Brunn to Zwentendorf
We said our farewells to our fantastic hosts. They will never know how much we appreciate all they did for us. Leni even sent us off with a bottle of wine!
As we figured, we had a little trouble getting out of the city but with some help from a couple of folks we were soon on our way. The city traffic was very light being a Sunday morning. Our packs were also a bit light because we had very little food and could see trouble ahead because all grocery stores are closed on Sundays and tomorrow is a holiday and everything will be closed again. Our only hope will be restaurants and gas stations.
Our plan for the day was to return to the good old Danube. The route we had planned was a squiggly one and some of the roads were very minor. In Breitenfurt we climbed the steepest hill of the trip so far. It was only about a 1/2 km long, but it was a real lung burner.
We faced a little confusion on the bikeway in Tullnerbach-Lawies where we met Rudolf and Haimo who said we could ride along with them up to their turnoff point but didn't recommend the route because the hills were too steep and we wouldn't be able to climb them with our gear. We accepted their invitation and appreciated their hospitality. They left us after about 5 kms and then we climbed the long hill ahead which wasn't all that steep.
We found a pizzaria open in Sieghartkirchen and enjoyed a nice pizza pie while learning a couple of new German words. From there it was smooth but very warm sailing to the Donauradweg (the Danube bikeway). The trail was quite crowded. Within the first 2 kms, we stopped at a small refreshment stand where we enjoyed a new bakery treat called Bauernkrapfen. It is a light, fluffy sweet bread covered with powdered sugar. Who would think that something with "krap" in the name could taste so good.
After passing quite a few cyclists and even a couple of horsedrawn carriages, we arrived at the campground in Zwentendorf. We paid for our campsite at the nearby bar/restaurant where we were told they closed at 4:00 today (it was now 3:45) but there were other cafes in town. So we set up, showered and walked through town stopping to take in a few minutes of a soccer match going on just up the road. Back at the campground there we now 2 other touring cyclist couples. After enjoying a nice dinner in town, we shared stories with our camp neighbors, Marieke and Harmjan, from Munich. They helped us enjoy the bottle of wine that Lena sent with us.
Kms 55.21
Time 3:27:14
Avg 15.9
Max 51.3
Total 824.3
Thursday, June 7, 2007
26 May 2007
Sightseeing in Vienna (the second of 2 days off the bikes)
We enjoyed another nice breakfast. Leni had developed a cold during the night but still insisted on driving us to our sightseeing destination today rather than letting us find it ourselves on the underground.
We arrived at Schloss Schonbrunn (a fairly well-known castle). Again it was very hot out and we did the outdoor tours first. We walked up a big hill to the Gloriette for a nice view down to the castle and the surrounding city. Then we went to the maze/labyrinth area. We walked through the maze fairly quickly because it was small. The labyrinth consisted of a mathematical brainteaser, a glockenspiel that allowed you to create a song by jumping on squares on the ground, and a trick mirror. This whole area is geared toward kids, but it was included in our tour ticket, so we went in and enjoyed it. The playground had a cool play backhoe to operate and move some sand around. Next we viewed the private garden and then went to an apple strudel baking demonstration which included a teaser sample of this sweet treat. Finally we took the headphone guided tour of 40 of the castle rooms. Very extravagant!
From there we found our way back to the old part of the city and wandered through the open-air market. There were many gastronomical temptations there. We wandered a bit more and eventually made our way back to the house in the first try!
Lena had tickets for a concert, so Elisabeth came over and made us dinner. We wanted to do a load of laundry. Elisabeth didn't know which cycle to choose on her mom's machine, so she called Leni's best friend who lives 5 houses away and she came over to try to figure it out. She wasn't sure either, so she took our smelly clothes to her house and washed them for us!
Elizabeth helped us with some route planning, giving us some very helpful maps. We watched some of the Live Ball 2007 on T.V. This was an Aids fundraising fashion show where people dress up just crazy with body painting and all kinds of crazy costumes. We had seen them setting up the stage for it yesterday as we walked in that area.
We enjoyed another nice breakfast. Leni had developed a cold during the night but still insisted on driving us to our sightseeing destination today rather than letting us find it ourselves on the underground.
