Tuesday 23rd August Sarvar to Hosszupereszteg

Have now sampled all six of the western E4 countries footpath marking systems and can now declare the preliminary results. These might change if I get lost between here and Budapest but the positions, after today's town centre test, are now well defined.

Hungary is running a strong second.

Austria is third - let down by poor marking in the less popular eastern part of the country.

France is running fourth - the world famous white and red signs on the ground change too much to beat the Hungarian white and blue markings although the judges recommend that the Hungarians consider the same cross symbol to indicate a "don't go that way" instruction.

Spain is running fifth with some excellent practice let down by regional variation.

Germany is the surprise back marker with Maxmillianweg marking described as "at best poor and at worse misleading" .

The benchmark for waymarking has been set by the Swiss who have implemented an awesome system which combines the on the ground marking of the Hungarian system with information on timing and destination. It tells you where you are going and how long it might take.

Only the Swiss and the Hungarian systems past the ultimate test of taking you from a town centre, where there are lots of choices, out into the country where there are less.

Applied the test on the journey out of Sarvar today. The signs took me round the castle, through some back streets and across a park full of lovely lakes. Almost got thrown where the route had been changed for a watersports park but soon found the signs again and then it out of town, past Tescos, across a bridge over the River Rada, and onto a patch of sustained road marking. Entirely led by the signs, no maps no GPS.

Lakes in Sarvar

Another amazingly hot day and too be honest the 35 kilometres seemed to go on forever. Today fortunately was less open with more of the trail again in the trees. Definitely struggling a bit in the sun - getting some quite unpleasant heat rashes in some very delicate places.

Welcome shelter from the heat

Some more unusual road filling systems in the forest. After yesterday's dodgy building refuse, today there was a lorry load of barley spread neatly along the trail and, of course sprouting. Not sure what was going on here, but if it was an experiment in alternative uses for barley it failed.

Sprouting barley on the footpath

Actually the most exposed part of the day came shortly after the barley incident and just after Sitke on the way to Gerce. Here the path was so overgrown that it was impassable, instead you had to walk across a ploughed field and through a field of maize. All I needed was a crop duster and it would have been "North by Northwest".

Overgrown path

Meet a couple of Hungarian walkers just after Gerce and looked enviously at there guide for the Blue Route, contained wonderful large scale maps.

And then a long walk through trees all the way to Kald, including a very walk through trees. Got to Kald about 3.30 and later discovered from a comment on the blog that I could have met up with someone in a bar there. Very sensible Hungarian who was in the shade and out of the sun.

Pressed on to Hosszupereszteg. Really nice walk through arable land with huge fields and crops higher than maize but not maize - beyond me and I was bought up on a farm.

Unknown crop

The gasthof I was looking for in Hosszupereszteg didn't exist. After being told that there was somewhere to stay near the church, a Hungarian woman seemed to suggest that the nearest place was five kilometres further along the road. Given my heat rash I didn't fancy another five kilometres.

Found a bus stop which seemed to suggest a bus at 6.18, but had no real idea where it was going and whether it would result in a hotel. Managed to attract the attention of the man who lived near the bus stop.

Now I have to say that non-verbal communications are a bit different here. Hungarians famously don't look you in the eye and don't smile - sounds very English but the English are extroverts compared to Hungarians. I'm starting to get used to this and as long as you don't take the initial "get lost" signals personally things start to happen.

Anyway after the initial "get lost" signal the man became very helpful, which was fortunate because the bus was turning up. Using hand signals I explained I want a bed in a hotel. He has a long conversation with the bus driver and I think persuaded the bus driver to take me to next village, which was off the bus route, and drop me of not far from a hotel. Really helpful. Shook the man's hand, got on the bus with no idea where I was going. Obviously I'm now in a hotel which is actually at the other side of Hosszupereszteg safe and sound. The bus driver refused to take a fare (no one else on the bus) so this goes on my growing list of "international rescues".

A Good Day!

Monday 22nd Szeleste to Sarvar

Still walking across a feature called the little Hungarian Plain, so continues to be very flat. Not so many trees today, bit more open, and incredibly hot. Shorter walk, just 22 kilometres, got away from the "castle" hotel in Szelestei by 8, so was in Sarvar in time for a late lunch and an afternoon in the shade.

Castle Hotel

I'm following the blue and white markers, which are brilliant, but also have a GPS trail on my IPhone which I downloaded from from of the Hungarian web sites that specialise on the walk. I don't have any maps and because the route meanders you get a slightly weird feeling just following the signs because it's a very meandering route. You often seem to be going backwards and your sense of direction, which gets mislead especially when your in trees, is constantly telling you something must be wrong. Slight panic just out of Szelestei when the GPS trail conflicted with the signs but of course, in the end, the signs where right.

