sunshine, struggling to converse with her & Teodor using visual aids (maps and photos), drinking coffee. They rang Dan to talk to us (they all have mobile phones now) and we found he was in Timisoara, visiting a Baptist-friend in hospital after a traffic accident yesterday. He promised to come to his parents' house mid-afternoon to meet us again.

We tried to leave then, to return later, but Lucretia & Teodor wouldn't hear of it! We looked at a bag of plums from the garden; we lunched on stew, bread and grapes and eventually a neighbour (Adrian, with fluent English) was summoned to help us explain about the motorhome and convince Teodor that we didn't need to stay in the spare bedroom. We did slip out for an hour then, to return to the lorry park to pay for another night, get a box of chocs for Lucretia and have a pot of proper tea (ie not made with mint or flowers from the garden).

Returning at 3.30 pm, we found Dan waiting, along with a pile of pancakes and jam made by his mother. We were always amazed at what she produced to eat in the old days of empty shops! Dan, remembered as a student at Timisoara University, now has his own business importing domestic lighting and floor tiles from Austria, in partnership with his friend, who is married to his wife's sister. After talking over the pancakes, Dan took us by car to his own home in the village of Sofronea (about 5 miles north on the Curtici road). Here we met wife Cristina, children Mihail (5) and Radu (3), Cristina's parents and sister, Carmen, with her 2 small boys (the youngest a really cute toddler with big brown eyes and sticky-out ears, nicknamed the gypsy boy). An extended family in action! Cristina (Economics graduate) works in the computer dept of the national bank in Arad and the boys are cared for by the 2 sets of grandparents, alternate weeks. School doesn't begin till age 7, though Mihail goes part-time to a Kindergarten.

We all had a meal of 'mamaliga', a traditional peasant dish (described by our LP Guide as 'a cornmeal porage that goes with everything). Cristina cooked it with cheese and cream and its nearest equivalent we know would be macaroni cheese. Then a tour of the amazing 2-storey open-plan house, built to their design 3 yrs ago on a large corner plot with a double-size back garden (they bought 2 plots) and fruit & veg allotment (tended by parents and in-laws). There was lots of open space, nice woodwork, fully fitted kitchen, 4 balconies. And plenty of room to park a motorhome on the wide gravel road outside.

Finally, Dan ran us back to his parents' house, to collect Alf and ride, slowly and carefully in the dark, round the potholes, back to the lorry park - but only after we'd promised Lucretia we'd return for the promise of an egg breakfast!

A strange day! Invited to Lucretia & Teodor's house, between 8 and 9 am, for an 'egg breakfast', we rode Alf once more through the Arad traffic and its hazardous trams and narrow bridge over the River Mures. Arriving at 8.50 am with a gift of marmalade, the gate was locked and the bell unanswered - had we misunderstood (plenty of scope for that)? Then Lucretia appeared, returning from the shops with a basket, apologising that Teodor wasn't up yet. He has various health problems - poor circulation, bad feet, very overweight and recently had a kidney removed - and he's only a couple of months older than Barry (66, his wife 61, married 41 years). He soon appeared to join us, though, enjoying a breakfast of boiled sausages, salami, bread & butter, toms from the garden, mint tea - but no eggs (perhaps the hens had failed to lay so she'd rushed to the shop for sausage!) A lovely sociable meal, despite the lack of interpreter.

They telephoned Pastor Ioan Cucuiat (John the Baptist), who'd been out yesterday, and he soon appeared. Pastor John, full of life and enthusiasm and affection, as we remembered him helping us distribute our stuff to the orphanages. He kept apologising for his lack of English but warmly expressed his love and delight at seeing us again. He no longer lives in the flat we knew, with Mimi and their 2 youngsters, Lydia & Daniel, but just along the same street as the Fizedeans (they at 55, he at 111). We learnt that he and Mimi are now managing a little family orphanage with 15 children at Curtici, 5 miles north of Sofronea, in a modern home built on a plot his father left him. A great man and a true Christian, now a grandfather himself. We promised to send news of him to Dennis & Julia in Sheffield, who first introduced us. He said a prayer for us before he left, very touching.

Promising to see the Fizedeans later at 'Casa Dan' = Dan's house), we eventually escaped and looked at the shops on Arad high street on the way to the lorry park. Amazing that it's now so easy to buy soap, shampoo, all the things that people wept on receiving in 1990. All you need is money, though (Lucretia still makes her own soap, old habits die hard).

We drove Rosie round the non-existent, unsignposted, 3-ton limit, chaotic Arad Ring Road, finally getting the right road to Sofronea, a few miles to the north. Villages are always bigger than they look once you sidetrack on the dirt roads but we only had to ask twice before Dan's house appeared. Everyone knew it!

