Martin's story

Day 9
None of us slept very well last night because of a pack of dogs barking all night. I am sure one of them was right outside my tent barking and giggling at the same time!!
We got packed up and hit the road once again. Again there was a little of wondering what this border would be like and how ‘moody-me’ would be. But the signs are certainly showing us that we are getting closer each day to home and the Europe we know. No borders, real road signs, good condition of the roads and also the Tom Tom’s showing us a lot more roads, petrol stations etc
We arrived at the Main Camp site at the Hungoraring Budapest, just after lunchtime. Got the tents up and gave the cars a good look over. And opened a Beer. The outside temp was a lovely 30-35c. At our campsite there was an Aqua park that we just had to try, so we did, and got drunk there too!!
That night we went down to the tented area to eat. Alan, Baz and Col had a Chicken Breast in and pan bread, Martin had a Beefburger. We then had a great laugh with another bunch of guys from Finland. Baz and Martin showed them how to dance, poor guys will never be the same!!!!

Day 10
Woke with blinding hangovers from the following night, but we new that we must press on. We decided that because we left a day early on our trip and hence arriving a day early to the track, today we would go to Bratislava Slovakia for the evening. We managed to secure the tents down and crawled into the cars for the 4 hr drive.
(by Martin). At this point I am very confused with my hangover. My toilet visits were way above the level of normal hangover toilet visits but we pushed on, stopping at every opportunity possible. By the time we arrived at the hotel in Bratislava, I knew I had got food poisoning from the Beefburger.
Bratislava was not what everyone was expecting, it is a much more modern country than we all thought. We went for a small walk through the centre to a local restaurant and had a wonderful meal. After the meal, Martin went back to the hotel. He didn’t feel too safe being too far away from a toilet!!

Day 11
We left the hotel early’ish for the drive back to Budapest, we wanted to get back for the F1 qualifying which started at 2pm that afternoon.
We got back to the campsite to the relief that the tents were still there intact, and no-one had pitched their tents on our parking area or even in the little gap between out tents.
We spent the rest of the day watching the qualifying and lazing around until it was time to go and meet Kevin and Jim in Budapest, who had come out to meet us and watch the GP.
We met Kevin and Jim in the Hilton hotel in the centre and as we were leaving I saw Lewis Hamilton’s Father checking in. Guess where Lewis is Staying tonight?
We all proceeded to get drunk that night,,,,,,,again.




Day 12
This is the only day that we are not driving.
I was first up this morning and got showered for the big event. I even made breakfast for everyone and got my first ever compliment from Cuz. I nearly cried………
We didn’t really have hangovers this morning because of the excitement of the F1. Even though we should have!!
There is something about a Grand prix that just makes you feel special, every hair on your body stands on end when the cars come by, it’s a good feeling if you are a petrol head.
The final results were good enough for everyone apart from Cuz. The night before the race, Cuz TOLD everyone that Alonso will win. Col said that Hamilton will win, so, cuz then laughed and said (in front of us all) “if Hamilton wins tomorrow, Uncle Col I will suck your big toe!!”.
SO,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Did he?????

The six of us went down to the tented area for a feed and few drinks. By this time the night before was starting to hit us and we were fading.
We said our goodbyes to Kevin and Jim and walked up the hill to our tents.

Day 13
Today Cuz and Baz decided that they didn’t want their tent anymore so they left it!
We left Budapest for Nurnberg in Germany passing through Austria and over the stunning Alps.
We are not too sure who yet, but some hooligan placed a magnetic Learner Plate on the back of Cuz’s car in Budapest and he actually drove through Hungary, Austria AND half of Germany with a big red “L” on the back of his car.
You might be wondering at this point what about the Czech Republic. Yes we changed the Czech Republic for Austria, still visiting the 14 countries.
We arrived at Nurnberg at 6pm and checked into a local town hotel and ate at a small restaurant around the corner. We were all in bed by 8.30 and asleep by 9pm. Shattered!!!


Day 14
We met for breakfast at 7.15am and hit the road at 8.15am. We immediately lost each other as soon as we left the little town where we stayed. We traveled north through Germany, through Luxembourg, through Belgium and into northern France to Calais where the Channel tunnel is.
In the train, it will be the only time our cars will have moved without us driving them from Baku to Aberdeen, but still technically on land.
When Col and Son got to the other side we heard that Cuz and Baz were an hour behind, so we thought we would push on up as far as we could and then find a bed for the night.
Between me and my father we are alike on a lot of things, but very much the opposite on some. When Col drinks a can of Red Bull he goes straight to sleep. When his loon drinks a can of Red Bull, he stays awake for hours. So the loon drank down 2 cans of Red Bull and drove non-stop from Dover to Dunblane!!! At that point, Col was awake from a 5½ sleep and was fresh enough to drive the rest of the way to Chapel of Garioch. We arrived home at 6am to my wife and kids on the corner of the street holding up a big banner of “Back Fae Baku, Welcome Home” We both had a wee lump in our throats.
It was good to be home………..