BIGLORRYTRIP

Days 43 2nd June Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum, Poland “Nations who forget their own history are sentenced to live it again” Lest we never forget…. Countless words have been written about the Holocaust and many writers have struggled to find adequate words to express their feelings having visited the Polish State Museum Auschwitz-Birkenau. Many of us use the word ‘unbelievable’ but rarely use it in the true sense of the word –beyond belief. Truly I can say that Auschwitz-Birkenau is beyond belief; it IS unbelievable that members of the human race could inflict such atrocities in a calculated, planned, efficient and above all systematic way. It was murder in the first degree. I, like a lot of people of my age, learnt and knew about the Holocaust and concentration camps, not only from history lessons at school ... read more

Days 41 30th June Krakow The drive from Zacopane to Krakow was swift as the roads here in Poland are top class compared to Hungary & Slovakia. The countryside we zipped through was beautiful, completely unlike the Poland I remembered from a visit a few years ago. It was the hills and valleys that run alongside the Carpathian Mountains, a green and hilly belt sloping away from the mountain range and running up towards Krakow. It seems that this corner of Poland has maintained its rural culture and traditional haymaking was in evidence alongside the road. Towns & villages were picturesque with timber houses and rustic shingled churches. Everything we saw indicated a comfortable well-to-do country with a good infrastructure – what a joy! KRAKOW Krakow Camping is only 4 kms out from the Krakow old ... read more

Days 38 27th June Bekoice – Eger We were late off the starting blocks today as Il P had to do some minor adjustments to the oil levels in the lorry – thanks to invaluable assistance from ‘back home’ (thanks Simon) it wasn’t too onerous a job but it needed a very large Allen Key so we would have to do some shopping … Trebbie The Trabant stood quietly waiting for us. Was it my imagination or was she winking at the lorry as if to say “see, it’s my turn today, I’m just as extraordinary as you are”? And, yes, I would agree Trebbie is, indeed, extraordinary. It was like stepping back 30 odd years and after the lorry it was a case of not only stepping back but stepping down…….we are used to climbing ... read more

Days 36 Bekoice, Hungarian/Slovakian Border Day 36 25th June The photos will do the talking – what a wonderful place! When doing our research for this part of the world we were looking to ride and extraordinarily came across a website for Western Riding. Hungarian countryside on the back of a Quarter Horse riding ‘western’. Why not? The farm is owned by a Dutch couple who, three years ago, realised their dream of coming to live in this part of the world with their 13 horses, 4 dogs, too-numerous-to-mention cats, a donkey called Tina (after Tina Turner) and 3 goats. Anita and Nico could not have been more welcoming – Big Bess is neatly parked in a field (with the comforting knowledge that there is a tractor to pull her out if needs must) and we ... read more

Day 33 22nd June Budapest We cycled to the station. Boris & Big Bess were left to fend for themselves for the day – unceremoniously chained up outside the scruffiest computer railway station I have ever seen. Evidence of the communist era was everywhere. Every bit of concrete underfoot was crumbling and bulging up like an earthquake victim, everywhere was grey, very grey, no flowers or flower beds and almost no signs. We struggled to locate the ticket office which was a room accommodated in a sterile concrete building, the floor and walls were covered in dirty cracked tiles and the ticket attendant (who resembled Kleb from the James Bond films) was encased behind metal bars with a small window through which she put her hand (or was it a claw?) and a disgustingly dirty speaker ... read more