Teodor & Lucretia were already there with Dan's boys, and we were able to return a little hospitality, inviting them all into our house for tea and biscuits. Mihail and Radu, joined by their 2 cousins, were intrigued by this giant toy and loved seeing themselves on TV via the digital camera. When Dan & Cristina returned from work, we all ate together in the house - soup, stuffed cabbage leaves, cherry cake - all home-grown and home-made. Later, Dan had a Baptist meeting and Cristina was visited by a girlfriend + kids, so we slipped off to bed, parked outside to the amazement of the local villagers.

After breakfast with Dan and family (eggs today, plus salami, spreads, toast and blackcurrant tea) we talked and flew kites in the garden. Barry gave his kite to Mihail to keep, since theirs, a souvenir of a holiday on the Black Sea, was no match for it. Margaret gave Cristina the sun-lounger we found in Greece but never lounge on, to encourage her to rest on the lawn occasionally. Both gifts were very well received.

Later, while Dan went into Arad on Baptist business, we had a leisurely 2-hr cycle ride, following the road north through Curtici and on to the end of the bitumen at Sin Martin. We saw more carts than cars, pulled by a horse (sometimes with a foal running alongside) or a donkey. They were mostly laden with corncobs, now being harvested in the fertile fields, the best picked out for eating and the rest for chicken-feed or grinding for cornflour and mamaliga. Geese and chickens scuttled everywhere, peasant women in headscarves stared, the usual scene, with a distant glimpse of watchtowers along the Hungarian border.

Back at Dan's house, we helped him water the garden from the bore, tasted the figs and picked grapes and tomatoes to take with us. We ate with the family (soup, pork chops, rice and salad, apples and grapes), then watched Romania beat Luxembourg at football. After the match, Barry showed a selection of digital photos on the TV, illustrating our journey from England (including the visit to Keith Durham's, a mutual friend). We talked with Dan until the early hours, covering many subjects including his faith, which is touching in its simplicity, like a child at Sunday School.

Dan had left very early for church (it's the monthly Holy Supper service in Arad; he had got the wine and now had to help get things ready), so we had a chance to talk with Cristina over breakfast (boiled sausage & bread) before she and the boys went too. Sadly, it was time for parting.

We drove without problems, 6 miles to join the transit road and another 28 miles to the Nadlac/Nagylak border. We spent our remaining Ł65-worth of lei on a fill of diesel and some chocolate biscuits with the change, then crossed into Hungary in about half an hour. Very straightforward - just a passport check, a look inside by the Customs man and nothing to pay. We were immediately on smoother roads with proper signposts and better carts with 2 horses!

We made lunch in a lorry park near Mako (famous for its onions, which were heaped around us) and continued to Szeged, about 35 miles from the border, where the River Maros (or Mures in Romania) meets the Tisza. The vast campsite extends along the east bank of the Tisza between the inner city bridge (rebuilt in 1948 after the Germans destroyed it) and the new bridge carrying the ring-road, no 43, from Mako. The east bank is Újszeged (New Szeged), with parks and thermal pools (indoor and outdoor), while the city centre on the west bank is a 10 minute walk across the bridge. The campsite itself has 3 huge outdoor pools - one now empty (end of season), one a hot sitting pool and one a warm swimming bath.

We settled on the river bank near the pools with a splendid view of the city across the water but had to move to the far end of the site when a disco started tuning up on the opposite bank! After a dispute with a drunken weekend-cottage resident about plugging into an unmarked private socket, resolved when the security man came, we eventually got hooked up and had a quick swim before making dinner. A firework display accompanied the music, which changed from disco to light classical.

76 miles. Ł10.40 inc elec & use of thermal pools.

Barry woke with a stomach upset. M had suffered a milder attack while in Arad - must be something we ate (probably the meal in the rough lorry park restaurant). So M walked alone over the town bridge into Szeged, a fine Habsburg-built city. Got free maps from Tourinform (of Szeged and of Hungary) and wandered round the Roman Catholic Cathedral Square - Dóm Tér - which claims to equal St Mark's in Venice in area (there the comparison ends). The Open Air Music Festival is held in it every summer. The twin-towered Dóm or Votive Church was pledged after the great flood of 1879, when the Tisza washed away most of the city, but it was only built in 1930 in ugly brown bricks. An entrance fee deterred closer inspection. Nearby, the St Demetrius Tower is all that remains of a 13thC church which was demolished to build the new one! Restoration of frescoes inside this tower is now underway. Round 3 sides of the vast square is the National Pantheon - statues and busts of 80 Hungarian worthies. Behind the Dóm is a smaller Serbian Orthodox Church, 1778, but it was locked to protect its famous gold iconostasis.

Szeged was quite unrecognisable from earlier visits, very busy with trams, traffic and lots of bicycles and pedestrians - even cycle lanes and traffic lights. Students cycled and walked and sat in the sunshine by the fountains round Arpad Square. Burger King or McDonald's provided toilets. A lovely feel to a city that has developed into something like Vienna crossed with Holland (all those bikes).

Back at the campsite, Barry spent an unhappy evening, helping things along their way in both directions. M started reading Nevil Shute's 'Ruined City', set in the north of England in the 1930's - the best of a pile of paperbacks swapped with Kay & Alan back in Bucharest.

