The minimal research we had done into Hungary had lead us to think it might be little bit desolate, dull and uninspiring compared to the parts of Slovenia we had enjoyed so much. Admittedly we didn’t see all of the country but the bits we did see were in fact a lot desolate, dull and uninspiring. Hungary obviously sits on some large expanses of hot underground water because there are thermal spas and baths everywhere, which is great if you are into the ‘wellness’ culture. This generally means there are a lot of Germans who summer and winter in Hungary because it is so cheap and spend most of their time in the sauna or wondering the streets of the spa towns in a robe. The whole spa experience is easily replicated by wearing your dressing gown to do everything, driving, going to work, cooking,etc etc….Hungary does give moderately interesting church however…..



We did manage a trip to Lake Ballaton where despite all the supposed shortcomings of a former eastern bloc country we did find power points and wireless internet on the beach but generally we didn’t stay long and did a fairly large u-turn in the direction of Austria and Graz. We are finally starting to get wise to suggestions from the guidebooks and the internet and actually bothered to find somewhere to stay in the city. For 12 euro we had a secure parking spot behind a Toyota dealership in the city centre and the keys to the showroom for the weekend so we could access their water and bathrooms etc…..not sure if that kind of thing happens in the UK…..
Graz itself was delightful despite the pouring rain and freezing temperatures at night. During the day the main square is littered with beanbags and has an open-air library for public use…..





The city also has some fairly impressive architecture…..





Heading west again we dropped back into Slovenia in search of warmer weather and decided on a look at the Adriatic via the Tolmin Gorges in the north west…



A chance discovery of a vineyard with attached campsite on the way down meant a civilised night’s sleep and a wine-tasting just after breakfast the next morning before heading to Izola on the short bit of Slovenian coast. We found a car park on the beach to stay in and had it to ourselves the first night we were there, took a trip to Piran a few kilometres down the coast…



before deciding on another night in Izola by the quiet and peaceful beach. Next morning 55 more campervans (really) turned up for the annual Slovenian Camper Van Club meeting or suchlike…this largely involves moonshine before breakfast and a bit more after. The rest of the day passes in something of a blur….the neighbouring campers were keen to make sure we drank and ate authentic local food. The moonshine doesn’t go that well with muesli but is surprisingly good with a fried pig fat sandwich.,..A week later we left in the direction, vaguely, of home in the knowledge we still had a good month left before we sail back to the UK. We stopped at the vineyard again on the way back up and met two sets of Dutch campervanners and a group of crazy Czech parapenters. Now into the grape harvest the vineyard owner left us a fridge full of wine with instructions to conduct our own tasting until he returned later in the evening when we tasted them all again very thoroughly with an added Slovenian commentary….needless to say a late night with everyone talking their own languages and pretending they could be understood…..



Not feeling very well our route took us north back to Bovec in the Soca valley where we had stayed some three weeks before. Here we met round-Europe-kayakers Mark and Adam in their home-built campervan and drank all their wine outside a closed ski bar….we spent the best part of a week with these two discussing the finer points of camper van conversion, kayaking, the sandpaper industry and general travelling over many bottles of wine, beer and, we think we recall, cider….The four of us sat outside the bar that rarely opens for most of the week because of torrential rain….



The weather did mean the nearby Slap Boka was even more impressive (see last post)



and the rivers running much higher. Adam Kayak in action….



And this is a bug on our tyre…



After an evening in the bar (finally) and 4am poached eggs courtesy of Sarah we decided we needed to move on again but waited another day for the headache to subside before heading north, back into Austria and then on into Germany.

We both wanted to see Munich but neither of us realised the Oktoberfest beer festival actually starts in September. This is organised binge drinking to the soundtrack of oompah-loompah brass bands and wasn’t really for us after the excesses of the previous week….





The city itself was great, very relaxed and great weather, although you wouldn’t think it…..



A significantly more sobering experience was the Dachau Concentration Camp memorial site just outside Munich. Much of the camp still exists and has been turned into a very good museum although it does seem slightly incongruous to be there on a sunny day in shorts…..



Next onto Zurich to stay with our friend Frances for a great weekend. I had struggled with saying ‘short back and sides please’ in both Slovenian and Hungarian so Sarah has learned a new skill from Frances….



I haven’t shaved my head so assume Sarah was quite good at it…..Now we are heading north towards Germany again, into Belgium and possibly Holland before sailing back to the UK. We will be in various parts of England and Scotland for about three weeks before flying to Asia for the next bit……