After waiting much longer than normal to get my car back from the mechanic's, new clutch lower suspension arm, spark plugs, I set off across Europe late morning on a Thursday. My plan was completely open ended so I car camped, something I've done before and quite enjoy. My first overnight in Germany was cold though. I woke up to 0*C.
At Calais P&O tried telling me that they almost fully booked for the whole weekend and there wouldn't be any price reductions, I called Irish Ferries and got on the 11pm ferry on Friday night .....for the cheaper price. It was primarily full of Romanian Merc vans, some with empty car trailers, some without. Because of my Hungarian car, I got checked over in France and again in Dover but once I spoke English it was just a fleeting check.
Had a great time helping my father and chatting to him but got a phone call from my wife on Wednesday evening to say that she'd had a bad fall outside our house and had to go to hospital. She ended up almost completely bed ridden and totally reliant upon help from her niece and our neighbour, although she hadn't broken anything.
I decided to cut my trip short and head back home on the Sunday morning, avoiding the horrendous roadworks around Brussels by getting there mid evening. The rest of the journey was fairly uneventful, fortunately, apart from the terrible rain across Austria in both directions.
The trip was well worth it as I got to spend a week of quality time with my father and bring back some precious family heirlooms that my brother wouldn't care about if he got his hands on them, plus quite a lot of my father's tools which will get continued use over here.
My wife is on the mend but still unable to drive or walk properly after 2 weeks.

Nice that you got to spend some time will your Dad, Paul. I've also just been recently sorting through my dad's and grand dad's tools. It's amazing what you can find out about the family from hammers and chisels. haha.
Although I'm not in Hungary full time...yet, I do get over a few times a year and fall more in love. Preston to Debrecen is a 22 hour drive according to google. Any tips for a future trip?

I used to live down the road in Rossendale and my last workplace was a children's home in Preston. That was the final straw that pushed me to get the hell out of the UK.
My father was an engineer but gave most of his tools away to my brother over the years who didn't give a damn about them and left them in various places. I, on the other hand, have everything he's ever given me and things like hand made centre punches and chisels still get used regularly.
When driving Hungary to England, I usually take 2 or 2 1/2 days as I'm generally one my own and bored rigid and that's driving at least 12 hours a day. Good luck doing 1,500 miles in 22 hours. Once you add in fuel stops, toilet breaks, waiting at ferry terminals, roadworks (and there are a lot), potential border stops, which do happen, inclement weather etc it all adds time on to your journey. I book the first ferry after midnight (because it's cheaper) and get on the last ferry of the day at the same price. This gives me chance to get north of the M25 whilst it's still quiet. On the return journey, I prefer an afternoon sailing to allow me to get over the border before getting my head down in Germany.
Living here is very different to visiting. We used to come over 2 or 3 times a year for a few years before moving permanently. We find many things are more expensive here but we could never afford to own the properties we have if we were in the UK. We don't regret moving here, as for me, there's too much stress, too many people and it's become a consumer society in the UK but we are very cautious of the political status here and what the future may hold.

Thank you Paul,
Oh I definitely wouldn't do that journey in one go. I doubt I could! It would be a lot easier if the other half would drive on motorways but she hates it.
Yes, I too keep anything that's been handed down and keep them safe. Nothing of monetary value, but knowing my grandad and dad have kept the family going with the same gear makes me feel happy.

We just got back from Budapest a couple of weeks ago, even though it's the capital it still feels calm, no doubt I'd be saying the opposite if I was living and working there. You're right the culture here is horrible now. All money, money, money. Life is a subscription model these days. 12 years to go and then I've fully contributed to my state pension. Then serious consideration will be taken into relocating and taking the other half back to her homeland.