No Breakdowns!!!

Well well well...a little bit of a surprise for those of you that don't know, but I'll keep you waiting til the end before I give it away!

Vienna was where I got up to, so...We stayed about 8 miles from Vienna, but we were right on the train track, so we got the train in. Really nice trains, Austrian trains are. Lovely things. Oh, while i'm talking of trains, saw this, may me laugh a bit. Don't know if Whit reads this thing or not.



There is loads and loads to see and it is a very beautiful city. Austria on the whole was absolutely top notch. A country that has it all I would say. Here are some of the buildings...















It was pretty cold here, so we both went to H&M and bought some hats. You may have already seen these, if not, they will be popping up in some photos. I also bought a coat as someone seems to wear mine all the time because she didn't bring one!

They have a lot of horseys in Vienna, and are famous for the Lippanzer (I think that’s how you spell it) horses which are brown at birth then change colour to white. They use them in the Spanish riding school, and after hearing really interesting things, thought it best to go. We went to see them at what they called "morning exercise with music" and basically it wasn't that great. Unless you like paying EUR 12 to see horses being trotted, it was OK, but too expensive. In the evening shows they do some crazy dance moves with them and I thought that we would see this, but we didn't. This is them...



Here's just some other horseys...



Having a lot of horseys therefore means a lot of horse poo here and there. That isn't a problem at all. But come on pigeons. What are you playing at?!



Mental note. Never kiss a pigeon!

Here is one of me with some high flying big shots in Austria.



We did have a couple of drinks in Austria too which was pretty good stuff...





It also must have been fashion week too, because we saw this outfit which I think screams classy!



Also, to keep you on the edge of your seats, there have been a few funny signs spotted and photographed in Austria, so these can be your treat for reading through this thing...

Oh, last one in Vienna now. Becky rather took a shine to what I can only imagine is one of their M.P's..



From Vienna, we then headed west slightly towards Salzburg, but the couple that we met in Budapest said that they went to Lake Attersee and thought that it was beautiful, so as we were literally driving past it, we stopped here for a bite to eat and a little leg stretch. It was very lovely.



We got to Salzburg, and the site was probably one of the most expensive we have stayed at even in the off peak, so we made the most of being here and went into Salzburg straight away. We were 3 miles away and had a brilliant bike path all along the river to get us into the city. Austria didn't let us down with Salzburg. It was another quality city. It was much smaller than Vienna, but totally unique. It seemed that nothing was there, but behind the first row of buildings everything was then set back and had a really nice atmosphere. There was some massive festival thing on with a big old beer tent which wasn't planned by us, so we made use of this. We decided that our dinner tonight would consist of junk food and beer. It started with a giant pretzel/strudel thing...





After this we thought that climbing up to the castle would then deserve us more junk food. This was the fellow we wanted to get too...



We got to the top and had some brilliant views over the city...







So. We got to the bottom and hit the beer tent. It was pretty awesome and very unexpected. We sat here for a while, drank beer and ate Sauerkraut with sausages, which is awesome stuff. Here is the beer lady. We asked for a photo and she went to take one of us. We said "no one of you," she said "me???" we said "yes, you?"



Good old Helda!



This is what the beer tent looked like. The ooompa looopa band got everyone singing along and standing on the tables by the end. It was very good.



After enough beer, we then went via a chocolate pretzel shop but decided that I had to have my photo taken with this little dame...



A 100 mile drive took us too...





Munich, Oktoberfest! After all the stupid sized beer throughout Europe, we get here and my lord of all tankards...



They're bloody massive. Anyway, they are...



Nice Jugs! Sorry Becky! This was literally one of the craziest things i have ever seen. The amount of people is ridiculous. The bands are brilliant. The food is awesome. After 3.30pm I have no idea how you are supposed to go if you haven't reserved a seat as everywhere we went was absolutely packed. We had enough time to get about 3 litres of beer inside us then stumble around. There is also something probably quite similar to that of Michael Jacksons Garden in the area round there...



Here are some photos of us drinking and generally at the Beer Fest...









So. Oktoberfest in Munich was officially our last night out. We were heading on our way home and made the 500 mile drive from Munich getting to the Hook of Holland an hour before we set sail. It was a bit close at one point when I had to get under the van various times to sort out the same problem as last time, but this time it was made worse because I think that it was the local spot where all the trams urinate and didn't have a fresh smell about it! I think I was in the "get the van fixed" zone that I managed to be distracted by how foul it really was! We are both now back in England. The most surprising of all is that we have got back to England without one single call to Mr Breakdown Man, so I think it is time to whoop and cheer for the good old battle axe that has been sporting his orange and white coat all around Europe...Mike! Bravo.

Right, as a treat for reading through this post and all the others, the grand finale will be these...(I just hope I haven't made it too big a build up for it)

Bloody rain...

Hello. Lots to report so no wasting time...

We left Slovenia and entered Hungy. Various "i'm in Hungry in Hungary" comments have been said...I think we both are in need of some other company now! Our first stop was on Lake Balaton, and our reason for heading here was because of the Heviz Hot Sprigs. It is basically a natural thermal bath thing which is naturally heated to about 30 degrees and has lots of minerals so is supposed to be all good for the body. Because of these magical powers the water has, it seems to attract everyone over the age of 75 so we were pretty much the youngest people by far here. It was good fun tho. It is also good fun to laugh at old people who are wearing arm bands, especially pink ones! We stayed in the thermal springs until we were very prune like. I have no photos from here because I didnt know what the deal was with taking a camera in and whether they had lockers, so I have got one from the internet to show you what it was like. It was very good and relaxing...