The campsite is now all but deserted, just a few people in the weekend bungalows on stilts (this is the flood plain of the river). M had a warm swim, alone in the huge shallow pool. B recovered slowly. In the afternoon, M walked into the city again and explored a bit more, finding the hotel we'd used when cycling across Hungary (twice) and en route to Romania with aid. Also passed the amazing Art Deco or Jugendstil building designed by a student of Antonio Gaudi, the Reök Palace (1907), decorated with beautiful wrought-iron flowers. Very pleasant to sit in the sun in one of the many parks and finish reading 'Ruined City', which Barry had found very evocative of his youth.

In which we shelter from the rain - at last

We woke to heavy rain which poured all day - can't remember when that last happened. Hope they have it in Romania too, parched after a long drought. B felt considerably better and moved Rosie back down the campsite for a better view of the river and city now that the disco has packed and gone. So has everyone else, we are alone except for the 3 receptionists (who speak only Hungarian and only to each other). Site closes on the 30th.

M worked through the 3 kg of plums from the Fizedeans, making 4 jars of jam, some stewed fruit for the freezer and plum crunch pudding for supper.

We wrote a thank-you card to Dan & family and the pile of postcards bought in Timisoara (Communist-era, showing the 'Palace of Telephones' and empty roads with the odd Dacia parked). These were sent to: Keith & Brenda, Dennis & Julia; Franklands; Covell; Jeff; Ian & Nina; Andrew & Laila; Barney & June; Barry Crawshaw; Angela; Matthew at Kingswood Office Supplies. Also updated diary and accounts.

The 2nd anniversary of 9/11 (2001) with much coverage of the event on radio and TV (the latter totally inscrutable, with 5 Hungarian and 2 Serbian channels). Hungarian TV dubs everything into Hungarian; Serbia broadcasts a pot pourri of English and American stuff of ancient but interesting vintage, undubbed.

Still rainy in the morning and M had a warm swim in the huge empty pool while raindrops splashed its surface. After lunch it cleared up and we both walked over the bridge into the city. We posted the cards, got some Forints from an ATM (350=Ł1) and bought a map of Budapest to help us find our way to the campsite near Ian & Judit's. In Dóm Tér a religious festival of some kind was being set up, with bookstalls and displays (from New Age through Islam to RC). We bought a couple of Indian sweetmeats from a little foodstall run by a young woman in a sari.

Then an hour in an Internet Cafe. Emails in from: Paul Walsh (now OK and ready for his next cruise); Barney & June; Ian & Alison Parsons (safely home in Swindon, via Belgium); Charley in NZ (a laconic poem about a fish!) None needed urgent reply so we checked the HSBC and wrote to Keith Durham and Ian Shires.

Back home we watched a video of a Channel 5 documentary about Auschwitz and 'the business of killing', which threw a whole new grim light on the Holocaust as a business undertaking - capitalism taken to lunatic extreme by psychotic madmen.

Wet again, with a cold wind - autumn is coming, the ash trees round us are turning colour, the swifts and swallows are sweeping over the river in large numbers, feeding ready for the long migration. B rewired the fan heater to blow hot again and we did some cleaning.

After lunch the rain eased and we walked along the river bank towards the confluence, over the new bridge into the city, round to Burger King for a meal (B definitely better!) and back over the older bridge, just as rain set in. Some neighbours had arrived for the weekend - Dutch, German and a British Autosleeper, as well as a couple of 4WD's with tents.

Rain all day, so we postponed moving on and had a rest day. We talked with the Dutchman in a Hobby, who knew and loved Croatia, and with the Autosleepers, who confirmed that road 5 to Budapest is OK, saving the expensive toll on the M5. Rang the Budapest campsite to book a place.

Later we watched the excellent, tragic 'Tribute to a Brother' on video: the Bee Gees' last performance together on British TV, with commentary by Robin Gibb added after Maurice's death in January in Miami.

Fine and dry at last. We filled and emptied our tanks and found our way off the camp, over the Tisza and away, north to Budapest. Stopping to shop at Szeged's Metro Cash & Carry, we discovered that a passport didn't allow foreigners in (unlike Romania), but the kind security man on the gate lent us a pass (and got a small reward as we left)! We did get our cauliflower and cartons of milk confiscated at the checkout (some rule about minimum quantities) but otherwise escaped with Ł20-worth of good food!

The M5 began at Kiskunfelegyhaza, where we stopped for lunch, but we stayed on road 5 which was free and quiet, through Kecskemet, where we paused again on seeing a Tesco Hypermarket. Here we found Tesco-brand coffee and honey and a hot roast chicken, but sadly no British biscuits, custard, golden syrup, baked beans, etc - Tesco for Hungarians, with plenty of aisles of salami and paprika.

