Miskolc - Budapest

During the last few days in Miskolc we have been treated as royalty. The amount of food prepared and fed to us was unbelievable. All meals were prepared for the most part outside on an open fire and were traditional  Hungarian dishes. We were driven around to several thermal baths and for site seeing.
A taxi was arranged to pick us up this morning and drive us to the Budapest airport to drop off our bikes and then downtown to our hotel. Our taxi was a newer Opal van that seats 9 and it pulled a covered trailer that carried our bikes.
After checking into our hotel we spent some time site seeing and will continue doing the same for the rest of the day and tomorrow.

Erika cooking supper

Atilla, Monakia and Peter.

Micklosh's house

Monfay morning's breakfast

Erika checking Wayne's head

Apartment building built during the Communist era in Miskolc

Monakia with a large mushroom. 

Prepated breaded mushroom

Miskolc

The trip to Miskolc took three and a half hours and consisted of climbing for 30 km up over the Bukk mountains and 20km of descent.  Joe's cousin welcomed us with a drink of schnapps. Shortly there after we sat down to a big homemade dinner . I don't think we've stopped eating since we got here.
Today was spent exploring an underground cavelocated at Lillafured. It was very interesting and contained very many stalactites.  On the way there we took an open carriage train and a bus home.
We plan to stay here until Monday morning. At that time we will take a taxi back to Budapest and continue our site seeing there.

Joe, Bruce, Wayne and Bob arrive in Miskolc. 

Bob at the top of the Bukk Mountain

Joe, Wayne and Bruce coming through the Bukk Mountains. 

The engine pulling the train to Lillafured. 

Stalactites at a cave in Lillafured. 

Joe and his cousin Micklosh at Lillafured. 

Eger Rest Day Two

Today was spent visiting the "Town below the Town"  and other sight seeing. The Town Below The Town is a wine cellar that runs under the Basilica. Originally all the wines of the region were stored here. It was collected as taxes because the wine would last longer than wheat and could be sold at later dates. There are approximately 167 km of tunnels but unfortunately during the later part of the 1940's the wine was removed and as a result the mould disappeared when the wine was removed. Because of this the tunnels are useless for storing wine. (Mould is required in wine cellars or the wine will go bad)
Bruce and I have had a very big nice room and we all ate both our meals in there today. We all feel well rested and are ready for the final leg of our journey to Miskolc. All four of us are looking forward to visiting with Joe's cousin and plans he has made for us.

The Basilica above the town below the town.

Bruce, Wayne and Joe in one of the tunnels. 

Roots from a walnut tree 

One of the tunnels

Supper in our room. 

Eger Rest Day One

Tuesday was spent at the thermal baths and sight seeing. Eger is a large city and attracts many tourists.
The thermal baths are a big attraction. There are different baths at different temperatures. One of the Turkesh baths date back 16 century and there has been one discovered as far back as  1062.
The town is known for Eger Castle which defended the area from the Turks. In one battle 2000 soldiers held the fort against tens of thousands Turks.
We are all getting well rested for the mountains that lie between here and Miskolc. However, we have one more day of rest before leaving here.

Wayne, Bob and Bruce in a grotto at the thermal bath.

Bruce and Wayne in 38degree thermal bath

Approaching Eger Castle

The hills between Eger and Miskolc

Eger

We left early this morning for the
wine county near Eger. The route was rather hilly and warm but the scenery was fantastic. We encountered several villages along the way that just came alive from books I read years ago except now it was real and in colour.
Upon arriving  in Eger we checked into our hotel and had an afternoon nap. Joe informed me that seista is actually a Hungarian word borrowed by the Spanish. I'm not sure I believe him except both Wayne and Marco told me it was true. They wouldn't lie to a Newfie would they? Haring completed our nap we walked around the town before taking a tour wagon to the wine area where we ate supper with a little wine. Unfortunately we didn't have containers to  be filled as we could have purchased wine very cheaply. I will be looking for some Hungarian wine when I return home.
We plan to stay here for three nights resting and enjoying the sights which includes the thermal baths and the water parks.

