Rural Hungary

  We set our tent up inside to escape the storm in this lonely part of hungary.

taking a short cut through a corn field.

lovely old donkey with sore hooves eternally grateful for a carrot

Ripe chilli ready to be harvested and ground for paprika

Riding through the small rural town of Batya we were invited in for drink by a fellow cycle tourist, Attila. As far as we could decipher through the langauge barrier he was a cycle mechanic and did up old bikes to sell (he had hundreds of bikes and parts around his house). He showed us a European map on his wall with the plotted journeys he had cycled.  Impressive long rides all over the continent with averages of 140 km a day! He wasn't snobby at all about our slow haphazard trip - he gave us some good advice for routes south and showed us photos from his trips. 

We stayed the night in his garage on our mats next to a wall of ice skates. Perhaps he hires these out in winter? Earlier in the night as he served us blueberry liqueur he excitedly raced to put on a record and came back nodding expectantly. I nodded back politely and tapped my feet not recognizing the reggae pop music. As he changed sides I tried to ask if it was a hungarian group, perhaps a friend's band? I felt such a second rate Australian when he showed me the Men at Work album cover! To be fair on myself it wasnt the record with the Vegemite sandwich song.  He did actually have great taste in music and was excited we liked Kraftwerk and Laurie Anderson as he had all their records. It was great to hear "Trans Euro Express" as I always whistle the tune as we are cycling.

Thanks Attila (köszönöm!!)  we hope we can return your hospitality if you ever make the journey across to Australia!