Before reaching the capital we turned west, crossing the Danube on the MO ring road, from the flat Pest side to hilly Buda. (Can't believe the capital was first called Pest-Buda!) Then briefly on the M7 towards the city and off at the Törökbalint/ Budakeszi exit, following signs for Zugligeti Niche through Budakeszi to the foot of a chairlift. Cars almost blocked the campsite entrance but we squeezed through and found the small narrow site full with a large French convoy of Camping Caristes on a tour of the Grandes Villes d'Europe. Luckily, our phone call had worked and a large place was reserved for us in their midst, to the chagrin of the French! The camping is overpriced but it is the nearest site to the city and to Ian & Judit's (and the man lied about the hook-up being just 4 amps for lights and fridge - it ran everything we tried!)

We rang Ian and were invited round tomorrow evening, then had a good chicken dinner.

130 miles. Ł12.42 inc elec.

A peaceful day at the camp, once the French went out for a full-day coach tour of the city. We did a load of dhobi (an automatic washer, bliss) and explored the ledges of the Niche - for tents and agile campers only. Old photos showed the place had once been a tram terminus, hence the cutting in the hillside. The quaint reception/restaurant was the station.

After lunch we tried to walk up through the woods on a path below the chairlift, but eventually turned back when it got too steep and slippery. Did get good views back across the city.

At 6.30 pm Ian's Landrover appeared and we were driven to their nearby home, with much GPS-demonstration on the way. He and Judit live in a smart residential area, no Stalinist apartment blocks here, just hills, fir-trees, well-built large houses. Their flat is the upstairs of such a house, with a tidy garden and rear garage, on a steep hillside (no, we couldn't have parked Rosie). They have completely rebuilt and modernised it over the last couple of years, very airy and open-plan with quality Austrian or German fittings. Judit runs her graphic design/marketing business from a little office there.

We had a lovely meal: cauliflower soup, chicken paprika, etc, with good Tokaj wine, followed by a selection of delicious cakes bought from the Cukrasda. Ian is an excellent raconteur and was also full of information about GPS and Apple-Mac computers (his other passions, along with Landrovers). We saw his Sky satellite TV (strictly illegal!), discussed routes to Lake Balaton and on to Croatia, and were given an excellent computerised slide show with music, covering their recent trip to the eastern end of Turkey - we'd met them in Edirne at the start of that tour. A magic evening, talking and laughing till gone 1 am. Barry tracked our drive home on Ian's black & white Magellan GPS and we made the decision to go for the newer colour version.

The no. 158 bus took us directly from the campsite gate to Moskva Tér (Moscow Square - about 4 miles), still on the Buda side of the Danube. We considered going on to visit Ian at his outdoor and camping shop, Timbuktu, but found it involved going a few stops on the metro train and then another bus - perhaps a camel would be easier! So we phoned him to check delivery for the GPS and invited them to bring it to dinner tomorrow evening.

Walked up through the Vienna Gate toVárhegy (Castle Hill), the medieval city and tourist quarter overlooking the river. Many old buildings were destroyed when the Russians took the city from the Germans in 1944/5 and since restored. Along the ramparts promenade we came to the Matthias Church, originally 13thC, seriously damaged in the liberation siege of 1686 (the Turks had been using it as a mosque), rebuilt in Baroque style then reconstructed in neo-Gothic style in the 19thC, and repaired again after WWII. Hard to get much of a feel for it after all that - it has a nice tower and colourful tiled roof and an entry fee we wouldn't pay. Hungarian coronations were held here (Liszt's 'Coronation Mass' was first played for the eponymous crowning of Franz Josef and Elisabeth in 1867). In front of the church is a big statue of St Stephen (Hungary's first king) on his horse, and behind it the Fishermen's Bastion (built 1903 over a former fishmarket and village), another neo-gothic structure with a good vista of the Danube below. Again it had an entry fee and we got the same view for free looking over the wall alongside!

Through the Castle District, past many Hilton-type hotels and restaurants and tour groups being addressed in German, we came to the late 15thC Royal Palace of King Matthias (destroyed and rebuilt several times). Now it contains the National Gallery and the History Museum, but the gardens were free, with a good view of Gellért Hill along the river to the south, with its Habsburg Citadel and the Independence Monument. (A large lady holding a palmleaf aloft, visible to all the shipping passing below, erected as a tribute to all the Soviet soldiers who died 'liberating' Hungary in 1945.) The statues of the soldiers were removed in the 1990's.

Enough history, we were hungry! A funicular railway runs down from the Palace to the Danube embankment by the Chain Bridge, but we went down the free steps instead, then along the river hoping to see a cafe. We did find an ATM for a first instalment of Forints ready to buy the GPS, but there was nothing to eat, just flats and offices, apart from one light pancake house which was full - which is more than we were or would be. So we made our way back to Moscow Square, where we'd noticed McDonald's and Burger King, and ate at BK.

