Monday 8th September Day 4.

Day 4 and another early start. Met up at the wagons at 7.15 am to fit the Austrian toll boxes to our vehicles. Every vehicle using the Austrian motorway network has to have a small box attached to the front windscreen of their vehicle which transmits on a unique frequency which is assigned to that vehicle. You can then load up the box with credit and all along the motorway are bridges with sensors on which deduct a charge form your box as you pass through.. When credit is getting low it beeps 3 times meaning get some more credit quick or the old bill will be after you.


Anyway we set off from the German –Austrian borders at 7.30am in rain and cold and drove on towards Vienna for a couple of hours before stopping for breakfast served in car park of a truck stop by Alex and John in the catering truck. Then it was onwards east through Austria and very shortly the clouds broke up and by the time we passed Vienna we were in warm sunshine. Cue ‘here comes the sun’ on the ipod over the radios.

We crossed into Hungary about 2.30pm and pushed on towards Budapest. Unfortunately the hotel we were aiming to stay at on the Budapest ring road was full but it turned out to be a blessing in disguise as they rang ahead to another place which was another half hour further on and is the cheapest and nicest hotel we have stayed at yet. I am typing this blog by a little lake in the hotel gardens (see photo below), still after almost 12 hours on the road we all deserve a nice bed to kip in.


To the side of the hotel is a rather muddy field which brings me on to another story altogether.

Every year there is a prize for the convoy idiots. Apparently Simpson Millar win it hands down every year. Well this year it looks as if we may have to settle for 3rd place at best. As I told you on Friday Carl Webb and Ted Stead drove onto the wrong ferry in Hull and this evening Alex and John pulled into a muddy field instead of the hotel car park and as you can see that is where their vehicle remains! Currently waiting for a tractor to come and drag it out!

So tomorrow we will be through Hungary and into Romania where the roads are likely to deteriorate. We have to push on as we have a small ferry we have to catch on Thursday across the border from Romania into Bulgaria. It reminds me of The Long way round – except I guess I am never going to be Ewen McGregor.

Over and out

P