We arrived at Schloss Schonbrunn (a fairly well-known castle). Again it was very hot out and we did the outdoor tours first. We walked up a big hill to the Gloriette for a nice view down to the castle and the surrounding city. Then we went to the maze/labyrinth area. We walked through the maze fairly quickly because it was small. The labyrinth consisted of a mathematical brainteaser, a glockenspiel that allowed you to create a song by jumping on squares on the ground, and a trick mirror. This whole area is geared toward kids, but it was included in our tour ticket, so we went in and enjoyed it. The playground had a cool play backhoe to operate and move some sand around. Next we viewed the private garden and then went to an apple strudel baking demonstration which included a teaser sample of this sweet treat. Finally we took the headphone guided tour of 40 of the castle rooms. Very extravagant!
From there we found our way back to the old part of the city and wandered through the open-air market. There were many gastronomical temptations there. We wandered a bit more and eventually made our way back to the house in the first try!
Lena had tickets for a concert, so Elisabeth came over and made us dinner. We wanted to do a load of laundry. Elisabeth didn't know which cycle to choose on her mom's machine, so she called Leni's best friend who lives 5 houses away and she came over to try to figure it out. She wasn't sure either, so she took our smelly clothes to her house and washed them for us!
Elizabeth helped us with some route planning, giving us some very helpful maps. We watched some of the Live Ball 2007 on T.V. This was an Aids fundraising fashion show where people dress up just crazy with body painting and all kinds of crazy costumes. We had seen them setting up the stage for it yesterday as we walked in that area.
25 May 2007
Sightseeing in Vienna (the first of 2 days off the bikes)
We woke rather early for a day off because Leni wanted to show us how to get into the city and show us around a bit. When we entered the house she had a breakfast spread fit for a king laid out for us. After breakfast we were driven to the underground station by Ernst, Elisabeth's boyfriend, and Leni showed us the ropes to get into the city on this subway train system. Once in town she escorted us to some of the sites and then over to St. Stephen's cathedral. We toured the inside and then decided to take the guided tour of the catacombs beneath the church where all the bishops are buried. Leni sat at a cafe and waited. The tour was interesting even though the guide had a heavy accent and spoke very quickly. The coolest part was at the very end when we looked into a room that had skulls and bones stacked like wood from floor to ceiling. Creepy!
Leni took us to the visitor center where we got some information on bus tours and then showed us the opera house. She headed home and left us on our own to wander around. We ate the sandwiches she packed for us (amazing, hey!) and then took a 1 1\2 hour bus tour that was o.k. but not great. After the tour we walked back to the Hofburg Palace where we were going to take a guided tour, but we were too late as it closed in one hour. So we walked down the road taking some photos of some of the cool buildings we had seen from the bus. We grabbed a kabob for a late afternoon snack and then headed back to the house on the underground. We were feeling confident as we sat on what we thought was our last train after successfully making the required transfer. Suddenly we were the only ones on the train as it pulled away from a station and stopped about 100 meters down the tracks. We panicked a bit when we saw the conductor get out of the train and we were still locked in it. J!
ohn pounded on the window and asked him what was going on. He was going down to the other end of the train to drive it back in the opposite direction. This was apparently some kind of express train that didn't go all the way to our stop which was the end of the line. So we got off at the first stop and then waited for the next train that went all the way in our direction. That's called learning the hard way.
We successfully navigated our way back to the house from the underground station, a 25 minute walk that we had quickly drawn a map of this morning as we were being driven there. After a quick shower, Elisabeth came over and the 4 of us drove to an old town close to an hour away where we enjoyed a buffet style Austrian dinner accompanied by a roaming musical pair playing waltzes and polkas on an accordian and a violin.
After dinner we were driven up a big hill (saw a cute little fox cross the road in front of us) to an overlook by an old church. As we were walking to the overlook from the parking lot there was a small fireworks display right there at the hotel by the church. The view of the city with the lights at night was nice. We were all very tired when we finally arrived back at the house. It was a very exhausting day of sightseeing, but it sure was nice to have so much help from our new friends.
We woke rather early for a day off because Leni wanted to show us how to get into the city and show us around a bit. When we entered the house she had a breakfast spread fit for a king laid out for us. After breakfast we were driven to the underground station by Ernst, Elisabeth's boyfriend, and Leni showed us the ropes to get into the city on this subway train system. Once in town she escorted us to some of the sites and then over to St. Stephen's cathedral. We toured the inside and then decided to take the guided tour of the catacombs beneath the church where all the bishops are buried. Leni sat at a cafe and waited. The tour was interesting even though the guide had a heavy accent and spoke very quickly. The coolest part was at the very end when we looked into a room that had skulls and bones stacked like wood from floor to ceiling. Creepy!
