We left Budapest in a blaze of traffic, below average navigation and main roads. 3.5 hours later we were clear and still just about on talking terms. The day didn't get much better. We were aiming for a campsite near a town called Kesckemet (in Hungarian this means goat place so why wouldn't you visit). After 8 hours cycling we arrived at the place the campsite was marked on the map. There was a sign off the road, promising. We pushed the bikes for 200m up a sand path before agreeing I'd check the place on foot while Lizzie guarded her bike and my collection of junk that passes as a bike. About 1km up the path I entered a farm with all the trappings of a campsite (empty swimming pool, overgrown patch of grass, portaloo) and shouted hello at the 3 people standing around looking like campsite people. Upon seeing me they did nothing except watch as their 3 vicious dog beasts chased me off their land, a foot race I only won because one of the hounds was chained to the gatepost. Never go to Keskemet.

The next day was great. We had a great ride including a 10 mile bike path across the Hungarian countryside and found a campsite where dogs were banned.

Yesterday we crossed the border into Serbia. The first time we have shown our passports since Dover. It was also the first time we've cycled on a motorway. Thanks to the unique policy of closing all Borders not on main roads cyclists get the pleasure of cruising a mile down the motorway before standing for half an hour in a queue of cars and then have the border guards debate our chances of getting to Istanbul. Between us we speak no serbian, the only word we've picked up so far is that hallo appears to mean goodbye. Despite this, having entered Serbia we stepped on it and covered 98 miles yesterday. On the plus side north east serbia is very flat, on the down side we have no map and although our map of Romania nominally covers this area it doesn't seem to do it with any kind of accuracy.

We are going to a town called Bela Crkva tomorrow on the Serbia-Romania-Bulgaria border. A town whose major attraction appears to be the tourist information office.

Hallo,
Ed

Location:Zrenjanin, Serbia