Massive fields

Ploughed footpath

More examples of the huge scale of agriculture here with the fields which seemed to go on to the horizon. The same "farmer" also helpfully ploughed up the footpath (if my farmer brother reads this I know that technically it's "dragged" not ploughed). This sort of landscape definitely has it's attractions and on a cold day in the winter is probably amazing.

Slightly more unnerving is the tendency to use white asbestos debris to line the forest trail. Conscious that I have a number of Hungarian readers at the moment and don't want to cause offence but most English walkers would be seriously put off by even the mention of asbestos.

White Abestos

Saw three Trabant's parked in a line as I walked through the streets of Sarvar: a standard saloon, an estate car and a coupe. The coupe looked the best.

Trabant

Sarvar itself is a spa town, an important tourist destination and has lots of hotels. Like Kozeg it has multi-coloured stucco buildings which are being carefully restored. The central feature however is a castle and my gasthof is right next to it.

Nádasdy Castle

PS. Really Great to hear from you again Nancy and thanks so much for your kind sponsorship. Can't promise to be enjoying every minute but definitely most of them!

Sunday 21st August Koszeg to Szeleste

First full day on the Blue Trail and I've enjoyed it. Only complaint is that the kilometres seem longer here and despite a good and flat trail, it took me 9 hours of fast walking to do what my schedule says is 35 kilometres. I was starting to think I had somehow overshot Szeleste and was going to have to walk to Sarvar.

Left Koszeg via Jurisics Square at about 9.15 and found my first blue and white sign (the Square may not be at its best at the moment as it's being completely repaved). It's blue and white signs only, nothing to tell you where your going and how long it might take, but the blue and white signs are excellent and generally come up about every fifty metres.

St Imre Church

I'm not expecting any of the track to Budapest to be exactly mountainous but today's stretch is described as a plain so it's particularly flat. Most of it was through trees and along forest roads or trails but it was not as bad as it sounds. Although there a lot of conifers there are also plantations of oak and ash and to be honest, given the sun, it was perhaps better to be walking through trees than out in the open. Some of the trails were exceptionally long and straight, a whole walk stretching out in front of you.

Should be careful not to draw any conclusions after just a day but the countryside does seem completely different to anything I have walked through before. Everything I saw today, from the plantations to the fields, was on a massive scale. The wheat has all been harvested and the only thing left are huge fields of maze. At Szelestei there were five huge combine harvesters all lined up, machines which can eat up thousands of acres without so much as a blink. Farming over the border in Austria was on a cottage garden scale in comparison.

Huge fields of corn

Maybe this is a legacy of collectivisation and then privatisation or maybe it's just a feature of this part of Hungary. Only went through one village other than Szeleste (which may qualify as a small town) and again there is little of the rural gentrification you get in other parts of Europe, or indeed the sense of prosperity you get from family farms. If this is right than some of facilities you take for granted in other countries, the bars, the Auberges and farm providing accommodation may turn out to be short supply here.

Anyway have found somewhere nice to stay tonight. It's a hotel converted from what claims to be a castle although it has very few castle features and seems more like Victorian gothic to me.

Based on just two meals the food has perhaps improved since Austria. Maybe it's just coming down from the mountains but there seems to be a bigger choice and it's definitely better value.
PS

Many thanks for the two recent sponsors - Steve (Dale) that was very generous, will buy you a beer when I get back, particularly looking forward to some decent beer.

Saturday 20th August Markt St Martin to Koszeg

Markt St Martin turned out to be a very small place and definitely no where to buy local maps. Decided to press onto Koszeg which meant walking for about 30 kilometres alongside the road or on cycle tracks that often ran parallel to the road. The walking was not memorable and it's a shame that I didn't get on the trail from Landsee the border (I assume this exists) and to the point at which the E4 hits the Blue Trail, somewhere to the west of Koszeg, and which I now hope to follow all the way to Budapest. The Blue Trail goes across the country from border to border and is claimed as the oldest long distance walk in the world.

You can't help thinking about the Iron Curtain when the you cross the border, particularly as you traverse that space between the two border posts. The old border buildings on the eastern side look particularly soviet and have been left to rot. Not sure if this is deliberate. There is a really interesting project to create a cycle trail that runs along the route of iron curtain - a brilliant idea, would be a real journey through the modern history of Europe.