Leni took us to the visitor center where we got some information on bus tours and then showed us the opera house. She headed home and left us on our own to wander around. We ate the sandwiches she packed for us (amazing, hey!) and then took a 1 1\2 hour bus tour that was o.k. but not great. After the tour we walked back to the Hofburg Palace where we were going to take a guided tour, but we were too late as it closed in one hour. So we walked down the road taking some photos of some of the cool buildings we had seen from the bus. We grabbed a kabob for a late afternoon snack and then headed back to the house on the underground. We were feeling confident as we sat on what we thought was our last train after successfully making the required transfer. Suddenly we were the only ones on the train as it pulled away from a station and stopped about 100 meters down the tracks. We panicked a bit when we saw the conductor get out of the train and we were still locked in it. J!
ohn pounded on the window and asked him what was going on. He was going down to the other end of the train to drive it back in the opposite direction. This was apparently some kind of express train that didn't go all the way to our stop which was the end of the line. So we got off at the first stop and then waited for the next train that went all the way in our direction. That's called learning the hard way.
We successfully navigated our way back to the house from the underground station, a 25 minute walk that we had quickly drawn a map of this morning as we were being driven there. After a quick shower, Elisabeth came over and the 4 of us drove to an old town close to an hour away where we enjoyed a buffet style Austrian dinner accompanied by a roaming musical pair playing waltzes and polkas on an accordian and a violin.
After dinner we were driven up a big hill (saw a cute little fox cross the road in front of us) to an overlook by an old church. As we were walking to the overlook from the parking lot there was a small fireworks display right there at the hotel by the church. The view of the city with the lights at night was nice. We were all very tired when we finally arrived back at the house. It was a very exhausting day of sightseeing, but it sure was nice to have so much help from our new friends.
24 May 2007
A day of kindness
What a day today was. Somehow our pocketmail device got screwed up (probably John's fault), which led us to get up an hour earlier than we thought. We navigated our way through town without a problem and made our way to Fertorakos. From there it was only 3 km's to the border. Well, in our search for a bakery to spend our few remaining Forint coins we missed the bikeway to Austria. Our error was not discovered until we reached the village of Balf for the third time in three days. We retraced our way back to Fertorakos and crossed the border on a cycle and foot path. The plan was to ride to a town close to Vienna and camp or get a room, then go into Vienna from there for a couple of days. When we reached the town of Rust several cycle ways appeared and thoroughly confused us. Then along came two gentlemen riding the cycleway around Neusiedler See who guided us 13 km's to Donnerskirchen. There were some small mountains ahead of us and as we were looking at a town map we asked another gentleman named Ekkehard if he knew where the info center was. He wasn't from there but invited us for a drink at the restaraunt just 50 meters down the road. Here is where we experienced our first taste of almdrudel. Ekkehard was a biologist studying beatles and even had a live sample in a film cannister. He also gave us a nice map of Austria.
From here it was up over the hills to Hof, where we started to think about finding a place to stay. We knew there was no camping but figured maybe we would get a room. We rode past a few small villages that we could have stopped in but we were feeling good and decided to head for Perchtoldsdorf where one of our guides from this morning said there was a huge campground. The riding started to get a bit more nerve racking the closer we got to Vienna and keeping on route was tough. We came to a split in the road where we weren't sure which way to go. Marie did her best polite German and asked a woman coming out of a flower shop the way to Perchtoldsdorf and if there was camping. She asked another person walking by and was told there was none. This was not what we wanted to hear. She went back into the flower shop and called the police in Perchtoldsdorf and was told there was none. Hmmmmmm
Now what to do? Well, Elisabeth suggested that she drive John to the campground in Vienna (we didn't know there was one) to show him the way. So off they went leaving Marie sitting in front of the flower shop with the bikes. It turned out that that campground didn't open till June 1st. Elisabeth made a few calls and told John that we could camp in her mother's garden (backyard). It was over a half hour before they returned to Marie. Now how to find her mother's house? Again Elisabeth came through by driving ahead with us following and her pulling over to wait for us to catch up. Two km's later we were setting up our tent in Leni's garden. We were welcomed like family. After showering, we walked next door to a restaraunt for a very nice dinner. Leni must have been worried we were lost because she came over just as we were finishing up. Back at her house we enjoyed a shot of schnapps and conversed the best we could with our little German and her little English then called it a night.