Then we looked in the large Mammut Shopping Mall for a charger and some rechargeable batteries for use with the GPS, but it was all glossy boutiques. We eventually found what we wanted in a specialist battery shop on the way back to Margit-Hid (Margaret Bridge) for a last look at the Danube and Margaret Island, and a check on boat trips (from the other side, the Pest Bank, over the bridge - too late for that). A long wait for a bus home from Moscow Square (supposedly every 15 mins, but we hit rush-hour and the one bus that did come had a driver rubbing his ample tum to indicate it was tea break time). We certainly prefer Alf to public transport but we didn't get him insured for Hungary (a month minimum and very expensive).

Another beautiful sunny day though the leaves are turning gold. We walked down the hill to the local shopping centre (about 1˝ miles away) to raid the ATM for a second GPS instalment and get some fresh vegetables for dinner. We indulged in orange juice and ice cream at McDon's before climbing back to the campsite.

We cleaned Rosie inside and out and prepared the meal ready for our guests. Some rough-looking Belgians parked next door to us in the course of the afternoon and started to play their bongo-drums in the short interval between M hearing them and telling them where they could put the things. She was accused of not being friendly - they learned fast.

The Shires's long-wheelbase 9-seater Landrover arrived before 7 pm. Ian had got all the GPS stuff from Magellan for us: the Meridian Colour Handheld Receiver, in-cab holder (to work off 12 volts), world map CD (he had loaded eastern Europe onto it ready to go), western Europe in permanent storage and the manual on CD. We initiated the machine by walking it round the campground, showing Ian and Judit a bit of Budapest they didn't know - the former tram terminus with tent pitches on shelves going way up the hillside. Lots of questions and answers and more tips and demonstrations - this will be both useful and fun!

We drank Romanian beer and wine and ate pork & bean bake with carrots, parsnips and spuds, followed by trifle and cheese & biscuits. Ian the Yorkshireman was impressed - he misses baked beans, jelly, custard, Cheddar cheese (as we soon will, our stock is dwindling!) Actually, the cheese was a 'find' in Romania's Selgros store. A lovely evening, good company - we promised to keep in touch.

Extricated ourselves from the tiny campsite after the French convoy had left (we'd never have managed to turn round before) and drove Rosie into the city, through Moscow Square and out following signs for the M1 to Vienna, then for M7 to Balaton. We didn't take the motorway, avoiding the large toll, but used the parallel highway 7, following our progress on the GPS, which was fascinating. Railway lines with little black trains, lakes and rivers in blue, all the main roads with their numbers in red, our exact position, heading, speed, average speed, km gone, km to go, altitude and track plotted.

We stopped in Székesfehérvár to shop at the giant Eurospar and make lunch, then drove the entire 45-mile length of the southern shore of Lake Balaton with barely a glimpse of the water. Difficult to park by the lake for a break as almost all the access is restricted by hotels, restaurants, campgrounds, private beaches, marinas or weekend bungalows. We eventually managed to get at the lake and made a pot of tea in Balatonlelly. Most of the signs are in German but the crowds have gone, Heim ins Land.

In Keszthely (from Castellum - the Romans were here in the 4thC AD) there are at least 3 campgrounds. Zalatour is by far the largest, a huge site (over 15 acres and 400 pitches) a couple of miles south of the town on the lake, with tennis courts, pool (empty), shop, restaurant, hairdresser, cabins and apartments to rent, and just a handful of Germans and Austrians left camped by the shore. After a tricky entrance (headroom 3.3 m; Rosie's height 3.3 m) we settled at the non-lake end, in splendid isolation, and only see the other campers when they come fungus-foraging below our splendid trees. The price is reasonable, compared with Budapest, as it's now low season (July-August would cost double!)

120 miles. Ł8.48 inc elec and C C discount.

We rode along the lake, checked out the other campsite we passed (Camping Gärtnerhof) which was slightly cheaper (10 Euros) but small and cramped, and found our way into the town centre, being tracked all the way by the GPS. Tourinform on the pedestrian mall told us of 3 internet cafes and we checked them all out for price, varying from 20 fts a minute (a noisy bar) to 5 fts a minute in Mikro-net, a quiet place with a coffee machine, our choice for tomorrow!

Finally, we collected 3 packets of mail at the Post Office, from Mum and the Blackpool shop with the part to hopefully get our WP working again. Excellent. But no book from Amazon.

Back to Zalatour for lunch, then an afternoon opening the mail. Barry fitted the new water filter cartridge, the WP works with the new part and we had long letters to read from Mum, Jeff, Andrew & Laila, Barney & June, and a card (with a well-chosen stamp of the Tour de France) from cyclists Henk & Karin to say son number 2, Bob, had arrived in August. Also waded through the usual pile of stuff from HSBC, Cardguard, Vodafone, Turners, Abbey National, Prudential, Friends Provident, etc, and looked forward to browsing the 2 CTC magazines. We made a start on catching up correspondence by writing to Keith & Brenda and to Dennis & Julia about the visit to Arad. Barry also made a start on catching up with expense, mileage and fuel consumption spreadsheets on the WP.

