Our route out of Czech

Sat 16th Aug

The early start we had planned ended up not so early, as yet again I had kept us both awake with this wretched cough! No spare room to go to and walking a damp campsite all night isn't going to do much to help get rid of it. More Buttercup syrup, paracetamol, strepsils and water. Richard is being patient so far but I know coughs really irritate him. I wonder why, perhaps he was down a mine or in a TB hospital in some former lifetime? Whatever, the more you try not cough the more you do and it is annoying me more!

We like Czech and feel sure we will return again. The tourist potential appears totally untapped once you are outside Prague or "sexy crumb love" (Ceske Kumlov) Anyone wanting to get the best from Czech, it's picturesque villages, friendly people and the beautiful landscapes of the rural areas should do it soon, before anymore KFCs and McDonalds appear or before the rest of Europe realises quite how much this country has to offer and at such value.

Leaving Czech we drive into Slovakia. Really I can tell you nothing about this country, we got lost in Bratislava and ended up in Hungary! If Czech is place to visit then Bratislava certainly isn't. People who moan about our own spaghetti junction should try it. Imagine Bratislava to be a ball of wool that has been left unattended with a playful kitten for three hours. The city planners must have been having a laugh, roads go every which way, up, down, round and round, level upon level. I'm sure that with luck on your side, you could very easily spend a week or even more just driving their endless roller coster of a road system. This is somewhere we won't be returning to.

I had hoped to drive half way across Slovakia before entering Hungary but having escaped Bratislava, we took the most direct route we could. Frustrations were a little high on both sides; my map reading wasn't up to the job, though in my defence the scale of map I was using was better suited to navigating across Europe not through individual cities. Richards patience was being stretched and we were both lacking sleep. Stop, find a Campsite and regroup.

My pigeon German came in useful as it matched the pigeon German of the Hungarian woman on the reception of the campsite. This was our only common language. We managed.

A hug and kiss later and Richard and I were back on track and discussing the apparent differences between the Czechs and the Hungarians. So far we not overly impressed. Was it our bad start or the fact that this wasn't were we intended being being tonight or was that when Richard fell off his pedestal it had hit me on the head? Whatever the answer, tomorrow is a new day and I will try to look at Hungary with new eyes. Today it seems the people do not smile, not even the children. I resolve that unless Hungary cheers up then good map or bad it'll be the first route out tomorrow;which may determine our next destination.