Note: This is a holiday weekend with a huge concert at Castle Schönbrunn for aids with many dignitaries attending including good old Bill Clinton and Sharon Stone.
What a day today was. Somehow our pocketmail device got screwed up (probably John's fault), which led us to get up an hour earlier than we thought. We navigated our way through town without a problem and made our way to Fertorakos. From there it was only 3 km's to the border. Well, in our search for a bakery to spend our few remaining Forint coins we missed the bikeway to Austria. Our error was not discovered until we reached the village of Balf for the third time in three days. We retraced our way back to Fertorakos and crossed the border on a cycle and foot path. The plan was to ride to a town close to Vienna and camp or get a room, then go into Vienna from there for a couple of days. When we reached the town of Rust several cycle ways appeared and thoroughly confused us. Then along came two gentlemen riding the cycleway around Neusiedler See who guided us 13 km's to Donnerskirchen. There were some small mountains ahead of us and as we were looking at a town map we asked another gentleman named Ekkehard if he knew where the info center was. He wasn't from there but invited us for a drink at the restaraunt just 50 meters down the road. Here is where we experienced our first taste of almdrudel. Ekkehard was a biologist studying beatles and even had a live sample in a film cannister. He also gave us a nice map of Austria.
From here it was up over the hills to Hof, where we started to think about finding a place to stay. We knew there was no camping but figured maybe we would get a room. We rode past a few small villages that we could have stopped in but we were feeling good and decided to head for Perchtoldsdorf where one of our guides from this morning said there was a huge campground. The riding started to get a bit more nerve racking the closer we got to Vienna and keeping on route was tough. We came to a split in the road where we weren't sure which way to go. Marie did her best polite German and asked a woman coming out of a flower shop the way to Perchtoldsdorf and if there was camping. She asked another person walking by and was told there was none. This was not what we wanted to hear. She went back into the flower shop and called the police in Perchtoldsdorf and was told there was none. Hmmmmmm
Now what to do? Well, Elisabeth suggested that she drive John to the campground in Vienna (we didn't know there was one) to show him the way. So off they went leaving Marie sitting in front of the flower shop with the bikes. It turned out that that campground didn't open till June 1st. Elisabeth made a few calls and told John that we could camp in her mother's garden (backyard). It was over a half hour before they returned to Marie. Now how to find her mother's house? Again Elisabeth came through by driving ahead with us following and her pulling over to wait for us to catch up. Two km's later we were setting up our tent in Leni's garden. We were welcomed like family. After showering, we walked next door to a restaraunt for a very nice dinner. Leni must have been worried we were lost because she came over just as we were finishing up. Back at her house we enjoyed a shot of schnapps and conversed the best we could with our little German and her little English then called it a night.
Note: This is a holiday weekend with a huge concert at Castle Schönbrunn for aids with many dignitaries attending including good old Bill Clinton and Sharon Stone.
23 May 2007
It was another scorcher out today. We planned on taking in the baths today and to do some chores. We finally did find our way to the info center and were told that the only baths around were in Balf where we were going to stay yesterday. Since it was so hot the baths didn't seem all that appealing anyways, so we did some chores and wandered the streets of the city for a while, had some lunch and then hiked back to the zimmmer. While eating lunch we decided to ride back to Balf for the baths since they are supposed to be world famous. That being said, there are no signs to them and we had to ask at 3 different places to find them. We ponied up the forints to enter and were a bit disappointed. The thermal bath area was 25 feet by 25 feet and the water temperature was only about 96 degrees. You were only allowed to stay in for 30 minutes, which turned out to be good because we started to get chilled. Well, maybe not. We also brought down the average age of the other 10 bathers !
to around 85. That along with the cute swim cap that you must wear topped the experience off. Sorry, no pictures of that!!
John discovered that It was another scorcher out today. We planned on taking in the baths today and to do some chores. We finally did find our way to the info center and were told that the only baths around were in Balf where we were going to stay yesterday. Since it was so hot the baths didn't seem all that appealing anyways, so we did some chores and wandered the streets of the city for a while, had some lunch and then hiked back to the zimmmer. While eating lunch we decided to ride back to Balf for the baths since they are supposed to be world famous. That being said, there are no signs to them and we had to ask at 3 different places to find them. We ponied up the forints to enter and were a bit disappointed. The thermal bath area was 25 feet by 25 feet and the water temperature was only about 96 degrees. You were only allowed to stay in for 30 minutes, which turned out to be good because we started to get chilled. Well, maybe not. We also brought down the average age of the other 10 bathers !
to around 85. That along with the cute swim cap that you must wear topped the experience off. Sorry, no pictures of that!!
