Employees open their hearts

We have really grown fond of the people at the thermal campsite. At the beginning, the atmosphere was a bit chilly, but with each passing day, the staff at the thermal baths open up more and more. Yesterday Agi, the masseuse, really kneaded me again to get me fit for the next few kilometers. My back is doing reasonably well and we are looking forward to Serbia and maybe Romania. When I wanted to give Agi the money, she refused. “It’s a gift for the trip,” she said with a satisfied smile. Tanja also got another special massage and Agi gave her one too. The world we live in is sometimes hard to understand. The depths of the psyche or negative experiences are often not easy to bear and yet there is always a balance. In the Budapest subway, the cut-throat, unforgiving ticket inspectors took 4000 forints out of our pockets and here we get the same amount back as a wonderful gift.

Due to the increasing cold, daytime temperatures of around 12° to 15°, I am allowed to sit in the heated reception room. Tanja and I carried in a table and chairs and now I’m sitting here next to the receptionist, writing. “Do you want to sleep in here tonight?” she asks me. “How? I don’t understand?” I reply because she speaks in her own language. “Cold outside,” she says, shaking her body. She puts her folded hands to her right ear and points to the reception room. “Thank you very much,” I say, touched. “We like to sleep in our tent.” The pool attendant arrives and locks all the rooms. I am still writing. He laughs at me, points to the door key and his testicle pocket and then points to his watch. “I understand. Thank you for letting me stay here. I’ll lock up, put the key in my pocket and bring it back tomorrow at eight in the morning. Thank you very much,” I say, to which he is pleased to have been understood.

Now that the paperwork is back in the box, it’s time to move on. There is still a lot ahead of us. We don’t know what the train connections from Belgrade or Bucharest are like and we don’t know how to get there. The only important thing is that we are home in time as we still have some show dates. It is also important for us to get as far as possible. After all, we want to continue our journey from April 2006 where we are finishing it now. So, the further we get, the fewer kilometers it will be to Siberia next year. Our dream destination would be Bucharest. But is there a train connection from there to Germany? Do we have to drive home in stages? Can we take our bikes on the train? There are still many unanswered questions. However. We still have a month to go. Including the journey home, of course. The weather seems to be getting bad again and at the moment it’s getting colder every day. Another criterion that makes us faster. Let’s see what the next few kilometers bring. Let’s see how the Serbs receive us.

We look forward to your comments!