May 24, 2013
Dunasziget to Györ 46 km, 1049km total

15 C cloudy & little sun

Kertész Panzió;
 - Double ensuite, including breakfast, HUF 12600 ($55.56)
 - Triple HUF 16800 ($74)  

 
Country Villages and Wide Open Spaces

We all slept well and, had it not been for the indifferent attitude the pension staff treated us, we would have rated the place well. Breakfast was subpar and when we asked for a second cup of coffee, they were reluctantly made. When we paid our hotel bill we were charged for the second cup. I told the lady that she should have mentioned that before. It certainly was a first for us. She rolled her eyes up in her head and scratched the charges off.

Junko had broken a small glass shelve under the sink mirror and told the lady about it. She was charged HUF 1500 ($6.68) for it, which Junko expected and didn't mind.

 
We headed out under sunny skies and readily found our route to the gravel path on the dyke. We posed for pictures at particularly bright patch of poppies. We passed farms and wetlands. The clouds came in and it was overcast. And the next 8 km on the dyke were tense. The large pebble gravel was loose and made the ride unstable. We missed the turnoff to the village of Puski and stayed on the rough gravel dyke longer than we had to or wanted to.

For me, the villages we passed lacked charm. The old homes were mostly run down, not maintained. Nicer homes stood in between run down ones. Most yards had fences around them.


 
Györ Hungary
 
Route signposts are sporadic at best. And near the historic city of Györ Hungary, shiny cycle signs and a freshly blacktopped cycle path led us over the new, but wrong, bridge leaving us high and dry in front of Russian inspired apartment blocks and row-houses. And again, with the help of google maps connection, we got back on track and to the historic baroque town center.

    
We rolled to the large and newly rebuilt central plaza, Szechenyi Square, with fountains, statues and filled terraces.  An entertainment stage was being set up promising a lively weekend. Again with the smart phone, we honed into a pension/hotel cluster just off the main plaza. We picked a nice pension where Yolan, Dave and I  had a 2 room suite in the attic. Junko and Hiro had double on the first floor. The girl at the front desk was delightful. Our bikes were stored on a secure narrow patio between two buildings.  
 
 
It was 3 PM so we decided to go on little tour choo-choo bus, figuring it was the quickest way to see much of the city. Turned out to be a 45 minute ride through town, no explanation, not even in Hungarian, was given for any of the places we passed. Dave did a bit of narrating from the brochure we had picked up at the hotel. Mostly we rode by unremarkable old homes but we could distinguish the large domed synagogue and the hot spring spa complex. We had expected more from our first city in Hungary.

 ドイツ、オーストリー、スロバキアからハンガリーへ。徐々に変わりゆく周囲を見渡し,変化を肌で感じながらの移動。道路に穴ぼこや亀裂が多くなった。ジュースが薄い。コーヒーがまずい。(自転車の)標識が少ない。田舎の景色、、、、、。きょうは追い風だった。スイスイと進む。風がそよそよ麦畑を通り抜ける。銀色の穂が波の様にうねりどこまでも続く。何と美しいのだろうか。風の織りなす風景。道ばたのカラフルなワイルドフラワー一つ一つに見ほれながら進む。どこまでもどこまでも続いてくれることを願いながら。突然現れるポピー畑、ポピーの土手。まっ赤か。忽然と眼前に現れるまっ黄色な菜の花畑を通り過ぎてからはや3週間。眼に踊り込んでくる色が黄色から赤に変わった。
 
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References: 

....1) The Danube Cycle Way; Donaueschingen to Budapest by John Higginson
... 2) Bikeline Maps & Guides; Donau-Radweg 1, (5 books in the series)

Our plan in a nutshell; 2900 total kilometers at 50 km per day - 2 days riding for 1 day off for a total of 58 riding days & 90 total days - April to July, 2013 :)