John discovered that his derailer must have been bent when the bikes tipped over yesterday, so after we returned from the baths he twisted it back into place. They are not perfect but will do. Another hike back into town for an ice cream and to activate pocket mail completed the day. Well almost, when we returned to the zimmer Csaba, the owner's son, was locked out so we sat and kept him company for a while. He is trying to learn english and we did our best to help him along. It is interesting that we are in a land where we can't speak their language and they apologize for not speaking better english.
his derailer must have been bent when the bikes tipped over yesterday, so after we returned from the baths he twisted it back into place. They are not perfect but will do. Another hike back into town for an ice cream and to activate pocket mail completed the day. Well almost, when we returned to the zimmer Csaba, the owner's son, was locked out so we sat and kept him company for a while. He is trying to learn english and we did our best to help him along. It is interesting that we are in a land where we can't speak their language and they apologize for not speaking better english.
to around 85. That along with the cute swim cap that you must wear topped the experience off. Sorry, no pictures of that!!
John discovered that It was another scorcher out today. We planned on taking in the baths today and to do some chores. We finally did find our way to the info center and were told that the only baths around were in Balf where we were going to stay yesterday. Since it was so hot the baths didn't seem all that appealing anyways, so we did some chores and wandered the streets of the city for a while, had some lunch and then hiked back to the zimmmer. While eating lunch we decided to ride back to Balf for the baths since they are supposed to be world famous. That being said, there are no signs to them and we had to ask at 3 different places to find them. We ponied up the forints to enter and were a bit disappointed. The thermal bath area was 25 feet by 25 feet and the water temperature was only about 96 degrees. You were only allowed to stay in for 30 minutes, which turned out to be good because we started to get chilled. Well, maybe not. We also brought down the average age of the other 10 bathers !
to around 85. That along with the cute swim cap that you must wear topped the experience off. Sorry, no pictures of that!!
John discovered that his derailer must have been bent when the bikes tipped over yesterday, so after we returned from the baths he twisted it back into place. They are not perfect but will do. Another hike back into town for an ice cream and to activate pocket mail completed the day. Well almost, when we returned to the zimmer Csaba, the owner's son, was locked out so we sat and kept him company for a while. He is trying to learn english and we did our best to help him along. It is interesting that we are in a land where we can't speak their language and they apologize for not speaking better english.
his derailer must have been bent when the bikes tipped over yesterday, so after we returned from the baths he twisted it back into place. They are not perfect but will do. Another hike back into town for an ice cream and to activate pocket mail completed the day. Well almost, when we returned to the zimmer Csaba, the owner's son, was locked out so we sat and kept him company for a while. He is trying to learn english and we did our best to help him along. It is interesting that we are in a land where we can't speak their language and they apologize for not speaking better english.
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
22 May 2007
Things rarely go as planned.
Koszeg to Sopron
A warm, damp morning greeted us today as we set out for Balf and the thermal baths. The plan was to go to Balf today and take a rest day tomorrow and enjoy the healing waters. Things started out fine as we rode through farmland interspersed with forest and naure preseves. In the small village of Sopronhorpacs we decided to have lunch in a small park at the crossroads of town. After lunch the heat was on and and the wind was a bit pesty as we made our way towards Balf. Just befoe Rojtokmuzsaj John stopped to adust his gears and along came Richard from the Netherlands. He started his trip in Dbrovnak and is heading home. We chatted about bike adventures, exchanged contact info and then parted ways. Maybe we will cacth up with him when we reach the Netherlands. We cruised on stopping several times in what shade we could find to keep filling up on water. When we reached Balf we checked out the camping place and didn't think we could spend a whole day in this small village, and !
the map showed thermal baths and camping in Sopron only 8 km's away, so we headed there. Sopron is a much bigger town and we had wanted to miss it but we figured hey we can navigate it. Hah. After getting lost trying to find the info center we chanced upon Thomas who drew us a map of how to get to the campground about 5 km's out of town. Even though there was constuction blocking his route, we managed to find our way to the cmpground only to find it closed. Of course it was up a hill. We had spotted a Gasthaus on the way up and figured we would book in there for 2 nights. Instead John spotted a zimmer so we booked in there instead. We were told that there were a couple of mormom missionaries from Alaska staying there also and just before we were going to eat they stopped by and invited us over for dinner. We spent a wonderful evening exchanging travel stories with Jamie and Janelle.
