2020-03-11 Day 486 Wed

The corona virus is on our minds. We really don’t think going to a capital city is a very good idea. Also we are thinking to drive to Slovakia and put the heater in for service if it takes 2 or 3 days to fix then we can go back to Hungary and see Budapest.

I emailed our Webasto contact in Slovakia and asked if he could look at heater tomorrow and to please answer quickly as we would drive right through Hungary without stopping.

Will be a first for us in and out of a country in the one day the same day.

We assumed would be a fast transit but not quite to plan. 

 A message back from Webasto saying " you can come tomorrow"

At the border which were both sides in the one spot. We were held up a bit. One official indicated that with corona virus would be hard ot get into EU. They queried our car rego and did not like it. Wanted to see our drivers license and did not like the date on the international one as dated Jan 2020 which had past I tried to explain it is for the next 12 months. One guy was happy to accept the other took the documents and disappeared for 30mins. He came back happy and with a stamp we were into the EU again. They did not want the piece of paper we had received leaving Greece. All crossings of borders are very different.

At the exit gate we needed to go across to a window and pay for road tax. About €20. At least nice and easy.

 

 

A long flat uninteresting drives although lots of buildings mostly churches to photograph and a few interesting signs.

An hour behind time, then this sign. Yep limited to 80 on the free way. It will be a long day. We need to get across the Danube to be within a few hours of Trnava and webasto

The drive went well but when we were near Budapest on freeway there was so much traffic it made us not want to come back and visit.

Finally, late in the day, we crossed the Danube once again but on a bridge this time. We stopped at a gas station to buy a toll for the roads but the system does not have Australia listed so cannot buy. Was informed to go to a bigger place. Will tomorrow.

Found a camp out of town a few km’s and beside a small tributary. Nice and wooded.

As we pulled up I noticed this little headless bird….. He let me walk right up to him and take pictures. He flew off a while later.

407km  Camp site  153m alt.

2018-10-29 Day 48 Mon

Stayed in camp for a while with internet while I reloaded the rec reserves finances I had removed from Manager a couple of days ago. I rang Kevin and admitted to my over zealous clean up!!


Then we headed off to the border of Romania 30km SE. Our passports needed for the first time in 8 countries and 2 months. But the crossing was straight forward. We drove to the check point handed our passports over then our rego and was told to go and park. This we did then walked back to the police officer. We followed our passports as they were handed on and on again. Finally a guy entered details into the computer and stamped our two passports, he spent some time looking at our rego then handed it to us. We were in Romania after 49 days in Shengen territory.

The line of trucks waiting to enter Slovakia was 4.95km. I thought South American lines were bad.
We circuited the town of Orada trying to stay out the worst of the traffic. The drivers here are a little more exciting than in Slovakia. The rules are more open to interpretation the further we drive East and South. A lot of concentration needed.

In a small village we missed the turn to the river and the track we were on became unused. We headed back and stopped to ask a group of guys that were building a large hot house frame. Among the 6 of them they got us on the right track to the river. The camp is our most exposed so far in Europe. On a rise with towns in the distance. But we did have some visibility unlike our forest camps where visibility was so contained. A train line is in a trench 5 meters away, and a number of small trains came through during the evening.

Quiet a number of lady bugs around, noticed that when we stopped for lunch too.

96KM   Camp site

2018-10-28 Day 47 Sun

A fisherman came and picked up a mooring buoy and sat there fishing till after we left. We saw him pull in one fish about 20cm long.

The big cow sheds and stacks of hay were plentiful

Drove through some of the national parks and wet lands but a little dry now. Wet time is spring, when lots of birds nest here. Now they have mostly left for winter. Camped near Vikendhazak over looking the canal, it rained a little over night and was quite windy.

165km  Camp site

2018-10-27 Day 46 Sat

Arrived at the cave entrance early but had time to read all the info posted on the walls. A bit of a shame that the longer walks are not readily available. However we went on the 1.2km 100min walk from the baradla - barlang entrance. And what a walk. We initially went down steps to an underground river (dry at this time of the year) and on a concrete footpath followed the river for 1.2km. There were 4 or 5 big caverns and the “tunnel” joining them was also huge we could have driven EC down it easily. An amazing tunnel and to think it has 3 main entrances and goes for over 20 km in Slovakia. We could not book one of the 5 hour tours as a minimum of 5 people are required, and you need to book 2 weeks in advanced. The downfalls of traveling off season with no plan!! The upside being there was only 20 people in our tour!!

After our trip back to EC in the bus from where we had excited the cave we traveled through towns looking for lunch.

We did a quick food shop and as I was packing groceries away John noticed a restaurant down the road. A lunch of venison in a very reduced sweet sauce with mashed spuds shaped and deep fried (chips). Very nice but far too much. We shared a beer but did not have wine as Hungary has a 0.0% tolerance of blood alcohol level.

On John drove. One town we came to seemed to have police cars everywhere with lights flashing. The roads were wet so maybe a bit slippery as this poor truck driver found out. Guard rails saved the day!

On the drive, 3 campsites were visited looking for a washing machine but they were all closed.

We came to a river and found our way down a dirt track to park near the river.

It seems to be getting easier to find out of the way camps.

146km  Camp site

2018-10-26 Day 45 Fri

The roads were in bad repair or rather had been repaired a lot so were a bit lumpy and bumpy keeping our speed around 50kph. We were traveling parallel and between 8-15 km south of our track on the 22^nd in Slovakia heading West not East.

The towns still make use of the wells in their front yards. Quite a varied collection of them.

Covering round bales with plastic...one long sausage!

We made it to Aggteleki national park and the information station 15 mins before it closed for the night. Found out about the 2 cave tours still running over winter and then left to find a camp.

We camped behind some trees in a farmers paddock just off the road. There were many car tracks through the “paddock”. I mention this as just as we were finishing eating a car pulled up in front of us and a parks officer came to the door telling us this was national park and no camping. To cut the story short after 30 minutes of telling us stories and giving us his card he left us there for the night. A very friendly fellow, well traveled (overseas) and head of this park and the whole northern area of parks.

139km   Camp site

2018-10-25 Day 44 Thu

It was a little wet this morning but not too bad. We did take a little top soil from camp with us in our tread. A drive down through Slovakia to the Hungarian border. The houses in the small villages are all neat and cared for. Only occasional we see an un-cared-for, and these are normal completely unloved and un-lived-in. 

All the small towns have at least one stork nest on a special platform above the power poles.

Crossed into Hungary near Satoraljaujhely. And found a dirt road, which we duly followed up the valley and through forests finally finding a little camp with some internet. John misjudge a tree and broke the glass in the right hand side mirror. It stayed in situ but reflections were a bit crazy.

181km      Camp site