8 July ’04, Thursday. No Breakfast, No Coffee (eventho I made it…), and at 9am we were checking out. Now I think this is ridiculous to say the least, but reality is we were on our way. I was looking to stop by the local bakery and pick up a goodie but it didn’t happen. We were many miles beyond Vienna and I had my chance…do we have any food bars by chance? With my coffee (considerably cooler), and a food bar that we had brought all the way from Seattle, I was able to quench my needs for the time being. Our trip today is to leave Vienna and head 240km to Budapest, Hungary. As I remember it, the last time we were on the road (and possibly the time or two before that) we were driving into a head wind…..well today was no different. The flag on the highway was standing straight out and showed it to be into our face. It was buffeting “Bumble Bee” heavily and our gas mileage going down the tube. Leaving Vienna, our trip took us over a flat landscape to Budapest and then we moved out into the rolling hills covered with Pine trees. The flat farming lands were growing wheat, corn, and a lot of sunflowers. In talking with our camper friends (people we meet at the different sites) Budapest is “The” place to visit. We are all anxious to see if this is really the case. On our arrival into the city of 2.4 million, we first noticed that the roads in the city proper were not up to those of other cities but we wont let that influence our opinion yet. Driving the roadways we did find that they were probably the best marked with directions and names. As it was, we drove right to a campground (even though it wasn’t the one we thought we might want) and settled right in. Well, almost right in….I hooked up our electricity and then decided to move a couple of feet. I ended up pulling the cord out of the van and leaving the wires without a plug. Now we are in trouble. No electricity and no way of getting it. Well, the good people of the campground came to our rescue and we now have our electricity. Now isn’t that just great ??? I couldn’t believe what I did but they were jolly on the spot for us. I’ve got to tell you a little bit about this campground…. It isn’t new by any means, is set on a hill side overlooking the city. A short bus or a short tram to your destination. Our “pitch” isn’t large but it is enough. The restaurant and the rest/shower rooms are all very rustic (as in Old West rustic) but more than good enough for our needs. We have a large number of Italian families here and I am having fun trying to communicate with them (you know me and a little bit of Spanish go a long way…oh yes, did I mention a glass of wine as well?). I have a neighbor who spotted my exterior step/tool box and wanted to swap his for mine. It seems that we both have a story to tell about running over our last ones….well, the swap was made straight across but I guess he felt guilty. He even tossed in a partial bottle of home made “Citrone”. It is a liquor made from lemons, alcohol, and a little sugar….WOW, THAT WAS GOOOOD !!!! Tomorrow….Budapest
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