A couple of weeks ago I got an email with a series of questions about the E4 in Hungary. A young American couple - Rebecca and Nick - about to set off along the famous Blue Route, had picked up on my adventure and wanted some information to help them plan their trip.
Answering the questions bought back a flood of memories. I'm not sure why but my memories of the walk in Hungary are particularly vivid. While the landscape wasn't particularly dramatic it was completely different to anything I had experienced on the E4. It was huge - huge forests (wonderful beech and oak and thankfully not much pine); massive open fields and a countryside which was surprisingly empty. Compared to France and Spain the towns seemed to be a long way apart and the villages, when you did find them, were tiny.
Despite the emptiness I met some wonderful people, was helped out on numerous occasions, and as much as the distinctive feel of the countryside it is the memories of these encounters that keep coming back to me.
I was in Hungary in September after 5 months of wet weather, and hit Hungary in a heat wave. After weeks of rain in the Alps, walking through miles of sunflowers with heads bent down from the sun was a real pleasure. Rebecca and Nick are going to walk the Blue Route in February and it will be very cold. I think they are brave but I suspect that this sort of landscape is at its best in the winter.
It turns out that Nick is a journalist and has an excellent website which describes some of his work including details of previous adventures. I for one want to know what walking the Blue Route is like in February and Nick has kindly agreed to put together an end of trip report - a "guest blog" and hopefully some updates as the two of them make their way to Budapest.
I'm also going to see if I can use this blog to reactivate some of the amazing support I got as I walked along the Blue Route. Blogging everyday attracted a lot of interest and as well as being helped by the people I met "face-to-face" I got some invaluable assistance from an instantly mobilised online community.
So best of luck Rebecca and Nick and I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Answering the questions bought back a flood of memories. I'm not sure why but my memories of the walk in Hungary are particularly vivid. While the landscape wasn't particularly dramatic it was completely different to anything I had experienced on the E4. It was huge - huge forests (wonderful beech and oak and thankfully not much pine); massive open fields and a countryside which was surprisingly empty. Compared to France and Spain the towns seemed to be a long way apart and the villages, when you did find them, were tiny.
Despite the emptiness I met some wonderful people, was helped out on numerous occasions, and as much as the distinctive feel of the countryside it is the memories of these encounters that keep coming back to me.
I was in Hungary in September after 5 months of wet weather, and hit Hungary in a heat wave. After weeks of rain in the Alps, walking through miles of sunflowers with heads bent down from the sun was a real pleasure. Rebecca and Nick are going to walk the Blue Route in February and it will be very cold. I think they are brave but I suspect that this sort of landscape is at its best in the winter.
It turns out that Nick is a journalist and has an excellent website which describes some of his work including details of previous adventures. I for one want to know what walking the Blue Route is like in February and Nick has kindly agreed to put together an end of trip report - a "guest blog" and hopefully some updates as the two of them make their way to Budapest.
I'm also going to see if I can use this blog to reactivate some of the amazing support I got as I walked along the Blue Route. Blogging everyday attracted a lot of interest and as well as being helped by the people I met "face-to-face" I got some invaluable assistance from an instantly mobilised online community.
So best of luck Rebecca and Nick and I look forward to hearing from you soon.
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| Rebecca and Nick on the Annapurna Circuit |
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