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Published: August 23rd 2015
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Finished!
620kms from Passau to Budapest. Well done team We’ve done it! We completed the 2
ndhalf of our Danube trip today finishing in Budapest after 620kms.
We left Esztergom around 9am and followed the trail immediately below the Castle Hill Fortress. We sped along through the countryside, houses and gardens and eventually out onto the road which we had to share with traffic. This was not good as the road has no verges and the asphalt is very broken up and potholed. It was awful to bike on trying to keep to the side. We were to meet the ferry at 9.50 and found ourselves flying down the road as if in a race to get to the ferry – just in time! We are criss-crossing the river today to avoid biking too much on the road. The next ferry was leaving from Vac on the hour so we were going to be tight on time for some ferries. We managed a drink stop at a lovely road side café looking out over the Danube. It was a lovely stop for sitting and admiring the view. The trail along the river was very good indeed with smooth asphalt.
At Zebegeny there was canoe racing going on and a
At our cycling finish
This was the end of our official trail with just the boat trip to follow huge crowd had gathered. This area of the Danube is really pretty with lovely homes and gardens lining the river and up the hills overlooking the river. We got to Vac with a little time to spare to eat some lunch before getting a ferry across the river and onto an island to a place called Tahitotfalu where we managed to get ourselves a bit lost until we asked a guy with a huge, ugly, angry looking dog where we should be. We were soon racing the 8km to catch the next ferry from a little place called Szigetmonostor (good names, eh?). We were starting to think we were spending the day racing flat out so we wouldn’t miss ferries. At least when we got off this ferry we had time to spare so stopped in at a popular restaurant for a Radler and relax.
The last part of the day was over paving that was occasionally good but mostly bumpy and uneven. We eventually arrived at Szentendre where we were to get our last ferry of the day to Budapest. This would save us 40km of biking so it was a good option. Szentendre is a charming town
with narrow streets and alleyways lined with shops selling mainly embroidery, art, food and souvenirs. It is well worth a visit but is full of tourists and tour parties so is fairly congested.
At 4.30 we lined up with many people to get on the boat to Budapest and it wasn’t easy finding an appropriate place on the boat for bikes. We found somewhere to sit and enjoyed the river trip. We have been cycling along the Danube for 2 weeks so it was quite nice to few the countryside from the river for a change.
We eventually finished in beautiful Budapest at the wrong stop and had to find directions to get back across the river then on the streets to our hotel. It was the usual mission that always occurs looking for accommodation in big cities. The instructions never seem to quite work. We arrived at the hotel at around 6.20 and even though it was now cool, we were hot and sticky. However, mission accomplished. We had finished our long bike ride that was a little longer than expected.
The first leg between Passau and Vienna was 300kms. The last leg from Vienna to
A loom and products at a market
Of great interest to a weaver like myself. This was part of a street market at our last stop before catching the river boat to Budapest Budapest was 320km. The first leg was the most attractive in terms of scenery but was completely spoiled by the extremely hot weather and avoiding doing anything unnecessary. The 2
nd leg did not have as good a trail surface for much of it and it wasn’t as attractive but we were able to see some really great attractions and not be put off by the weather. There were things that could be improved by Rad Reisen in terms of descriptions and the layout of the map booklet and there is heaps that could be done to improve the track surface and signage. All in all a great experience for a bunch of oldies. Well done, Us!
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