Gizie & John's Summer in Europe?
Barefooting on the Danube River, Hungary
June 18-26, 2006

You may want to ask why go to Hungary to barefoot? Well, the truth is I didn’t include Hungary in my European vacation for the sole purpose to barefoot there. Budapest is my father’s birthplace and I have family there. I visited last year after the World Games in Germany and promised I would stay for longer on my next trip. I didn’t envision my next trip would be so soon, but nevertheless, after accepting a wedding invitation I had arranged to spend eight days with my friends on the Danube River. In particular I had planned to coach Lucy and hopefully have her footing well enough to enter Hungary’s first barefoot competition. Budapest was scheduled to host the first Meridian Challenge on the 2006 European competition calendar 15-16 July. So begins my Hungarian barefoot experience and the countdown to get Lucy ready.

Szentendre is a popular, picturesque town just outside Budapest along the Danube River. It’s where Takács Laci (Les) lives with his extended family and this was to be home base for the week. I was introduced to Les after the 2002 World Championships in Austria and we have kept in touch since. He has taught a number of people to water ski and barefoot, including Lucy. In fact he was one of the very first to barefoot on the Danube River and is considered a legend in water ski circles in Hungary.

It was the start of summer but sadly my friends had not skied much since I last visited, a year ago. The Danube had flooded twice this year already, increasing the flow of the river and of course the debris. Lucy had started summer break from school and the plan was to be on the water every day. The only problem was the high water level and debris. Not to be discouraged we put the shoe skis to good use.

Everyday was different, no set routine, variety is the spice of life they say. The first day was a Sunday, the day after the wedding. Sporting weary heads and bodies from a big night of celebrations, we decided to sit on the sideline and be spectators to a water sport of a different kind. We watched the Men’s World Cup Water Polo final, Budapest verses Serbia. It pays to know someone in the business. As it so happens a very good friend of Les’ is the coach for the two times Olympic Champion Team, Hungary. So tickets weren’t a problem. The result was 10-9 and Serbia scored in the last 10 seconds of extra time. Excitement plus!

Now, the relevance in mentioning the water polo is such that the coach for this awesome team is not only a keen water skier but also barefooter. Dénes Kemény (Denis) is the proud owner of a Barefoot Nautique and spends what little spare time he has on the Danube water skiing. He joins us as part of the week end crew and manages to escape the media frenzy created which followed Hungary’s loss in the World Cup.

On the Monday we hit the water, as we did every day for the next seven days. Les had taught Lucy to barefoot on the boom, so she had a good stance to start with. She did her first deep water start long line on day three, but there was still lots to learn. There was also a lot to learn from my part. The Danube flows only in one direction and fast. There are navigation buoys to avoid whilst staying clear of commercial tourist boats. It’s definitely better to run against the flow and simply drop the boat speed 5 kph. Running with the flow gets messy. Manoeuvring around the passenger and car ferries, which run back and forth across the river, is another matter altogether. But I survived with no damage to the boat or persons. Who said women don’t make good boat drivers?

Commercial tourist boat passing Szentendre	Peter learning a back deep
Peter's boat and crew, the Flightcraft	Lucy, Hannah and Annette at the ramp

Each day we would us a different boat ramp, each day the water level would drop just that little bit more, improving water conditions. Most days Les would leave me with the boat and go to work. Everyone’s schedule was different so people would come and go throughout the day all week. Its times like these a mobile phone is mandatory, picking up and dropping off people at various points along the river. I managed to ski Lucy first thing most days and again in the afternoon before she had to attend to her horse. Annette (Lucy’s mother) also enjoys a slalom ski and played around on the trick ski (or should I say short board). She too had her coffee shop to manage but was able to spend quite a bit of time with me on the water. And then there’s the other crew of skiers, Peter, Anita and Bridgette with their Flightcraft.

Peter was also aiming to enter the tournament in three weeks time. I started to teach him a back deep just before I left last year, so it was a matter of picking up where we left off. The girls were just learning, not only to barefoot themselves but to drive the boat for Peter. Zoltan, affectionately known as Docy, arrived later in the afternoon complete with his veterinary doctor’s bag because he had to return to the surgery after he skied. We all had a great session on the water but I must admit the best performance came from Peter’s mum Marika néni. Within a matter of two phone calls and 1 hours notice she arrived with a pot of food on site for all to indulge. How is that for service?

Whilst on the subject of food I must admit you can easily get spoiled on the Danube. We had espresso coffee in the boat. Ice creams between sets and the choices for lunch ranged from fried fish, beef goulash and lángos (a savoury donut with cheese and sour cream). Each day we had something different at a different location along the Danube.

The socialising continued into the nights. The World Cup Soccer had all of Europe glued to their TV sets. Well, Hungary was no different. After dinner, drinks were had either in front of the TV or at the local bar where the football was on the big screen. Europeans love their football (soccer). One night in particular even the echidna couldn’t stay away. Les retrieved him from under the floor boards to join in. Isn’t he cute!

Well, it’s nice to know Hungary is no different to any other water ski hole in the world. The week end warriors all come out to play on the week end. The boat traffic doubled on the Saturday and Sunday so this provided an opportunity to fool around on the short board and God forgive me, the wakeboard too. In the 30 degree plus sunshine nobody really cared what the water conditions were like, the important thing was we were all enjoying ourselves and having a go at something new.

The eight days ended rather quickly and I enjoyed every bit of it. I had a fabulous time coaching and shared lots of laughs. A lot had been achieved by many at different levels. There were those who learned to barefoot backwards and others who learned to ski on two for the first time. I was really pleased to be able to invite my cousin to join us one afternoon. He had not even sat in a ski boat before and I was able to get him up on one ski by the end of the day. Welcome to my world cuz! 

Lucy had improved so much she was counting the days before she would leave to go to Hilmar’s clinic in France (more about that in John’s article to follow). She had a trick run worked out and the potential to make four wake crosses in a slalom pass. Unfortunately, Lucy got sick just after returning from France and could not compete in the Meridian Challenge. She had to stay out of the water, doctor’s orders and withdraw her entry to compete. But not before promising to try again next season. She has since emailed me with the news that she did her first tumble-turn. Let’s hope she continues her training and represents Hungary at the next Junior Worlds.

A huge thank you to Annette, Les, Lucy, Les Junior (for his funny antics), Peter and all my Hungarian friends for making me feel so welcome. They really know how to have a good time. Let’s do it all again some time, somewhere!

Les Junior - Something bad is going to happen, I just know it..

Les Junior - Yep, I knew it.  That's going to smart.

Gizie and John are sponsored by Wing Wetsuits and www.BarefootCentral.com.au.  We appreciate his support and efforts to bring us these interesting articles.

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