Bumping along a Duna dike

This morning as we eat breakfast and pack we meet a German couple who are also cycling in the same direction. As happens, we run into them several times during the day, and each time speak and learn more about them.

They head off before us. It always seems to take us an inordinate amount of time to stuff our few things into the panniers and get ready. We finally leave town, crossing a bridge and following the river quite closely for around 15km. The bike route then veers away from the river and we have a choice: to follow the road, or take a dike path. We choose the dike path and for the first while travel quite happily along the path and through fields of sunflowers. We do not have quite the right timing for the sunflowers – they are reaching end of bloom life, and looking a little droopy and tired. I imagine how wonderful it must be to travel through here with fields full of bright yellow sunflowers, their heads following the sun’s path through the day. As it is we do enjoy the vast fields of green and yellow, but become tired of bumping along the unmade road on the dike and wonder if the road would be a better option.

We reach Dunavecse after nearly 15km on the dike path and take a break for lunch. The town is fairly small, and has not much on offer lunch-wise until we locate a very non-traditional burger and hot dog place – where we find our German friends from this morning. There are no vegie options here, so I negotiate a meatless burger (bread, lettuce, ketchup) and enjoy a limonata. The temperature is in the high 30s, and we still have another 30km to go.

Our German friends tell us the road is awful to ride on, with many cars, so we return to the dike and just follow the EV6 signs, which do eventually lead us back onto roads, before a final bump along the dike to bring us into Harta.

We’ve plotted and followed a route to take us to where we believe our accommodation is and waste a good deal of time riding up and down trying to find Panorama Halászcsárda. We try calling the number, with no answer, then give up and head into town. It is still extremely hot– in the high 30s– and we are about done. At a pizza place in town I cool down with two large limonatas before we head off to try finding the place again. This time we find a town sign with the hotel on it – it is down by the river, but on a different road – so we finally reach it.

I am still so hot that on getting our room, I dump everything, change into bathers and run straight into the river. I feel my body temperature drop pleasantly and only after I’ve recovered a bit do I notice the mysterious lumps floating along in the water. I’m very careful not to put my head under or get water in my mouth. It all seems a little dubious.

Out of the river, we find our German friends again, trying to get a room. Sadly for them, the place is full (I think we are the only guests!) and they go into town to find somewhere. They return later and we enjoy their company for dinner. I succumb to fruit soup, something I’ve seen on many menus as an entrée. It is like a fruit puree, served with cream and I feel as if I’m eating dessert. It makes a break from fried cheese though!

The Germans tell us they’ve heard the Hungary-Croatia border is closed to stem the flow of refugees from Syria. We’ve been travelling in a bit of a news-free bubble and have no idea if what they say is true. I spend some time trying to understand what is happening. It is unclear about the borders. We will just have to find out when we get there.

Later, Neil and I go to a waterside bar. The area we are staying seems to be a bit of a local drawcard, with the river, the hotel and a bar, and people are partying on into the warm summer night.

Our room has only a fan, so we have that on full bore, only to have it break down. We open windows to let the fresh air in, and that comes with plenty of mozzies. Earlier in the evening a truck had come round spraying, and I figured, from having seen the same kind of thing in Singapore, they are spraying mozzies. It doesn’t work for us, and we pass a hot, rather unpleasant night.

Stats for today:

• Distance: 64.6km
• Climb: 70m
• Average speed: 17.3km/h
• Average temperature: 35C
• Moving time: 3:43:40
• See our ride on Strava

The beer picture

At the end of a day’s ride, our tradition is to enjoy a beer, and to photograph it for posterity. I can assure there was a beer, but there was no camera. Let’s just use imagination today!

Along the way today: