Report by Margaret Stewart, WIMA Australia.
WIMA Hungary chose a town known for its history and beautiful architecture: Esztergom on the Danube River, bordering Slovakia. Because it was the capital in the 12th and 13th centuries and is still now the seat of the Roman Catholic Church in Hungary, Esztergom has many beautiful and well-preserved buildings including a famous basilica and castle. And most important: good roads.
WIMA Hungary made travel easy for attendees, as the Australian National President (NP) Kathy O’Donnell explains: “We had chatted with Emese Melicher, WIMA Hungary NP via Facebook messenger and arranged to leave the train at a small destination before Budapest. We were met at Tatabanya station by two WIMA members from Hungary. Such is the strength of the WIMA network: we didn’t speak Hungarian and they spoke very little English, but we recognised each other by the WIMA T-shirts we were wearing!”
Rental bikes were delivered, and participants familiarised themselves with the roads and their bike by riding out to a nearby village. As members arrived, they were offered local schnapps. Tents went up everywhere. The weather was hot and sunny.
The welcome dinner was held that night amidst enormous noise from 250 voices in 14 languages. The mayor spoke and a Hungarian WIMA member translated. After dinner, a rockabilly band called the Prison Band opened the dance floor and later there was a disco.
Memorable meals included an ox on a spit, and more shots of a spirit that was described as rocket fuel by those new to it. The weather was hot, so the campground pool was usually full. During the week, the hosts organised a rally ride through the district. Riders set off with instructions and travelled through the countryside and small towns. It didn’t matter if you got lost – the road and surroundings were charming and the ride an adventure. Another day was spent riding to and touring the capital Budapest. We also held a ceremony for fallen riders together with the police.
At night there were games such as a Hungarian version of pub soccer, which involves tying participants in place as they play. On the last night there was an auction and a lottery for the WIMA charity Pikilily and we raised about 700 euros altogether.
The local TV station was quite interested: they interviewed international president Claudia Fehrer, international vice-president Åsa Öhqvist and Hungarian WIMA president Emese Melicher and member Hajnalka Koncsek.
The parade took us into Budapest with the help of an impressive group of police motorcyclists. With flashing blue lights, they led our group of 200 riders uninterrupted into the Peace Square in Budapest. As our parade was in aid of the Pink Ribbon, we ended with a ceremonial meet with doctors from the cancer treatment hospital and a hand over of a cheque for 250,000 Forints (about 790 euros) on behalf of all of us.
2016 WIMA Hungary International Rally – Promotion Video
