I love the freedom of independent travel. Buy an airfare with a minimum of anything else prebooked. This time the “add on” was the use of a rented car. Crossing a number of countries in Europe, it gives us maximal freedom but it is not without added layers of complexity. So much so that less than 24 hours into our European vacation I am wondering why I haven’t booked a mindless organised trip!
The starting point is Budapest airport and we have a 2 hour drive to Szeged on the border with Romania. In my haste to get going in the dark I accidentally have my phone GPS set to silent and forget to press start. The resultant delayed access to maps is 40 minutes wasted regaining the motorway on the outskirts of Budapest.
I awake to a message from Optus that I am being charged $5 per day for data roaming despite having turned it off before leaving Australia. 40 minutes of ongoing dispute with Optus has us solving the situation by turning off the Optus SIM card altogether.
The next morning bright and sunny has us wandering around the picturesque old city of Szeged. My father was born near here and grew up in this city. His ashes are scattered in the Tisza river here
Before leaving for Romania I had to purchase a vignette on line. This is like our e Tag allowing travel along the freeways without incurring fines for non payment of tolls. A supposedly simple process except they require the car engine number, I have no idea why. There is no manual in the glove box and the rental documents did not have that detail. I believed that it is somewhere on the engine and all I have to do is open the bonnet. I feel around in all the usual places for bonnet release and there is no lever nor button release anywhere. Finally we consult Google to discover that the release is a lever found between the door and the body of the car. Elated I open the bonnet only to find no engine number. 40 minutes in we consult Google again to discover that the number is etched in tiny characters into the windshield on the driver’s side! Finally mission accomplished but it has been a day of ordeals.
The one positive is the gradual reawakening of my linguistic skills. As a child I was fluent in Hungarian. Fifty years of disuse had me struggling with any of the language.As I wander around the streets the signage has words tumbling out of my subconscious. Suddenly I get what is being said to me and I can even respond appropriately. I begin to string words together in a rudimentary fashion. Shame we are only her for less than 24 hours but I do have 3 days at the end of the trip to consolidate.
