Gosh – sorry it is so long!

Having heard endless nightmare tales about traffic for the Budapest Grand Prix (Hungaroring) we were up and on the road early on Friday. We had a pit stop (of sorts) at the local supermarket (I’m sorry to say it was Tescos – they don’t seem to have an other choices!) and got ourselves fully supplied up for three days in a field. We didn’t really know what to expect of the weekend and specifically of the the camping – forums are a dangerous place to form opinions but there was a lot of chat about it being very basic.

We arrived in site mid morning and managed to find a little plot of grass that was fairly inconspicuous and not too close to too many large groups. We quickly realised what the deal was with camping al la Hungaroring – essentially it was a little like being on a giant Eurovision Stag Party. From 7am every 3.4 seconds you would hear either the sound of a can of beer being opened or a belch of appreciation at the aforementioned beer. The groups of campers were beyond prepared – there were setups which rival peoples houses. With large fridge freezers, full size amplifiers, adult paddling/swimming pools, bbqs and we even saw a full size paella pan – we realised no was taking this weekend by half! There was a very strong Polish, German and Austrian contingent and we actually didn’t see any camping Hungarians. We adapted quickly enough but could never quite get used to the endless music being played at full volume each pitch trying to play louder than their neighbour….needless to say I don’t think I’ll be able to listen to Bin Jovi for quite some time! Dave, referring to the camping as a sausage factory, turned protector after seeing a few stares and a couple of whistles at me, the only female in sight, and he took to walking me everywhere!

The campsite we chose was wonderfully placed for our grandstand being a 10minute walk away and so spent the weekend either relaxing (‘ohhh oh living on a prayer…..’) by the campsite or trackside. The grand prix was brilliant and as big fans (Dave even more than me!) we loved every minute of it. We were happily surprised by a drivers parade and interviews ahead of the race which was a nice bonus that you don’t always get in the tv coverage. Dave predicted that Lewis Hamilton was going to win and bought himself a supporters baseball hat (which his hasn’t taken off since – I had expect to wake up and see him with it on) and he was right a Hamilton win was spectacular as visiting Brits.

The only slight literal dampner was a small thunder storm and endless rain on Saturday night which completely destroyed our awning and left us with a morning wading in the puddles trying to assess the damage. This was followed by a blisteringly hot day for the grand prix and then the biggest storm I have ever been in on Sunday night. We could see the clouds on the horizon and swiftly packed all our belongings inside planning for a night hiding from the rain. What followed was extreme weather! The rain started, and lightening in the horizon…..then from nowhere a wind arrived and the rain got harder. The tents pitched around us lasted no longer than 5 minutes before they were blown out of range and rendered campers running for the solace of their cars. We spent the next three hours watching incredible and endless lighting and trying to ignore the increasing rocking of the camper in the gale force wind. Locals have since told us that they have never seen anything like it so we know we were treated to something special! I wont deny I wasn’t a little nervous being in a big tin can during it – but the next day I wanted to do it all again!

We left on Monday morning having avoided the huge amount of Sunday night departing traffic and have spent two days in a little tree house room in a little town north of Budapest called Szentendre Which is really the prettiest place we have seen in Hungary.

We are a little sad to leave but to be honest I need some vegetables! There are certain things that make Hungary seem it is a few decades behind – the fact that they are still extremely fond of shell suits and you can see families walking down the street each in their own matching suit – secondly the fact they seem to not have been told about the European obesity crisis. Not only do they drink beer for breakfast but everything – and I mean e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g is fried and the closest to vegetables (apart from our own cooking) is a side portion of pickled cabbage. As soon as we next get to a supermarket I am going to buy and cook a whole broccoli and eat only that!

We are told that there is even a phrase to describe Hungarians – ‘sirva vigadni’ which means ‘take their pleasure sadly’ – essentially The suggestion Hungarians enjoy seeing the negatives and even in times of a booming economy on 36% of them said they were happy with their quality of life. Even though you have been a little bit grumpy most of you have been wonderful – köszönöm Hungary we have loved it!