Hearing an English accent in a brief response to our routine Hello, we started talking to an English family who walked by, on their way to the cabin they've taken for a couple of nights. Nick and Lindsay Whitlock plus Tom (10) and Esther (4˝) have taken a year off to travel round the world by plane, bus and train, beginning with a flight to Latvia's Riga a month ago. They'd carried on by train, via Krakow, the Tatras and Budapest and will continue through Romania and Bulgaria to Greece, eventually flying Athens-Egypt. After that the plan seemed a bit vague although airline tickets and some visas had already been bought. They had included some countries in SE Africa and western S America before the Far East, Vietnam, China and then the Trans-Siberian Express to Moscow, whence they'll fly to the south of France to see Lindsay's parents who've retired there. We'll be impressed if they survive that itinerary with 2 youngsters and will follow their progress with interest on their website, www.thewhitlocks.org.uk. They invited us round tomorrow evening to swap stories. Tonight we relaxed with a Clint Eastwood movie on video, 'In the Line of Fire', not a western but an elderly Clint as a Secret Service presidential bodyguard.

We rode straight into town, mostly by cycle-path, and posted the letters to Keith and Dennis. Then a couple of hours in Mikro-net, where Barry got his digital photos copied onto a CD, so that he could reuse the smart card. We also checked the bank balances, read our Email (from Ian Shires and Keith Durham) and looked at the Amazon Books website to see what had happened to our book, which has neither arrived in Keszthely nor been charged to the Mastercard. We couldn't get into our account at all, so Emailed them to cancel the order. Then we sent Emails to Keith and Ian in reply, to mum with thanks for the post, and to Andrew, Barney and Jeff to thank them for their letters. All on a good fast machine, fortified with Capuccinos.

Back to Zalatour for lunch, then Barry made some more visiting cards in full-colour on the WP while M got down to sorting, checking, binning or filing most of our mail.

Round at Cabin 2B for 7.30 pm, as arranged, we found only Nick at home. They had been over-ambitious riding hired bikes for the day, and he'd rushed ahead to be home for us, leaving his wife and children to find their way back as darkness fell. He has a lot to learn before entering 2nd and 3rd world countries! They eventually made it after getting lost and we had a good talk till after midnight, over wine, tea and biscuits, once they'd got the children to bed and we'd got rid of their elderly drunken German neighbours who gate-crashed the gathering. The family leave tomorrow by train, going to work on a goat-farm for a week before leaving Hungary (WWOOF - Willing Workers on Organic Farms - is one of their interests, all eco-friendly). We found their son Tom the most practical member of the family and wonder how long they'll last! Nick had worked in forestry, his wife was a French-Spanish teacher, all from somewhere like Milton Keynes.

The Whitlock family came round for coffee as arranged, but with only 10 mins to spare before going for their train (about a mile's walk with large backpacks), so they got a quick introduction to Rosie and some lemonade. We gave Tom a bit of Berlin Wall and Esther a Winnie the Pooh keyring and walked with them to wave them all off at the station, cycling back.

After lunch we had a sunny ride on quiet cycle-paths and back roads to Kis-balaton (Little Balaton), the wetland and small lake to the south of Keszthely.

We didn't find the water buffalo and there weren't many birds but we did see the ancient ruins of Valcum behind a visitor centre at Fenékpuszta near Zalavar. This part of the Roman Empire was Pannonia, conquered about 12BC, and Constantine built a fortress here in the 4thC AD to halt the Asian hordes advancing on Italy. On a peninsula in the lake, it had water on 3 sides and a wall and moat on the 4th, with no less than 44 turrets. All that remains to be seen are the foundations of the southern gate, the barn and an early Christian basilica nearby. We sat on the stones to consume lemonade and chocolate and wondered at how much the lake has shrunk over the centuries, and in this last summer of drought.

We turned north and returned to Keszthely via Hévíz, famous for Europe's largest thermal lake which came into view after climbing a long hill (no, Hungary isn't all flat). The warm mineral waters were used as a tannery in the Middle Ages, then developed as a curative resort in the 19thC. Set in a forest park, covered in water lilies and with elegant pavilions and piers from which to take the waters (rubber rings provided), temperature between 26-33 C all year, it is extremely popular. As Ian said, all Hungarians think that hot smelly water is good for you - and if the mud is faintly radioactive, so much the better! We couldn't take the bikes anywhere near it without paying entry fees, so we continued on the busier road back to Keszthely, about 5 miles away.

Entering town from the north, we passed the enormous neo-baroque Festetics Castle and paused to see the gardens, which were actually free (unlike the conducted tours of the 18thC mansion of the aristocratic Festetics family, now a museum famous for its library).

Back after enjoying our longest ride for some time we considered where we can cycle-tour this winter - a few options, no decision. The GPS worked splendidly while out cycling, we'll never be lost again(?) Very interesting to look at the altitude/distance profile of the ride.

