Komárom to Esztergom

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Day 5 and 6
Sept 9,10 2018
Komarno to Esztergom
Today we’re headed for Esztergom, the Rome of Hungary, ecclesiastical capital of the Christian church.
We took the route on the Slovak side, having been advised that it was probably quieter than the Hungarian side. The route follows the Danube most of the way. The first part was a dyke road, passing Kelemantia, site of a major Roman military camp. We passed the thermal lake at Patince Kupele. The road passes through pretty towns and beaches along the banks of the river. We deviated from the river at Čenkov, inland towards Mužla, where we stopped for lunch and met the Slovak MP, Ivan Farkas, who had visited Ireland many times. At Štúrovo we cycled through an old border control, over the bridge and into Esztergom. The city landscape is spectacularly dominated by the huge basilica, on the top of a hill, that can be seen from miles away.
We stayed at Ister Guesthouse, right in the centre, just below the basilica. We occupied an apartment in a quiet courtyard, only a 100m from the centre, where a musical festival had just begun! Although we had only booked 1 night, we stayed for two, to allow ourselves more time to explore this beautiful town, and visit the thermal baths.
A real festival atmosphere in town, a market on the street selling crafts, food and drink. Great beer from local breweries, and lots of Palinka. The bands were all Hungarian, the music great (but loud!) and thankfully finished at 23.00!
After 2 great days in the town, we packed up and cycled on to Szentendre, 55k, and to within 30km of Budapest, the last leg of our Danube trip, where we planned to spend a couple of days, and meet up with our good friends Ilona and David.

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