A metal recycler in Gyongyos.

Wayne completing one of the many climbs between Gyongyos.

An entrance to one of the wine cellers in Eger.

Sampling wine in Eger

Gyongyos

We  had an excellent breakfast this morning and left for Gyongyos around 8:15., travelleling along route three..Thank goodness for the slight breeze along the way as the heat was unbearable and the route a little hilly
We rode approxoximately 55km and I think we all were glad we didn't have to travel any farther because of the heat.
We've checked into our hotel and plan on not venturing very far from our rooms.  An afternoon nap is high on everyone's priority .

Godollo

We checked out of the "five star " hotel and continued east towards Miskolc. Once again it was very hot. We encountered more hills and small head winds. Marco was subdued today and  there were no surprises along the route. We were all disappointed, I'm sure.
We passed through Pest to get to our designation. For those that may not know Budapest is made up of two towns Buda and Pest. Pest being the southern side of the Danube.
 Shortly after leaving  our hotel this morning we ran into stop and go traffic all the way into Pest. Lucky for us it was westbound and we were going east. Because it is Saturday all the locals were heading to Lake Velence for the weekend. The traffic was close to 45 km long and was not moving very much.
Travelling through Pest we spoke to two young men from Italy and Portugal. They were a little lost and were heading to Lake Velenta. We gave them directions but didn't mention the traffic as they will make better time than the vehicles.
Marco allowed us to stop at a bakery in Pest for some lunch consisting of pastries and chocolate milk and once well east of Pest we stopped at a roadside fruit stand for watermelon.
Our hotel is very nice, in fact it has AC. It took some convincing but even Joe approves. Woody, our banker, does think we were a little extravagant  and held us back at supper.
We will be checking out early tomorrow to get an early start on the day and heat. Joe has already informed Bruce(Marco) that breakfast is being served downstairs  only between 7:00 and 7:10.

All of the Hungarian travellers want to wish Trish a happy birthday and made a toast to her health at supper. Only a small one because of the budget constraint enforced upon us by "Our banker"

Lunch in Pest at a pastry shop.

Watermelon snack east of Pest

Sunset at Lake Velenta, Gardony,  July 17, 2014

Gardony

We've continued our trip east and are stopped for the day in a small town called Gardony. It is on a lake but we are unsure of the name of it. Again this is another tourist area and we think we are staying in a converted communist hotel, definitely a "5  star". The cost was approximately $60cdn.
Since leaving our hotel this morning we noticed the terrain has more hills and valleys to contend with and there was a small head wind to make it a little interesting. Wayne did manage to find two flat areas along the way. One right outside our hotel. Marco tried to persuade us to take a little dip with our bikes at a point where a stream had flooded an underpass. We declined and rerouted around the area on a gravel rd. This is where Wayne found the first flat area.
There are no restaurants so Bruce and Joe biked a km east and purchased food for us. Wayne and I were extremely lucky and managed to find a spot right outside our hotel that sells beer on the beach. At least we were able to have something cool to drink while we waited for our lunch and dinner to arrive. It is extremely hot again and of course of hotel leaves us wishing for AC.
Tomorrow we will bike once  again through Budapest and continue on east. We only have 4 days of biking left although we do not fly out until July 30.

Picture 1 two local Hungarian farmers. Note the hay rake being pulled by the wagon.
Picture 2 Marco tryong to convince us to follow him through the flooded underpass.
Picture 3 one of the flat areas Wayne discovered unfortunately both of them were on his bike.
Picture 4 our room in Gardony.

Siofok

We traveled 61km today and arrived shortly after 1pm and checked into hotel here in Siofok. We are  13 km from the east end of the fresh water lake. We followed the shoreline and other than many left and right turns the route was very good and totally level. The route reminded me of Wasaga Beach as it was a tourist area al
l along the shore. We passed a few spots that originally were recreational spots set up by the communists for the workers to use for vacations. The buildings are still used for vacation over here with some modifications.

Coke in Hungarian and English

Mother swan and her babies. In the background is the north side of the lake.