We rode the familiar path into Keszthely and to Mikro-net again. We had Emails in from Keith Durham and Andrew Hague (who had a very narrow escape when a high-pressure Schwalbe rear tyre blew as he descended the Grossglockner on his latest bike - a pass we've ridden ourselves). We replied to all of these and also wrote to Charley Hedges, Ian & Alison Parsons, Dick & Audrey (copied to Sally). Saturday's Email to Jeff had 'failed' so we re-sent it, apparently successfully. We also looked at the Whitlocks' website but it had no promised links and it hadn't been updated since Slovakia. Finally, we registered with Vodafone for on-line billing, which shows more details of calls and might cut down the amount of paper we get from them. Cycled back via the Spar supermarket.

After lunch Barry made a little wooden plinth to attach the GPS holder to the cab and painted it black, very neat. M mended her bike mirror attachment, did some sewing and rang Mum. Later we watched the end of the video with Clint's film on, but it turned out to be football and Emmerdale Farm. Still, anything's better than Hungarian TV, even last year's news and weather!

Another fine warm day, with a load of dhobi done at the site laundry and dry in no time.

Received a text from Barney (motorhoming in Denmark-Sweden) and sent one back. Wrote business letters to Turners, Brownhills, Teachers' Pensions, Prudential, Saga and the HSBC re credit cards and accounts and filled in various forms.

Barry rewired and thereby fixed the dodgy light in the fridge. M microwaved some baking (lemon & raisin sandwich cake, apple & mincemeat crumble). Why do all the raisins plunge to the bottom? Perhaps because they're huge Greek ones.

A change in the weather overnight, waking to rain and cold blustery wind. We looked out some stuff to send Keith on Morocco (text and map of our MMM article, plus Barney & June's account of their tour) and wrote him a covering letter. Also wrote Mum a letter to send with some stamps, a postcard of Zugligeti Niche and a few reply-paid envelopes to post. Wrote the other postcard of the Niche to Angela. Barry spent some time trying to find why the ink kept smudging on Mum's letter, checking the cartridge, the rollers, etc, before realising we'd just started a new ream of paper, bought in Greece, which is too shiny! Solved by printing single-sided.

After lunch the rain had stopped and we rode into Keszthely to post everything. Back in Mikro-net we had a confirmation from Vodafone and a note from Ian & Judit, to which we replied.

Back home, we watched an excellent video, the first episode of 'Ancient Apocalypse', a series on lost civilisations. It began with the Minoans, whose demise coincided with the massive volcanic eruption in Santorini, c 1500 BC. The familiar theory of the sunami (tidal wave) hitting Crete was extended, with evidence offered that it caused significant climate change for several years. Evidence came from the ice in Greenland (a frozen layer of sulphur) and the bogs of Ireland (stunted tree-ring growth). Amazing stuff, with film from Knossos and the Minoan site we visited on Santorini, preserved under volcanic ash. As some questions were answered, more were posed, in true scientific fashion.

No more rain but much cooler, perhaps the eternal summer is really over.

Barry wrote to Comfort to extend our Green Card for Slovenia and Croatia (expires on 7 October) and we faxed it from the campsite office. A nice positive reply was faxed back in the afternoon, together with the 'green' card (on glossy white fax paper).

M worked on the diary all day, with September to copy in and update, while Barry was busy with maps, campsite lists and guidebooks, plotting a route and putting waymarks in the GPS, learning a great deal more about its use at the same time.

Watched the 2nd episode of 'Ancient Apocalypse', about the Maya people of the Yucatan Peninsula, who disappeared around 925 AD. Audrey and Sally had told us of their buildings and pyramids in Mexico. The theory given is that an unprecedented drought over several years wiped them out.

Back to warm blue skies and the mozzies are out in force again! We cycled into Keszthely and checked our Email at Mikro-net. One more from Keith Durham (thanks for our letter and a query re motorhome insurance, which we answered) and from Ian Shires. Also emailed Pat Cue with thanks for the Green Card and some answers to her questions about cycling round Australia (on behalf of a friend's son). Promised more info by letter.

Treated ourselves to the 990 Fts set lunch at the outdoor restaurant on the shopping mall (broccoli soup, turkey fillet with rice and mushroom sauce, pancake & jam): good value for Ł2.80 each and popular with an Austrian group, probably on a day trip from Vienna.

Back home to read CTC magazines and watched the final episode of 'Ancient Apocalypse', this time about the Old Testament cities of Sodom and Gomorrha. It seems they could have existed until an earthquake caused them to slide to the bottom of the Dead Sea, on whose unstable shores they stood. Didn't explain about Lot's wife, though.

The pleasant 3-mile ride into town for a final session at Mikro-net and another exchange of Emails with Ian Shires, enjoying his sense of humour. We also emailed the Whitlock family, and looked at photos of Henk & Karin Verouden's family in France (toddler Max and new baby Bob) on their website and sent our congratulations. Lastly, we warned the Australian cyclists we know that we'd passed their Email address on to a 'Pom' who might contact them for advice (Bill & Ruby Johnson, Don Hurwood, Tim the Trikerider, Cathy Langbridge and DJ Murray). We cycled back via the Spar.

