Дата загрузки: 17 дек. 2010 г.
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Entry from: Mohacs, Hungary
Entry Title: "Hungary and Slovakia"
Entry:
"We have spent the past 10 days cycling throughout Hungary and Slovakia. The Danube River is the border between these two countries, so we could be in either country, depending on which side of the river we are cycling on. We stayed mostly on the Hungarian side as we felt that country had more towns and sites to see. We developed somewhat of a love-hate relationship with Hungary — it provided us with some of our best experiences. and some of our worst.
The first full day of cycling in Hungary proved somewhat disappointing. When we first crossed over the border we were impressed with their signage (at least we KNEW we were in Hungary — unlike when we entered Austria). They also had a big bulletin board displaying all the (EuroVelo) cycling routes in Europe. I thought this was a country that really cared how its cyclists travelled — we soon found out how wrong we were! The cycling paths were mostly loose gravel and when we cycled on the roads, they were full of potholes — the only passable part of the road was in the very middle. Visions of broken spokes, bent rims and flat tires entered our minds (Well, at least Ed's). Fortunately, none of those things happened.
The next day, we left the city of Gyor and followed the route as indicated on our cycling map — another logistical error! Once again the roads were full of potholes and at one point, we were cycling on trails full of mud and water everywhere — the worst bike trails we've experienced yet!
But maybe Hungary had bigger things to worry about than a couple of cyclists from Canada. When we arrived at a small town called Bony, we encountered our first roadblock due to heavy flooding. Luckily, they allowed bicycles through, but cars were not permitted. As we cycled by, we could see the houses and fences with sandbags stacked around them. (We later found out that further north, in Poland, they were hit the hardest with severe flooding).
In Germany and Austria, the cycling paths not only had the signs stating what path you were on, they also had signs indicating how far away the next town is and in which direction. Hungary had very few signs like that so it is a lot easier to get lost. In Acs, we stopped for lunch and then continued on our way. We followed the cycling signs as we had been conditioned to do in Germany and Austria. Both of us had a feeling that we were going in the wrong direction but we weren't sure. Twenty minutes later, we stopped again — the bike path was becoming more like a seldom-used narrow hiking trail. Luckily, a farmer came along — we stopped him and he showed us on the map where we were — we were to the WEST of Acs and we were supposed to be going EAST. We lost about an hour with that little detour! What was really funny was when we got back to the beginПing of where we strayed off the trail, another couple was there, wondering which way to go! They had followed the signs, just like us. They said they had got lost earlier in the day, too. So the four of us continued on our way — went back into Acs and went east from there.
We only went a few blocks when we encountered another roadblock. The official was giving out leaflets informing us that the road we wanted to use had been washed away and we had to take the main highway (which cyclists are. "
Photos from this trip:
1. "Bratislava, Slovakia — waterfront"
2. "Hungarian border crossing"
3. "Navigating through the hazards."
4. "Basilica at Esztergom, Hungary"
5. "War of the Worlds?"
6. "Castle overlooking Bratislava, Slovakia"
7. "Cycling signage at Hungarian border"
8. "Esztergom, Slovakia and Hungary"
9. "Esztergom Basilica"
10. "Basilica ceiling — Esztergom, Hungary"
11. "Largest painting (on one canvas) in the world."
12. "Overlooking Esztergom, Hungary"
13. "Danube between Slovakia and Hungary."
14. "Ladies 'chatting it up' in Gyor, Hungary"
15. "Accommodations in Gyor, Hungary"
16. "MorПing strategy session — somewhere in Hungary"