Crossing the Austrian Hungarian Border

Redundant Border Post

Koszeg is a very pretty place once to get into it's centre and I'm staying in a hotel in one of the central squares. A lot of new pedestrianisation going on and the lovely, variously coloured stucco buildings surrounding the squares make it a great place to sit out and consume the amazing ice-cream you get here.

So although I've arrived at Koszeg I intend to regard tomorrow rather than today as the start of the last chapter of my walk. By road it's only 250 kilometres to Budapest, but along the Blue Trail, which meanders along through western Hungary is over twice as far. Intend to cover the distance in sixteen days so all being well will be getting ready to come home two weeks on Monday.

Friday 19th August Bromberg to Markt St Martin

Frustrating day if I'm honest, now close to the Hungarian border but not quite in the place I wanted to be.

I had already decided that because I was going on the E4 to Budapest there was no real point in going to Neusiedler See. The E4 used to finish at Neusedler See and rather than changing all the signs the route still takes you there via Marzerkogel and then brings you back to same place before heading down to Landsee. I had thought about cutting the corner off altogether and heading for Landsee from Semmering but decided to stick to the route but turn south to Landsee from Marzerkogel. I had hoped to get to Landsee today but didn't make it.

Several things got in my way.

Firstly I was knackered after yesterday's walk. In addition I didn't get much sleep last night. The wonderful people at the Gasthof Oberger, who put me up and fed me at the last minute, were also hosting an enormous public meeting (farmers I think, all wearing checked shirts, very mid-west) and the last of them didn't leave until about 2.30. Not complaining though, had lost my hat and my hosts kindly found me another one this morning.

Secondly I got lost again. The signs have got a lot worse and it is impossible to find your way without a map. No where to get a map, this is not a walking area and newsagents and hotels don't carry them in the way they do in the walking areas. I  found my way to Hochwolkersdorf but missed the signs after that and ended up to the south of the route at Schwarzenbach.

Went to the Rathaus (town hall) consulted the map with the secretary and decided that the best thing to do was cut my losses on the northeast corner of the route and rejoin it as it heads south to Landsee 6 kilometres down the road at Kobersdorf. This shortened the route and gave me time to have a proper sit down lunch - under domestic pressure to eat more.

Thirdly the weather changed. An enormous thunder storm which had me sheltering in a garage for over an hour. All of a sudden I didn't have as much time as I thought.

Fourthly gasthofs in the lessor tourist areas seem to close in August. Arrived at Kobersdorf at 4 worried about weather and whether I should commit to another 90 minute walk to Landsee give the time and the rain. Checked out the in Kobersdorf and it was shut. Now Landsee is much smaller than Kobersdorf and I hadn't booked anything. Instead of pressing on I felt I had no choice but to head to Markt St Martin, very unpleasant walk along roads.

Will try and find a local walking map in the morning but the simplest option would be to go direct to Kozeg and join the E4 there. It's on the well marked (I think) Blue Route and I have the trail on my GPS. This, to be honest, feels like a bit of a cheat, but roaming around looking for non-existent signs is getting beyond a joke.

Not much else to report. Saw a man walking a two goats today, one was on a lead. Cows were in a nearby field and they became very aggressive. I think there might be a lesson here for friends who struggle with cattle. The first must be to avoid taking a goat with you when approaching cattle and the second is to avoid any perfume or other smells that remind cattle of goats.





And also I have lightened my load by leaving my sticks on the side of a road ready to be recycled by a new user. They had seized up and there was no way of getting them home. Just hope the dogs aren't savage in Hungary or I might regret my decision.

Thursday 18th August Semmering to Bromberg

Walking on your own is just different. It's not either or, and personally I like walking on my own, with Christine, with a friend or with friends. So today was the first day in a month I've been walking on my own and have enjoyed some of it's upsides. Going as fast as I like and for as long as I like. I have also experienced some of it's downsides, getting lost more often and carrying on too long.

I definitely miss more turns and get lost more often walking on my own. Amazing how many times over the last few days Christine has spotted the turn and now, how many times I'm now having to go back because I missed it.

As well as walking on my own I'm also in completely different country. It's not completely flat but it's not the Alps. It's now rolling countryside, a mixture of meadow and woodlands and frequent and often prosperous villages.

Said goodbye to Christine, tried and failed to buy a map, and was walking by about 9.45. Didn't really finished until after 8 but will come back to the interesting end later.

First part of the walk to Maria Shultz was along the same lovely forest trail we finished yesterday's walk on. Dappled light from the bright sunshine above, a level trail soft underfoot, it made you want to walk fast. Into the sun at Maria Shultz and heat of the day hit me for the first time.

