May 25, 2013
Györ to Komárom Hungary, 57 km (1106 km total)
10-17C cloudy/ little sun

Forrás Hotel & Spa, Including Breakfast,
Single - HUF 10500 ($46.78)
Double - HUF 14500 ($64.61) 
 
 
 
Didn't See the River All Day

Once we got to the outskirts of Gyor and onto to the official cycle route, the signage was easy to follow; mostly the yellow "Velo 6" route signs. The Donau was never in sight.

Today's route was varied and took us through more charming villages, meaning the homes had aged gracefully; red tiled roofs and attempts were made to beautify the small gardens.

Several times we shared the narrow, often potholed road with light traffic. We came past small vineyards decided to stop at the next one to buy a bottle of locally made wine. Regrettably, we did not pass another and missed out.
 
 
Off-Roading (Few Paved or Dedicated Bike Lanes Today) 

Several stretches rough of dirt tracks where we had to dodge muddy puddles. Junko had a close call and almost landed in one of them.

Several hillsides were sporting giant wind-turbines. The wind was mostly coming from our side.

We stopped for lunch in Acs (about 12 km from Komárom). in the garden of old castle-turned-library. Then from Acs, we followed the bike route signs into the fields and forest with hardly any roads, more like meandering walking paths and just rutty dirt. Without the signs, it would have been impossible to stay on route. If it had rained, it would have been an impassible muddy mess. But we were lucky in both categories and soon we were again on paved roads toward Komárom.

    
Skipped the Koppänymonostor

A few km out of Komárom, we passed close to The Koppänymonostor, the largest fortification in Central Europe. Dave spotted it and asked if anyone wanted to stop and visit. Yolan said she would go if anyone else wanted to. In the end, the vote was to continue. We didn't have a hotel reserved and everyone was getting anxious to get settled.
 

An easy bike path led us into Komárom but then left us hanging short of getting to Centrum. We asked a local guy who told us about two areas of town with hotels, by the spa and by the bridge to Slovakia. The grouping of nice looking hotels at the spa area was the closest and we split up and each of us checked a hotel out. Yolanda and Junko found the winner today. It backed up to several Olympic size pools, lush sunning lawn with fun lounge chairs and sauna. Yolan paid the extra fee of €6 to use the spa facility, Dave and I showered and did some wash and worked on blog. Junko and Hiro went to look for the old town to picked up a few groceries.


Dinner at Tesco
 
Everyone likes the Hungarian ragout and soups we've been finding but that’s it for desirable Hungarian choices. Junko suggested self-catering our dinner from the giant Tesco store they discovered next to the bridge. And later, Dave, Hiro and Yolan hopped on their bikes and picked up roasted chicken, prepackaged salads, pickles and pudding and yogurt. It was surprising to find such a large store with a fresh and varied selection in Komárom. It seemed like a rather quiet and small town.

よりアドベンチャラスな面を経ながら私たちの自転車旅は続く。それは、砂利続きの土手だったり、水たまりだらけの泥道だったり、砂地だったりする。もはやサイクリストに優しい舗装道だけの自転車専用道は少なくなり、時に自動車道を地図を頼りにただ進む。彼方に目的地の教会のドームが見えた時の喜び。我を忘れて飛び込むお花畑。今日は一面にひろがる紫色のポピーと遭遇。地平線まで広がっている。胸まで届く今までみたこともないゴージャスなポピー。いつのまにか疲れも吹き飛んでしまう。
走るにつれて出会う人々も変わって行く。ゲルマン人，スラヴ人、そしてマジャール人。人種も変われば言語も変わる。ミッシェルのドイツ語も今や通じにくい。英語をかたことでも話せるひとに出会うとホッとする。  _________________________________

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 :)