Next up we went to Budapest. The capital. We went in the first day, and was glad we did, because we needed to get our bearings and make some kind of sense of where we were and what to see. It was all very strange being somewhere so big as that. Compared to Ljubljana this place was massive so we kind of got our whereabouts and managed to have a few beer in a cafe.

The next day in, we thought that probably the best way to see most of the place would be to join all the toursits and opt for the open top busses! It worked out pretty well be cause it showed us everything that we wanted to see and we also got a free hour long boat trip on the Danube. Something of the cherry on the cake or the deal breaker for us I suppose!

Heres some photos of Budapest...















I have been told to say by Becky that the fact her Pashmina doesnt "go" with her outfit is because it was so could she was "forced" to buy it,and didnt have this in mind blah blah blah!

Itr was very clod on the open top bus, but as soon as we got on the boat, the Sun came out and we were greeted with some blue skies. I did find this quite amusing on some chaps map that he had on the table whilst we were on the boat...



Sex Shop! I like how they make such a big deal of that! No we didnt go Mum!

That evening I believ was an evening of a full moon, and was bloody cold. Our first real chilly night whils camping. needless to say, the electric blanket has been used ever since. What a marvellous invention. We met another English couple that night at the site and spent most of the night drinking and chatting to them about where we have been and where they have been etc. Back at bed time, I realised that not only can Becky not get dressed (such as the photo from Lake Bled) but she also cant get undressed!



It may well be due to the fact that she had about 2 t shirts, 3 jumpers and 2 jackets on and then tried to take them all off at once! Anyway, Nina, you asked for some, so I got you one.

After a few days a Budapest we then went to our last stop in Hungry, a place in the outskirts off the Bukk National Park. We went via Eger which was some old town. When we were driving in, they must had had some kind of classic car festival and we were greeted by loads of old WW2 vehicles tooting and waving at us. Either that or thats just how they greet everyone that comes here. Here is Eger...



This is where things get very dull for 2 or 3 days, as when we got to our site, we had nothing but rain for our whole time here. Literally, the highlight I think was the food shop at Tescos! We asked the very friendly Dutch chap directions to there and he said "left at loads of Gypsy houses, right at the church,over the train track" I laughed when he said Gypsy house, but he really wasnt kidding. I think that we really saw some of the "slums" in Hungry. I could see us breaking down and these Gyp-os coming to steal our wheels. They all had wonky teeth and were filthy looking. We tried to take photos but were more afraid they would steal our cameras. The chap at the site told us that they all have about 10 children and start having them from about 16 because of the beneits and that they got more money that way than working. It wasnt very pretty. Hungary was so much poorer and less developed than any of the other places that we have been to.

After our time here confined to the van, we left for a journey initially set out for Levoca in Slovakia. We started our journey, and found the site just outside Levoca. We were the only people there and it wasnt the most "welcoming" of campsites, so I told the owner a little white lie that we were going to the town and would be back...we never went back! We did go into Levoca, and this was a bit of a disappointing place, and decided that rather than waste some of our time here, we could crack on and head to a nicer sounding place in Poland. So thats what we did.

Our drives lately have been, to put it simply, bloody freezing! I thought that we would be ok without any heating in the van, however for these drives we have both been unable to feel our feet, but we have been able to see our breath!

We drove via the Tatra Mountains and this was a very scenic route. Lots and lots of ski resorts about.



We kept climbing higher and higher in the mountains, and when we got to the height of the clouds I could hardly see the windscreen wipers it was that bad.

We got to our site in Poland, and the area around there was beautiful. Also, we werent the only people at the site, so it made us feel a little bit better. Whilst we were here, we made the most of their restaurant for a couple of nights and had some really awesome food. Here is some of that. This should hopefully satisfy your request Liz...





It was crazy how cheap the food was. We both had 3 courses and about 3 drinks and it was 22 pounds for the lot. Cheaper than McDonalds...and a hell of a lot nicer!

On our day here, we went for a stroll about as the rain seemed to ease off. We were camped at one end of a lake, we walked what we thought would be the best way, but had a dog follow us all the way. We thought it was the camp site dog, so when we couldntget any further we asked the reception if it was theres but it wasnt. Apparently some stray. We lost it for a bit and began walking the corect wa around the lake, then some ten minutes later when we were adamant that we had lost the blighter (who im sure was half dog half fox) came running past us and nearly got killed by a tractor! I think it was because I had jaffa cakes in my pocket that he could smell them! So, he joined us for the walk again, but when we got a bit further up, he only went and killed a bleeding pidgeon! Needless to say, fox dog wasnt in our good books, so when we saw a coach party draw up, we lost him in the crowds! I also ate the Jaffa Cakes to avoid any chances of him finding us again!

Here are pictures from our walk around Poland. It is a place called Niedzica I think, which was pretty close to the Slovakia border...





From here we then drove to some Salt Mines still in Poland which were just outside of Krakow. They were pretty impressive. basically they have been used for years to get salt and now a day I think it is mainly used as a tourist attraction. The main highlight here was the Chapel which was all carved out of the salt. The picture probably doesnt do it justice, but it was pretty awesome...



We were going to go into Krakow, but after driving through it and not really finding anywhere to stay, and also neither of us that bothered about going we headed for Auschwitz as this was something that we both definately wanted to do.

Auschwitz was a pretty incredible place. Very shocking and disturbing. There was so much that I learnt and didnt realise how the place was ran. I wont tzpe it on here as its not the most uplifting of subjects, but i shall put some pictures on instead...















We are currentlz in Vienna, and this is where we have come from since Auschwitz. I shall post about here the next time, as we are wanting to get out of the internet cafe and see some more of the place.

Good bye for now...


Oh, before I go, heres another one for Nina...



Thanks for everyones comments also. I very much appreciate them.

Byesy Bye.

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