Big lad on a bike: Friday 13th September

In writing this date I just realised its Friday 13th. I don't believe in all that stuff but lying here, alone in my tent by the river just south of Budapest, I suddenly feel a little more vulnerable. Stop it Ben...

So yes, those who know their geography will recognise that I've passed through the Hungarian capital spending 2 nights and experiencing the sights and unique flavours. I arrived Wednesday afternoon after a boggy entry from the north. We woke to our dear friend drizzle which turned to torrential rain. Not content with being drowned by the gutter waves from passing lorries, we turned to the cycle ways and tracks. One in particular, which turned out to be more of a furrowed field than thoroughfare caused no end of excitement. For a few adrenalin fuelled seconds I felt like a mountain biker until I slid in the mud extinguishing any hubris I may have had. In hindsight, the thick 4x4 tracks should've been a major giveaway.

Day 2 of my vegetarianism led me to a houmous house sat in the bad streets of buda. More of this and I could get used to this. At this stage I could easily do without meat for a long while despite the smell of goulash around most corners.

Due to general dampness I/we (Scott and I) chose the hostel-route. The thought of a radiator to dry clothes was very appealing. The problem with hostels is the people in them, namely Australians, talking about how much they miss veggiemite. No jokes, that is pretty much a verbatim conversation. We ended up on a pub crawl with the hostellers. Scott and I were wearing matching fleeces, so again, we stuck out like losers at a disco but we got stuck in. My general tiredness caught up with me so I bailed. I don't think i missed much and all I could think was that I was too old for this...

So woke and fled the hostel post haste. I needed some space and nobody likes having a lie-in in a hostel. My first stop on my self-guided bike tour was the szcherny bridge spanning the Danube. Bridge buffs amongst you will rightly remark that this stunning stone monument is a scaled up version of the equally impressive (ok, not equally) Marlow bridge that crosses the Thames. I took a picture of the plaque confirming this and I felt a warmth in my heart. A home from home in my little pilgrimage.

The other big note on my to do list was the scenery baths. I've always loved the idea of public bathhouses. This was a delight: 18 pools, indoor and out. Inside you'll find a variety of baths of differing temperatures with ornate red marble columns. I felt as though I was in Ancient Rome except I had nobody to strigil my back. I also treated myself to a massage: 15€ for 30 minutes as a middle aged woman, with hands like shovels, kneaded my back and legs. I felt thoroughly loosened and light headed as I left. It's a great place to hang out and definitely worth the visit, just be prepared for the general smell. Something like rotten skin, perhaps something to do with the fact most of the bodies bobbing about were pretty haggard and all wearing 80s baseball caps.

My home for tonight would be out of town on the Buda side. A converted tram station on top of a hill. It was a real pain to get to and my knee did not enjoy the long climb but when there the hostess welcomed me with a beer and I tucked into bread, tomatoes and avocado bought from the grand market hall in town. I didn't feel particularly sociable so had an early night.

One massive annoyance right now apart from the ozzies, is that my inflatable camping mat has a slow puncture. This means that I wake up every morning lying on an airless mat on the cold hard floor. After nearly a week of hopelessly blowing up my mat I really need to fix it. I have some puncture repair kits and am a master bodger so am bound to find some hashed together solution.

Essentially today I cycled round Budapest looking for a map for the rest of the Danube and shoe covers to stop my feet getting wet. There's no greater dampener to morale than wet feet so with few major cities until Istanbul I searched every cycle shop. Inevitably nobody stocked my size so it looks like ill be getting wet feet then... The bloke in the last shop told me that I shouldn't worry about wet feet because they'll dry. I felt emasculated...

I finally made it out town as it was almost getting dark. I had the urge to continue onwards but to be honest I was filled with trepidation. This was pretty my last sanctuary of civilisation until Istanbul. The next 2,000km were gonna be different and a test of character I'm sure. And now I'm back on my own again which is great but I'd gotten used to the company... Anyway, im made of stronger stuff and I'd gotten this far. Onward!!

Benjo was his namo

.....aaaand a few little snaps