22nd April – 1week in!

Well here we are having arrived at some kind of normality at last. Although our definition of “normal” encompasses the following habits :
Early get up (today 6:30)
Pack up tent
10 min shower
Massive truck ride (today 12 hurs towards Budapest)
Occasional petrol/wee stop where we all quaff coffee and sandwiches. C bought some smoked home-made cheese strings today. Very salty. They looked like worms, but seeing as C has revealed a fear of slugs and worms (saw her in absolute fear when rolling up tent to find a slug) I didn't have the heart to tell her.

I'm enjoying the variety of things we have to pass the time on these long trips. I just spent an hour dragging a stylus across a nintendo DS and now have developed a weird hand spasm (breaking the marioworld record for hammer throwing in the process. Small victories.)

We've headed south and its already warmer. The last week the windows have been blurred with a fine sheet of water – condensation threatens our view constantly. The temperature has now risen and the puddles are clearing, revealing flat fields of newly-tilled earth. Hills in the distance house towns, whereas we have only the road and the grass. I wonder if it floods here.

A shaft of sunlight just lit up C's face as she furiously taps away at the DS. Now she's quickly putting a gummi-dinosaur into her mouth (timed to perfection she doesn't miss a beat!) She seems very happy, the sun on her face, in the Czech Republic.

Prague was good, if expensive. Highlights include bacon dumplings, cheap staropramen (£1.50 a pint.) Drinking has been done in abundance and, surprisingly, I seem to have reputation as a pisshead. Frankly I find this assessment somewhat misguided (as anyone who knows me well will testify.) How are you all my drinking buddies back home? Are you finding your wallets bulging with unspent booze money now I'm gone? Put them in a jar for the next 5 months and come and visit.

Homesickness hasn't really set in yet. There's so many new people that time is spent with them, swappng anecdotes and playing Uno. Its in the post though, and when it hits its going to be a bugger.

Dammit, I hope we make it to Budapest for the Champions League Semi-Final tonight! When we arrive the campsite is is apparently putting on a traditional Hungarian meal (Goulash) for us. Sounds great, but what about the football?! I might be able to check it up on the radio, or the papers tomorrow Boo.