After lunch we wrote postcards to the Fizedeans, Karsten & Agata and Ian & Judit. M finished getting September up to date on the WP while B cleaned the bicycles and the windows. We planned a longer ride for tomorrow, then moving to Slovenia on Monday. But this place is too nice to leave; sad that it closes in mid-October!

Packed a picnic lunch and had a leisurely ride following the superb, newly sealed cycle path between the north shore of Lake Balaton and the railway line. Regular trains with regular halts hooted by and we passed several more campsites, all pretty empty. Past a picture-book hill-top castle at Szigliget, then the path turned inland on quiet lanes to avoid a headland, climbing through vine-clad slopes of the Badacsony (an area of old volcanic hills reaching nearly 1500 ft) before dropping to the lakeside at the little resort of Badacsony-tomaj. The ferry to Fonyód on the opposite shore would have enabled a circular ride, but we'd arrived midway between the 11.30 am and the 3.30 pm so we sat on the pier with our lunch, bought a coffee and returned the same way on the excellent, well-signed cycle route.

Back at Keszthely Barry fitted new ball-bearings, packed with fresh Shimano Grease, into his front wheel which had been protesting. We then packed and prepared to move on tomorrow, after 11 peaceful nights. The mozzies will miss us, but not us them!

In pouring rain we manoeuvred through the awkward campsite entrance/exit with its low roof and found our way onto highway 75 westwards. The road was narrow, badly drained and not designed for the lorries and border traffic it now carries, twisting through farmland and villages. After 35 miles we stopped at the only town, Lenti, tempted to leave the wet roads and stay there, but Camping Castrum Terme turned out to be by a thermal pool, packed bumper to bumper with Austro-Germans, overpriced and closed for 3 hrs from noon. Amazing how these overweight people gather by hot smelly pools (as Ian calls them), thinking they have a short cut to health and fitness.

So we shopped at the Penny Market back in town (very like Lidl), lunched in its car park, topped up the LPG (warned that it's less common in Slovenia and Croatia) and continued another 5 miles to the border, entering Slovenia at Dolga Vas in about 2 minutes flat - a quick glance at our passports and a wave of the hand! Both countries are lined up for the EU in 2004 and they've obviously lost interest in the Grenzspiel. We changed our remaining Hungarian Forints into Slovenian Tolar (320=Ł1) and were on our way. The country looked even more prosperous and Germanic than Hungary, the towns very orderly, the roads smooth, traffic controlled, bike paths - only the language telling us we were not in Austria, just to our north.

It still rained as we drove to the town of Murska Sobota, the largest town in eastern Slovenia. We continued a few miles north-east to the spa-resort of Moravske Toplice with the only campground in the area. Here a large health resort, with golf course and thermal pool complex (more hot smelly pools), proposed to charge us 48 Euros (over Ł34) to stay until tomorrow, squeezed in amongst hundreds of Austro-Germans! (They charge per day, not per night, making 2 days to pay - a new one on us!) M told them where to put this idea (in German) and we drove back towards M. Sobota, stopping at a nice little motel/restaurant we'd passed. They were very friendly, spoke some English and were delighted to offer us their car park for the night if we were customers: the dining room opened at 7 pm.

Without a hook-up, M did some baking in the gas oven, which also warmed the van - the first day we've felt the need for heating. Then we ate in style (soup, turkey roulade for B and gypsy-roast pork for M, with veggies and salad) for about Ł12 total, followed by coffee and gingerbread buns chez nous. A good end to the day.

80 miles. Free parking.

The rain had stopped and the fields were blanketed in mist as we returned to Murska Sobota. Shopped here at the large, well-stocked Eurospar and looked in the adjacent Big Bang (electrical chainstore) for a new kettle, as the old one is leaking badly. They had nothing appropriate (we want a large one with low wattage), but we came out with a super little vacuum cleaner, Swiss-made, called the 'Edel Beetle' - a real bargain, much more powerful than the rechargeable 12 volt Campy-Vac we have worked hard with for years.

The anticipated motorway from M Sobota to Maribor wasn't open, so we followed the old highway 3, touching a border crossing into Austria at Gornja Radgona.

Maribor, a wine-making centre, is the country's 2nd city, straddling the Drava River. With no camping and nowhere to park we just had a glimpse of the old centre before getting onto the motorway E75, which runs SW to the capital, Ljubljana, and on to the coast.

Lunch in the first parking area, then on through increasingly hilly country, including 2 short tunnels just after the toll-point at Tepanje. At the Prebold turnoff a sign lured us to this delightful little campsite, just 250 m from the motorway. Tucked behind a restaurant, among trees by the Savinja River, it is EMPTY (no hot smelly pools nearby!)

We unpacked the new cleaner, got to know the 2 campsite kittens and had a quiet evening with a roast chicken.

94 miles. Ł8.75 inc 10-amp elec.