Stopping for an early morning snack.

Original communist tourist spot with some modern modifications.

Balatonkeresztur

We are now at the west end of the largest fresh water lake in Europe, Lake Balaton. We did approximately 86km today and the ride was once again very enjoyable. Marko once again navigated us through an awesome short cut. I believe Joe gave him many compliments in Hungarian and Woody mentioned something about using triangulation but I could have sworn it was strangulation he said. Funny how your hearing plays tricks on you. All kidding aside Bruce is doing a fantastic job and we appreciate the work he puts into it.
We ate lunch along the road but didn't see any fresh water pumps today to help us cool down. It was approximately 38 today. After checking into our hotel we went for a walk down to the lake and Bruce and Joe went for a swim. Woody and I decided to stay on land and watch their belongings. Supper was in the room and we are now all downstairs trying to connect and communicate with the routers (wifi). We want to get an early start tomorrow morning and try to get to the east side of the lake (75km) before it gets too hot.
An interesting thing happened today. While at the hotel we heard thunder all around us, in fact we wondered if it was something else because there wasn't a cloud in the sky. In the end it definitely was thunder.

Joe praising Marko's route in Hungarian.

Woody speaking to Marko about using triangulation for navagiation. 

Joe and Bruce in Lake Balaton.

We are all confused because the tv reception is very snowy.

Bob in one of the bathing caps provided by Joe as there are spots later in the trip they'll have to be used. 

Vienna - Sarvar

We decided to leave Vienna as we had seen all that we were mostly interested in seeing. Leaving Vienna was fantastic. Pedestrians and bikes are given priority over cars. The bike lanes are beautiful and in some cases wider than the car lanes. We had the wind with us and travelled either on bike paths or roads that were just country roads. No line markings and for the most part nothing on either side of the road. The roads took us through some Small Austrian villages that were spectacular. Some thing right out of a child's book. I was amazed and awestruck. At one point, I believe I heard the bells for the Angelius. ( I know RA I've probably spelt it wrong and these heathens I'm riding with wouldn't know what it was especially that Wood character so it was no use to ask them)
We did  a little over 150 km only because the ride was pleasant and our navagitor Marko (Bruce) Did such a great job. We rely on him quite a bit and he always comes through. Sometimes adding a little adventure   to the route. Like bringing us through a National Park that had an unpaved road at either end, a large field that left us wondering ( with awe we told him)  and also there was a mud bath provided to the author of the post curtisity of the  large mud hole he arranged. Even the hotel staff took pity on us and arranged a spot for us to wash our bikes and get them ready for tomorrow morning.
Our hotel is beautiful and the owners are VERY  nice to us. To be honest after seeing what we experienced on this trip so far I don't know why people take vacations in their cars. You really need to get off t

Cold refreshing water from a pump to drink and as Joe is doing cool down

Bruce's surprise adventure through the Nezt National Pk. The good part of the route. 

Woody leaving tbe Nezt Park after we found the route out

Our km for the day. My new record. 

Skyline of Sa

Vienna

We've  made it to Vienna and have checked into a hostel. There are four of us in the room. At one point this was a dormitory for the university. We are on the second floor and we have to keep the windows open because of the heat. It's going to be noisy in the room tonight but it should not bother us too much as we spent all afternoon going to the various tourist sites --Schonbrunn Palace, St Stevens Cathedral, Belvedere and other various places. We used the subway which is amazing and has many lines to easily confuse one not familiar with the subway system. We also walked quite a bit and are all really tired so it be a very early night.
Getting into Vienna was unbelievable the bike paths are amazing. Austria has very good bike paths.
Once again the wifi is not great here so I can't upload any pictures until we get to a stable internet connection. I will be adding some pictures to the days that do not have any in the next day or so.
Having completed our "tourist stuff" we are planning to leave Vienna in the morning and return to Hungary where our money goes a lot farther.

Vienna subway train. Notice no doors between cars

Entering Vienna. Note the Castle to the right and the bile path on the right side

Our room at the hostle.

Our hotel in Vienna.