Budapest to Freuchie Wednesday May 31st

 It is ironic that I have the whole day to get myself to the airport so I was up at 05.50 wide awake. The very quiet Irishman whose name was never offered was up and preparing for his departure. He is cycling to Istanbul then flying to Uzbekistan and cycling into Azerbajan. I wished him well and he was off by 06.00.

Sophie is up and wishing me bonjour. Sophie and Rosie the German girl who lives and works in Zurich and trying to reach the Black Sea before her 5 week holiday runs out and the quiet Irishman had dinner (whatever each of had left in the way of food) together last evening. I was almost jealous that they were all planning the next stages of their journeys but I am really quite happy to be going home today.

Gerard has sent me a picture we took together in Switzerland on Day 2. the beard was just a fuzz then. I can't wait to get to a razor and become clean shaven once more. Pauline assures me that the "Santa claus look" doesn't suit me. It certainly makes life easier in the morning. 

I have just been asked to "rend service" by Sophie. Could I take her washing from the machine when it ends in 2 hours time and hang it up for her. This will allow her to get an early start into Budapest sight seeing and will give me something to do whist I hang about waiting for my evening flight. 

I  have to amit to feeling a bit "pervy" handling the lace knickers and cycling shorts and skimpy tops as I hung them out to dry. As I was doing this Madame back garden reminded me that I would need to leave by 11.00 and by this time it was 10.00 and I had yet to shower or take my tent down. Help. I had discussed exactly this scenario with Rosie as she prepared to leave saying I had all morning to get ready. I reminded  Rosie that she  should remember to "smell the roses"

However I was all set to leave by 10.45 and remembering to drop of the door / gate key headed out into the very busy traffic. There is no doubt about it Budapest is for cars. It is not at all well set up for bikes and the 5k route into central Budapest was busy and sometimes scary. I went directly to the bike shop and they didn't mind that I was very early. I left instructions as to what should and shouldn't go in the box and set off for one last wander around the centre. Bad mistake. A combination of 27deg heat, inflexible cycling sandals and the fact that the European League final between Seville and Roma was taking place tonight in Budapest made the centre an uncomfortable place to be.

However once I installed myself in a cafe it became clear that the chanting and singing and gesturing between the rival supporters in the fan zone at St Stephen's square was good natured and not at all threatening. In fact there were quite a few family groups and not many groups of youths. They were in good voice at midday I hate to think what they will be like at kick off at 21.00.

I made my way back to the bike shop where my bike was duly packaged up. They charged me 6000 HUF about £14 when they had quoted 8000 HUF yesterday, which was a very pleasant surprise. I was helped upstairs to the street with my box and within 5 mins a Bolt arrived to take me to the airport. The exceedingly helpful young driver folded down his seats saying "no problem" as he helped me to lift my oversized package ingto his Volkswagen Caddy. He was a lovely guy who spoke good English and we had an interesting chat about Hungary and its history during the nearly one hour journey to the airport.

When we reached the airport he leapt out and fetched a trolley for me and helped me to lift it on. Fantastic service. Alltogether I had my bike packaged in central Budapest and transported  along with myself to the airport for just under £40. Brilliant. 

I am now installed at the airport and the check in desk doesn't open for more than three hours which explains why this entry is a bit more extensive than normal. I have just been approached by Airport Security to confirm that the large package parked outside the cafe is indeed mine. I guess the fact that I am the only person in the airport in cycling gear is a bit of a giveaway! It will certainly make me stand out at Edinburgh airport at after midnight later today/tomorrow.

The time passed quickly enough and by 19.00 the Ryanair desk opened and I was able to check in my bike. I was trying my luck with Pauline's trick of putting her second not allowed bag under her coat. I was trying to conceal my bar bag under my jacket which was a bit more of a challenge.I got away with it and the flight took off on time and landed ahead of time BUT it was more than an hour before my luggage arrived and we eventually got home at what for me was 03.00.

My initial thoughts are that I am glad to be home and glad that I stopped at Budapest. I have met lots of interesting people and seen some interesting sights and sites but there have been too many long boring slogs along the side of the Danube into a headwind for me to say that I have enjoyed every minute.

distance cycled so far:    975kms

Budapest Tuesday May 30th

 I awoke to a certain anticlimactic feeling then I realised that I still had two days to go and the feeling subsided. It was another lovely sunny day but the forecast was for showers. A lot of last night's neighbours were leaving to go onwards towards Belgrade. 

I had breakfast with Gerard and all of a sudden it clicked that Gerard was the same Gerard that I had met on the Rhine on my first campsite who wanted to change his plans to ride with me on Day 2. Small world.

I pretty much stuck to my usual routine without taking the tent down (not something that I will miss) and armed with a plan of the Budapest transport system I set off at around 08.30 to explore the metropolis. I had earlier walked the km or so to Aldi for breakfast provisions and managed to find my way back without madame Google's help.

Budapest is vast so any exploration is going to involve underground and overground transport as well as a lot of walking. I opted for a day pass for 2450 HUF about 6.5 euros which allowed me unlimited travel on all forms of public transport for 24 hours. The nearest underground station was a 10 minute walk away on line 3 which went into the very heart of Budapest. Because I was early there weren't too many tourists around and the "ants" and their guides were altogether missing. 

I had the impression of a centre on the up with many of the buidings cleaned and restored to their undoubted glory formerly. Further from the centre the picture was a little different but still interesting. As I toured the sights I kept an eye out for bike shops but it became clear that they were few and far between. By 11.00 I started to search in earnest and I was on my 7th bike shop including a Decathlon in a shopping mall before I found one with a box that they were willing to spare. I was starting to wonder just what I would do if I couldn't find a box. However Nella Kerekparbolt came to my rescue and for 8000HUF will package my bike up and tape up the box. Sorted.

After lunch in a Lebanese restaurant and a bit of photo taking and people watching I returned on the famous tram 23 which follows the Danube and went to within 600m of my campsite as recommended by the lady owner when incredible of incredible I sat next to her in the underground in the centre of Budapest. Two million people and I sat next to the campsite owner. We looked at each other and smiled. She told me she was off to Buda for shopping and suggested some tourist things to do including tram 23.

When I returned Rosie a German cyclist having a tourist day in Budapest was back before me complaining that Budapest was just too big, a sentiment that I may share, although I think after a week that could perhaps change. A French lady from Dijon. Sophie had also arrived who was en route to Belgrade from Dijon. At the moment the two have their heads together planning the route in a mixture of German English and French with the odd translation thrown in by myself. 

Hungarian Parliament Building

RR away day?

Klosterneuburg to Vienna Vienna to Budapest May 29th

 Today has been a strange day. Not bad; just very different to any that has gone before. I was up by 07.00 and showered and waiting for reception to open at 08.00 to pay my bill and get my chromebook charged for the unknown to come. In the meantime, although I had all morning I took my tent down in record time before going off to have breakfast. Breakfast on the road is always the same porridge oats with orange juice instead of milk and yoghurt added with banana mixed in when available. Sounds horrible tastes great and lasts and lasts.

This morning there was a problem - I couldn't find my spoon. sometimes the system of 1 pannier for the kitchen,one for the bedroom, one for the clothes and one for the rest breaks down but try as I might I could not find my spoon. Have you ever tried eating cereal with a fork? It was remarkable easy and of course the spoon turned up in my cycling sandals. Where else? A quick au revoir to Joel and off I set for Vienna 14kms away.

The legs were feeling good after a day's rest and the route was flat and car free all the way to the centre of Vienna. I didn't see or hear one car. However my route was a bicycle motorway being shared by walkers (a few with poles), runners (many of whom were seriously fast) casual cyclists and touring cyclist (the majority) and the speed merchants (it was like trying to use tri bars on princess street in Edinburgh ON THE PAVEMENT) However despite a few near misses no one was harmed in the making of this blog.

When the bicycle motorway ran out I emerged in the very heart of Vienna where I had been walking yesterday. Yes there were bike lanes but you needed to know exactly where you were going so that you could position yourself appropriately on the big grand boulevards and squares. I quickly got the hang of it (I followed some people who seemed to be going the same way as myself) and before long I realised that I was cycling the route that I had walked to the station yesterday. 

I was early so I settled myself in a cafe near to the station and started to learn a few words of polite Hungarian. I arrived at the station 30 mins before my train was due to leave (unheard of for me) and I was glad I had for it was not at all clear where the platforms were. In the end they were found logically laid out one storey UP and fortunately there were lifts. I left from platform 10. As in France there was a plan of the train so you wait at the right place. I was in wagon 412 and my bike was assigned space 91. I did not have an assigned seat. In Austria bike is king.As luck would have it the flat entry door to the bike space wouldn't open and I had to struggle up 3 steps to gain access to an area designed for the bikes to be hung up by their front wheel. However I was able to leave all my luggage on and push it into place. It was sticking out by about 15cm which I figured would do. Joke.

All was calm for the first hour then we stopped at the stop before Gyor and three fairly elderly German couples got on ( with a great deal of difficulty) with large bikes equipped with many panniers, clearly without tickets for bikes because all of the bike spaces were taken. They put their bikes in the spaces reserved for wheelchair users causing absolute havoc. No sign of the guard. Fortunately they got off at Gyor when the circus was repeated in reverse. Entitlement.

The train arrived ar Budapest Keleti and I exited to a completely different world. Bike lanes? Not a one in sight and the traffic was scarily busy. Madame Google informed me that my destination Donauradweg Radstation Budapest was 4kms away and attempted to take me on a reasonably (for a city) quiet route. I was glad to arrive at what is in effect someone's back garden. However they have provided everything that anyone could imagine for 8 euros per night. I am seriously impressed.

Unfortunately today is a holiday so all of the shops are closed. How awful I will be forced to eat out. I can hear two French cyclists discussing where to eat moins cher so I am off to join in the conversation.

What an incredibly small world. the Frenchman I have joined is Gerard who wanted to cycle with me for a bit on my second day in Swtzerland. Even more incredibly he comes from Les Sables d'Olonne like Joel my French companion of the last few days and THEY KNOW EACH OTHER. Their wives work together and they each knew that the other was on the road but not where. Incroyable.