Rolling Meadows

The second part of walk joined up a series of pretty villages - Reach, Egg, Ramssattel - all on a ridge at about 900 metres and overlooking a valley to the north.

Rich Villages

After a long woodland walk, a visit to Hassbach - where Wittgenstein lived for a while - the next part of the walk involved missing the turn near Than and getting lost in the woods for an hour. This should have been the signal to stop, it was five o'clock and there was a choice of gasthofs at Scheilbingkirchen. Instead I decided to press on.

Wittgenstein was here

The sign said 7 kilometres but that was along the road; the footpath was a lot longer and involved a steep climb at the beginning. It was actually a nice walk, great views back to the Heukuppe which I had climbed with Christine a couple of days ago and which were now hosting a dramatic thunderstorm, remnants of which caught me just before I got to Bromberg.

I was then hit by a worrying new phenomena the gasthof was closed for the holiday. After wandering the streets of Bromberg confirming that there was no alternative I asked a man coming out the Church if he could point to the nearest one, he did and even wrote down the address. It was seven kilometres away.

Took of my waterproofs and set off (later discovered I had left my gortex hat). Was sticking my thumb out with no success but after walking for about 20 minutes the man from the church turns up. He had checked the address he had given, found out that they did not do accommodation, but had booked me somewhere else. Dropped me off at my new accommodation and within minutes I was showered, drinking beer and consuming huge quantities of food. Counts as another in the series of E4 walker rescues.

Wednesday August 17th Karl Ludwig Haus to Semmering

Final guest blog by Christine

Today, my last taste of the E4 and my last day with John till he gets back, was a day of four parts. Two were good; two were pretty bad.

The good parts were determined by the perfect weather - a cloudless sky and fresh breeze - and by a variety of quality walking ranging from high alpine mountain tops to well-graded woodland trails.

The bad parts were entirely due to the lack of proper geographic information (and dare I say it, prior research) and the most fundamental requirement, a map. Perhaps I should also mention that we had no food with us other than a few hariboo jelly beans and a handful of raisins.

We were woken early by the few inhabitants of Karl Ludwig Haus crashing about, and were outside in the sunshine at 7.50am. The billowing cloud from the night before had gone and the sky was completely clear, giving us exhilarating views in all directions. There was quick route down to Preiner Gschaid but John decided that would be cheating so we did it the long way, going first up over Predigtshul and then round and steeply down the usual zig zag rocky root ridden path. It was a great start to the day though and we got down to the big car park feeling good.

Karl Ludwig Haus

Dropping down to Wax Riegel Haus

Then it got bad. First no cafe or place to buy food. Second no signs. We wandered about up and down the road but there were absolutely no 801 signs anywhere. We were getting desperate. We knew the trail went due south from the car park so I got the compass out and we started up an unmarked track through the trees going vaguely in the right direction. Still no signs. Lots of bad temper and stress. After numerous twists and turns we finally saw a rusty 801 sign nailed to a tree about 90 minutes after leaving the car park. Spirits lifted and John shot off so fast I couldn't keep up.

Confusing signs

Treated ourselves to few raisins on the next summit and then things started to improve. We were on a perfect path going very gradually down but hugging the contours so it was dead easy. Even better, it was paved with pine needles so wonderfully kind to the feet, like a top quality carpet with underlay. We strode out and must have clocked at least 5 km an hour. This went on for quite a while and we really enjoyed it.

At last an open bit

The path eventually normalised into rocks and roots. We were getting tired and hungry, but the path then decided to go up quite unnecessarily I thought, to a small summit called Pinkenkogel Haus. The sun became blastingly hot. We had been promised a hutte and possible food at this point but predictably the hutte was closed, so we had slaved up the hill for nothing.

We then had to find Semmering. John had promised a reasonable sized town with hotels and other semblances of civilisation. He said it was at 900 metres so we shouldn't have to drop too far, I should be able to get my train to Vienna tomorrow, and he should be able to proceed on his E4 walk with minimal disruption. The signs however were highly confusing and we ended up dropping down to a series of S bends on a long winding road lined with 19th century villas that had seen better days. No hotels, no gasthofs. I was getting decidedly bad tempered, being tired and hungry and thirsty - the water run out some time back. After another hour of messing about on wild goose chases we finally found a pension that both had a room and served food. Thank goodness. We must have done 35 km today at least, and over 1500m descent all in all.

So mixed feelings about today. No doubt after a good night's sleep and breakfast all will be fine.
Doing the E4 is tough though. I am still in one piece after 16 days walking and we are still talking to each other. But I wouldn't have the mental or physical strength to do what John does. Don't know how he does it.