On the Trail of the Orient Express: Day 4
July 30th, 2009 | by |
As this blog goes live on MotorTrend.com, the 2009 Tour de France will have just concluded the day prior in Paris. Only three days ago we began our Orient Express adventure in the City of Lights. Now that we’re about 1100 miles away in Szeged, Hungary, though, having logged visits to Epernay (Moet & Chandon), Strasbourg, Friedrichshafen (the Zeppelin Museum), Munich, Vienna (the Prater Ferris Wheel), and Budapest, it feels more like three weeks have passed.
The clock is nearing midnight and I’m typing away while catching out of the corner of my eye a replay of today’s (Saturday, July 25) 104-mile Stage 20 of the Tour on the Eurosport channel. Eyelids heavy, I realize my weariness is nothing compared to what Contador, Armstrong, and the other überelite cyclists are feeling after enduring the nasty 13-mile ascent up Mont Ventoux. Just watching them makes me more tired.
I turn the channel so as not to face-plant into my computer, and am quickly invigorated with coverage of the day’s F1 qualifying at the Hungaroring, only a couple hours away from Szeged. We had thought about trying to catch it in person, but deemed it too time consuming given our itinerary. The way these guys dance around a racetrack at mach speed never ceases to amaze me.
A few minutes pass and I see that Ferrari ace Felipe Massa has gone straight off the track and into a tire barrier. What the heck happened? I turn away from the computer and give my undivided attention to the television. The replay shows a piece of suspension from Barrichello’s Brawn whacking him in the helmet as he was motoring along at about 160 mph. A medic is quickly on the scene. Massa, still in the cockpit, isn’t moving. Jeez, this is bad. Back on the computer, I search for an update and learn that Massa has undergone emergency surgery for a fractured skull and is in intensive care at a military hospital. I knew to expect the unexpected on a road trip from Paris to Istanbul, but not this. Thankfully, the report says he’s in stable condition.
Returning to the task at hand, I began running through the events of the day, thinking about a long 14 hours earlier …
Leaving the lovely confines of the Grand Hotel in Vienna, which first opened its doors in 1870, we nestle into the posh cabins of the Genesis sedans and head for Budapest. Barring any delays, we should make it there in time for lunch. Right before crossing the Austria-Hungary border, we stop to fill-up at a Shell fuel station. It seems everyone else heading into Hungary has the same idea, as each of the 14 pumps is queued up with at least 10 cars. We may be a bit late for lunch. I notice some people donning Ferrari gear; no doubt, they’re on their way to the Hungaroring.
Luckily, the line moves relatively fast, and we’re back on the M1 highway, rolling along at 90 mph. We pass signs for the Audi factory in Györ, where the TT is built, and in what seems like minutes not hours, Budapest is in our sights. Making our way to the Castle District, we go over the River Danube and into the Buda side of Budapest, before driving through a monumental tunnel on Clark Ádám tér. We stay just long enough in the Castle District to check out the grandiose Mátyás Church — according to my guide book, was built sometime around 1255 — and grab some tasty vittles (three of us enjoyed delectable Herb Risotto with Farm Chicken) at the Pierrot Café, which, again per my GB, was the sole private café during Communist times.
Returning to the cars, a young man inquires about snapping a few photos of the Genesis. “This is a very nice, expensive car,” he says. Even though most Europeans seem unaware that the Genesis is a Hyundai, they all seem to think it’s a high-class luxury car. One valet even told our senior photographer Brian Vance it was a ringer for a BMW.
Although we’d love to visit Budapest for one week rather than one hour, duty calls, so we get back on the road and point our noses for Szeged, where we’ll bunk for the night. With a population of around 167,000, Szeged is the fourth-largest city in Hungary and holds the distinction of being the home of paprika. It is also the birthplace of engineer János Csonka, co-inventor of the carburetor. Driving through this town, it appears much of its money has come and gone — it is fairly dilapidated but surprisingly clean, and seems too dead for a Saturday night.
We stop in at the Restaurant Matuzsálem for dinner, and Vance orders up pork rolls stuffed with cheese, bacon, and mustard, all covered in breadcrumbs, and then deep-fried to a golden brown. Served with french fries, naturally. The plate looks like it could be an ad for Lipitor. I try a bite. It’s pure heaven.
With Romania on the horizon, it’s back to the Novotel hotel for some shut-eye. I hit the pillow thinking about Massa and that heart attack Vance just ate. Come tomorrow, I know Brian will bounce back. I just hope Felipe does, too.
-Photos by Brian Vance
ORIENT EXPRESS SERIES: Day 1: Paris to Strasbourg — Day 2: Strasbourg to Munich — Day 3: Munich to Vienna
Source : http://blogs.motortrend.com/6562179/miscellaneous/on-the-trail-of-the-orient-express-day-4/index.html
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