< Magazine Index > < Index For This Edition > < Subscribe >

For travellers who miss the pre-EU border checks and passport stamps as souvenirs, a trip to the edge of the Balkans should satisfy their nostalgia.  On a recent spur-of-the-moment, 5-day soggiorno intended to just explore the northeast corner of Slovenia, after Ptju (pt-ooey) we decided to keep on going.  Budapest isn't that far.

We somehow didn't notice the route we took left us no choice but to cross into Croatia for a few kilometers, and then into Hungary.  The following are some road tips gleaned from making a 1500 km. odyssey into, around, and out of the Magyar Zone.  Politics have changed, but the old mentality and attitude lingers on in a lot of situations.  Switch off the naturally smiley, friendly American demeanor (with a language barrior, economic, and cultural differences, this can sometimes be wrongly interpreted as a lack of respect), and play the game.  Give them what they want and be on your way.  If you get into a pissing contest, you will lose.  An American passport is no longer a wreath of garlic around our necks, but relax, American cops are much scarier by far.  These caveats don't apply to Slovenia.  We have never had a tense or unfriendly moment there.

Sveti Marko church, Zagreb

CROATIA

Listen to what the border guard is asking for.  We had gotten so used to the drill crossing from Italy into Slovenia, after the passport check, comes the question, "Do you have anything to declare?"  Our answer is always, "no, nothing."  I was pre-occupied folding maps during this process into this part of Croatia (a lot  different from Istria), when I noticed the guard had become quite agitated while talking to my husband, and a large lady guard had joined in, assaulting him with rapid fire questions in Italian (we have Italian tags on our car).

What I quickly surmised was that the guard had asked to see the documents on the car, and my husband had told him at least three times that we didn't have any.  Since we had never been asked for anything before, other than proof of insurance, I rummaged around in the glove compartment and thought I found what he was asking for.  NO!  He needed the ORIGINAL car title!  Photo copies "no good." 

I rummaged some more and low-and-behold found something with a gold seal.  The guard looked disappointed---it was the original car title.  My enduring gratitude to our agent who put our car papers together three years ago and said, "This is what you need to cross borders."  They poked around some in our trunk, and finally let us pass, with parting rude (I'm sure) words.

HUNGARY

If there is the inevitable 2 km.-long line at the border, resist the temptation to hop out of the car and change some money with plenty of time to get back to your car while the driver is inching it along.  This is forbidden and a guard will follow you into the bankchange and loudly let you know it, yelling "passe controlle!"  Be prepared to suffer his smirks when you finally get to his window and wait for 15 minutes while he wears out the magnetic strip on your passport running it endlessly back and forth through his "passport control" machine.

Also be prepared to be pulled-over anyplace, anytime.  Three times for us on this trip.  In Hungary, the alcohol acceptance level for driving is ZERO, so don't even think about a glass of wine if you are driving.  After my husband was ordered to blow into their breathalizer at one of the stops, I started worrying about just how many hundreds of Magyars had blown into that thing, and what kind of god-awful infection Billy was going to come down with.  The only solution to that I can think of is to at least have a bottle of Listerine handy.

 If you need oil, or anything done under the hood, don't forget to double-check whatever the attendant does.  An improperly screwed-on oil cap can cause a big disaster if you are driving at night and don't notice anything wrong until the oil light comes on.  Two liters of spewed oil all over your engine brings into reality the magnitute of mess created by the Exxon Valdez.

BUDAPEST Budapest is a dazzling city, and has gotten bigger and more intense since the first time we visited 15 years ago.  Best to map-out where you are staying in relation to what you want to see, park the car, and use taxis or public transportation.  Billy is always the designated navigator on our trips because he has a private pilot's license and is pretty good with maps---it still took us four hours to get from one end of the city to the other and zero-in on the flea market.  After that, another three hours trying to find our way out and to the freeway. We did, however, get a real feel for the city and glimpses of things tourists never see. We crossed every bridge

The Szechenyi Bridge crosses Danube near the palace grounds in Buda.

from Buda to Pest and back multiple times. We were even reduced to tailing a car full of young guys with Bosnian tags at one point, because they were in front of us, made the same mistake we did crossing the bridge, turned around, and had their map out conferring with each other as they negotiated the traffic.  We figured wherever they were going might be OK for us too at that point.

Tropicana Casino, BUDAPEST

Looks like a "Palm Room" right out of the 1960s. They play in US dollars and even have a dollar-minimum blackjack table, so you can enjoy yourself for a long time on a reasonable bit of money.  Here I may have gotten into one of those "contests" and wasn't even aware of it.  For some reason they make you check your jacket here.  My husband didn't mind, but I had on a short sleeve top, it was chilly, and I didn't want to.  The woman behind the desk said I MUST check my coat, or I couldn't play at the table.  I said, "OK, I'll just watch."  Then the lady next to her said I didn't have to check it, but I caught the daggers from the first lady.

