Day 14--Bratislava, Slovakia to Gyor, Hungary

Sleeping in a monastery

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Bratislava, Slovakia to Gyor, Hungary

Distance: 90 km (56 miles)

Hungary: Republic, President, Laszlo Solyom; capital, Budapest

X+--While Gyor was a border town early in its history under the Romans, it was an imperial city under the Austro-Hungarian empire. It was also right in the way of barbarian invasions through the centuries. Much of the present city was built by Italian architects after the retreat of the Ottoman Empire in the 17th century.

We left this morning at 8:45 after lugging our luggage up the gangplank and closer to the van for loading. Then we untethered our bikes and wiped them down (it rained last evening and night), loaded them with our packed lunches, and rolled them up the gangplank to the bike lanes at the top.

A note about the packed lunches: One of the botel owners asked Stefania when and where she would like the lunches put out. She indicated a sunny table near our breakfast table and told him that the lunches could be put out now, and that in fact she needed her lunch right away as she had to get on the road to arrow the route. He explained that he could not put the lunches out until just before we left because they contained ice cream! Not really. As it turned out, he did not know how to explain that they had ham and cheese sandwiches in them and needed to be kept cold until we left.

We pedaled back on the underhung bridge trail that we rode in on, and then pedaled out of Bratislava on a bike track atop a levee; however, we were between the Donaj and the Little Donaj and could see neither. We did see giant snails for about a quarter kilometer. I took a photo of same but with nothing to compare it with for size you cannot tell how large it was . . . about the size of a golf ball.

Rollerbladers on the track in Slovakia

There were more rollerbladers on the levee than cyclists. For the first few miles the levee was lined with blue chicory and the fields below were blue with chicory, too. The track was a bit rough compared to those in Austria and Germany, but before too long we found ourselves at the border with Hungary, which is now an open border with nonfunctional customs buildings falling into disuse.

Not needed border station at the border of Slovakia and Hungary

Distances and highway speeds posted at the border

The middle of our ride was through small villages on narrow country roads. The houses and businesses in these villages a little run down and drab looking, but some of the new developments that were being built and some of the houses in the villages were gaily painted blue or bright yellow or green. A bright orange (about the color of a creamcicle) seemed to be the favorite color. Most of the roofs are red tiled and the wrought iron fencing in front of the village houses seemed to compete for most intricate. Each fence a different design and style.

The people in Bratislava and now in Hungary seem more closed and far less open and smiley than the Austrians and Germans. When we roll past other riders and people walking and say hello (“Szia” [ZEE-yah]), most do not respond or even meet our eye.

In fact Judy asked a store manager in a supermarket a question and he just made annoyed, frowning faces at her. Of course she was asking in English and he didn’t speak it. She has been looking for cranberry juice, obviously not a local or national product! I, too, am beginning to make annoyed, frowning faces. 

Today we pedaled through fields and fields of sunflowers, some with enormous heads on them, all facing the sun, of course. Also fields of corn and wheat, and in the little towns vegetable gardens.

Fileds and fields of sunflowers; Rick Price, ExperiencePlus owner, posing by some

We also saw men and women working their fields with primitive rakes and drying hay or loading it on horse-drawn wagons by hand. We even saw one man plowing his field with a horse. The roads we were on today were pretty patchy and several had a high crown and then dished and rolled at the shoulder so that both bike traffic and vehicle traffic wanted to ride in the same small area. The little tinny cars are driven very fast, so this makes for great excitement and in my case the loss of a quart or two of adrenalin. One car went by us at least 80 miles per hour—not an exaggeration. We’ve been spoiled by the bike tracks that we’ve been riding. But we were very lucky today because there wasn’t much traffic to speak of.

Entrance to "Mercedes" Golf Course, virtually in the middle of nowhere

We stopped beside the road at about the halfway mark and ate our bananas. Later we stopped in a little park about 15 miles from Gyor and ate our packed lunches—one big, long sandwich on a roll with ham cheese, red peppers, and butter plus a small box of orange juice and the banana. Carolyn and Harold showed up just as we were finishing our repast.

Lunch stop in a small park on this hot day

Next we stopped in a bar and used their bathroom. No one but men in an empty shell of a room. The back room, however was a big dance hall, so they had to see a little action at times.

We got back on a narrow bike path about 20 km out of Gyor and then wended our way to the hotel over cobblestones and through the tourist section of town.

Front of Hotel Klastrom, a former monastery

Our hotel—Hotel Klastrom—used to be a monastery. We are in the monk’s cells—old double doors, high ceilings, small rooms. 

What the guidebook says about our hotel: The baroque hotel’s rooms face the river or the beautiful inner yard. The northern wing bears the present Carmelitan cloister and Carmelite church. The baroque library is suitable for small seminars. Stepping out of the hotel we come to a pedestrian zone: most tourist sites and sights, including the Thermal baths, can be reached by an easy walk.

Now we didn’t see any Thermal Baths and more’s the pity. After the lumpy bumpy trail today, we could have used one. We did find an ATM and got some Hungarian currency. One US dollar is worth about 164 Hungarian forints. Peter tells us that Hungary will convert to the Euro in 2011.

Hallway and Judy's and my bed in our monkish room

We parked our bikes in the large courtyard, which has umbrella tables in it for outdoor eating. We ate our dinner outside and celebrated Fred’s 72nd birthday with a scrumptious strawberry cake.

The courtyard; birthday dinner, birthday boy Fred front left