I am currently enjoying Christmas and New Year with family and friends in England. Back in the summer I decided to drive all the way thus allowing me to bring lots of presents/food/drink without worrying how to carry four suitcases and how much the airlines excess baggage charges would be. After booking a place on the Channel Tunnel Shuttle, I felt pleased that my journey would not suffer delays if the English Channel was whipped up by gales or if the Calais dock workers decided to go on strike yet again. However, when the snow and ice hit southern England, I remembered that last year trains were getting stuck in the tunnel because their electrical systems were packing up under extreme low temperatures!
Before leaving my home in Roandola, I prayed not only for God's protection on my house and possessions but also for safe travel since most of the countries I would be driving through had forecasts of more snow.
Having turned off the water at the pump in the cellar (which was incredibly warm despite an outdoor temperature of -6C), I opened all the taps to drain water from the pipes in the house. Gas bottles for cooker and portable heater were turned off, a final check made around the house to make sure I had loaded everything into the car and then the front door grille was closed and padlocked. My Dacia Logan MCV was warming up in the courtyard while I loaded it up - no worries for me about leaving the car running and unattended. Once out on the road, I closed the big gates and then bolted and padlocked the pedestrian gate, finally leaving the village at 10am.
The road journey between Oxfordshire and Transylvania can usually be done in three days (around 26-30 hours driving time depending on traffic and with two overnight stops). This time I allowed four full days to reach "Tunnel sous la Manche" as the whole of Europe was covered in snow to varying degrees. It was at least not snowing on Saturday 18th when I left Roandola, although the 8 kms of minor Road 143A to main Road 14 was covered in a layer of packed snow requiring gentle braking and slow cornering. Once onto the E60 at Sighisoara all was completely clear with no snow or ice thanks to the frequent passage of gritting vehicles. Although Romanian drivers are usually noted for ignoring speed limits and most other traffic laws, they do seem to exercise considerable caution in bad conditions - except for one completely mad artic driver who barged his way past with horn blaring in some totally unsuitable places. After overtaking several other cars and trucks in front of me at speeds well over the 50kph limit as we passed through villages, he was gone into the distance - and good riddance too!
At the Romania/Hungary border I purchased "vignettes" for Hungary and Austria and then with just a brief look at my passport, I was waved through into Hungary. Around 30kms down the road I ran into light snow which slowed the traffic quite considerably on the mainly single carriageway road. In one Hungarian town with an unpronouncable and unspellable name, the mad Romanian artic barged past again! I know it was the same one as I had made a mental note of his number in the hope of having the satisfaction of chuckling to myself if I saw him stopped by the police for speeding or overtaking in a "No overtaking" zone! He must have stopped for a check by Customs officers at the Hungarian border which I had crossed an hour or so earlier.
Eventually I reached the motorway network around Budapest and progress improved to being able to cruise at 100/110kph again. The snow continued for the rest of the day until I reached a motorway services with accommodation some 30kms west of Budapest. The room was basic for 31 Euros including breakfast but comfortable enough for this tired traveller!
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