The next day, I noticed the back of Billy's leather coat he had checked had a neat, round half-dollar size hole cut out of it. He couldn't remember catching it on anything, but I will give this establishment the benefit of the doubt, and hope that it wasn't some kind of evil Magyar payback for misinterpreted insolence. Don't check your coat there. 

The hotel we picked for one night in Budapest was spooky and not worth mentioning.  Better to plan ahead a little for accomodations in the city.  And check-in early.

The exchange rate was even better than we calculated.  We try to use American Express whenever we can, (outside the cities, be sure to have Visa,  Mastercard, CASH), and when we got the bill for a dinner we had at a very nice Chinese restaurant in the swanky part of town, the bill for everything, with tip, was only $7.  Maybe they made a mistake.

LAKE BALATON 

100 km. from Budapest, Lake Balaton is known as the Hungarian Sea, and is the largest lake in Europe.  It has a rich history, and is the most popular destination for tourists after Budapest.  Nearly one million visitors come for holiday on its shores, or stay in accomodations farther inland, every year.  I think we were lucky it was off-season and we were able to pull-off at random to take a few pictures.  It was peaceful, the holiday hotels were closed, and there was little traffic.  I imagine the resorts that line this lake that stretches for 77 km., and varies from 1-7 km wide, are really hoppin' in the summer.

NORTHEAST SLOVENIA

One of the pleasures of traveling by car is that you never know what you are going to discover.  Pulling into a little nothing town called Murska Sobota at 10 pm, dog-tired and looking for a hotel, the guidebook said there were only two in town.  One over-priced and ugly (we can verify that), and the other a motel 2 km. up the road.  The motel was full, and a bit seedy-looking, but the proprietor was nice to point us in the direction of Sinjor, a restaurant/guest house 1 km. farther.  It was like finding an oasis.  Clean and inviting with strings of white lights strung along the eaves of the Austrian-style architechture, the owner, Jolanka Maucec, petite and well-dressed, greeted us as if she had been awaiting our arrival.

We enjoyed a late-night elegant meal, then retired to a room with crisp sheets, fluffy down bedding, and slept like bears.  The next morning, the same waiter we had kept working until midnight greeted us like old friends, and Madame Maucec  was fresh and eager to talk politics and real estate. She also gave me a high-quality guidebook to the gourmet restaurants of Slovenia.  Of course, she is listed.  The bill for our stay, with dinner, wine, breakfast included, with all the taxes, was $52.  About half the basic room rate for the big, ugly hotel. 

ROGANSKA SLATINA

A pretty "cur" town famous for its healing waters, pampering spas, medical facilities, and crystal factories.  Four and five-star hotels available.  The Donat has a casino.  We decided not to stay here because Billy pointed out some of the guests walking around didn't look too healthy and we might catch something (like the chance you take in a hospital).  He was joking, and we're not hypochodriacs at all (eat and drink everything everywhere we go),  just a bit conscientious about not picking up a malingering or exotic bug.  With all the incurable little critters out and about the world these days, I think it's a prudent thing to consider in a town like this.  On the other hand, I  have friends who LOVE to come here at every opportunity for all the beauty treatments.  They prefer the Donat over the other hotels because the atmosphere is less "clinical." 

The Maribor wine route offers some of the most beautiful sights of vineyards in Slovenia.

MARIBOR Slovenia's second largest city (pop. 135,000) took a big hit during the war and was rebuilt during the prolitariat years, but the city center is still charming.  At the street market, we met one of the few Americans living and working in Slovenia.  His wife is Slovenian, and they moved to Slovenia to organic farm and rear their son.  He seemed very happy and content with the decision (but was delighted to meet someone he could converse with in English).  From talking to them, I think there could be some very good deals on houses with acreage in this area.  I bought some of their organic apple wine and got their address.

PTUJ

Population 12,000, one of the oldest towns in Slovenia, and a lot of interesting things to see.  Parking is relatively easy, and you can walk everywhere.  With a history that goes back to 69 AD, there are tangiable remnants of the mysterious Mithraic religion that was similar to Christianity in some of the rituals, and was popular among Roman soldiers and slaves.  The castle gift shop has outstanding postcards, handmade paper, and some out-of-the-ordinary, un-kitchy souvenirs. We stayed at the centrally located Mitra Hotel (clean, about $40 w/breakfast) and enjoyed a very good dinner and service at Amadeus Gostilna down the street.