Kms 68.6
Time 4:45:19
Avg 14.4
Max 46.1
Total 653.7
Koszeg to Sopron
A warm, damp morning greeted us today as we set out for Balf and the thermal baths. The plan was to go to Balf today and take a rest day tomorrow and enjoy the healing waters. Things started out fine as we rode through farmland interspersed with forest and naure preseves. In the small village of Sopronhorpacs we decided to have lunch in a small park at the crossroads of town. After lunch the heat was on and and the wind was a bit pesty as we made our way towards Balf. Just befoe Rojtokmuzsaj John stopped to adust his gears and along came Richard from the Netherlands. He started his trip in Dbrovnak and is heading home. We chatted about bike adventures, exchanged contact info and then parted ways. Maybe we will cacth up with him when we reach the Netherlands. We cruised on stopping several times in what shade we could find to keep filling up on water. When we reached Balf we checked out the camping place and didn't think we could spend a whole day in this small village, and !
the map showed thermal baths and camping in Sopron only 8 km's away, so we headed there. Sopron is a much bigger town and we had wanted to miss it but we figured hey we can navigate it. Hah. After getting lost trying to find the info center we chanced upon Thomas who drew us a map of how to get to the campground about 5 km's out of town. Even though there was constuction blocking his route, we managed to find our way to the cmpground only to find it closed. Of course it was up a hill. We had spotted a Gasthaus on the way up and figured we would book in there for 2 nights. Instead John spotted a zimmer so we booked in there instead. We were told that there were a couple of mormom missionaries from Alaska staying there also and just before we were going to eat they stopped by and invited us over for dinner. We spent a wonderful evening exchanging travel stories with Jamie and Janelle.
Kms 68.6
Time 4:45:19
Avg 14.4
Max 46.1
Total 653.7
Monday, May 21, 2007
21 May 2007
We said our final farewell to Eva and her husband, ate our breakfast on their porch and then headed out of Oriszentpeter yet again. After the hill out of town, it was pretty smooth sailing for quite a few kms through farm fields and forest.
After riding for a while without much of a break, John was getting hungry, so we detoured into Kormend and happened upon a Konditerei (quickly becoming our favorite German word - cake shop) where we enjoyed 3 pieces of delicious bakery and a cappacino. From there we continued north taking many small breaks but not really an official lunch break. We stopped in Jak and looked at a large church with some beautiful stonework on the doorway.
We could see the much higher hills of Austria on our left and John kept singing the "Sound of Music". We found ourselves confused as we followed the bike route to Narda at one point and were suddenly facing those big hills of Austria. We knew that going in that direction couldn't be correct. We used our map to ask a Hungarian gentleman on a bike and he pointed us to the right. We started down that road which soon became very narrow and eventually became a gravel path through a small gorge. Needless to say, at this point we weren't sure where were. We stopped for a snack and could hear the hum of insects filling the air. After about 2 kms we came to a paved road, took another right and we on our way to Narda.
The heat and sun were taking their toll on us at this point. We stopped at a bar in Narda to buy some potato chips. The joint was hoppin' for a Monday afternoon. We spoke with one character in German as well as we could and would have liked to stay for a beer and more merriment, but a beer would have put an end to our riding for the day, so we pressed on.
We were really doggin' by the time we arrived in Bozsk, the town with the first camping opportunity of the day according to our map. We probably would have spent the night there if we would have seen a sign for a campground, but we didn't and we didn't have the energy to look on. We both felt that we could make the 13 kms to Koszeg for the next campground. So after a snack and some cold water from the town well pump (we've finally caught on that just about every town has a blue pump with nice, cold water somewhere - you just have to spot it) we climbed the hill out of town and had to stop at the top because Marie had a flat rear tire. John fixed it quickly in the heat and found a thumbtack stuck in it. Bad timing since we were both tired and wanted to get the last 13 kms done with.
Shortly afterwards we stopped at a site with some Roman ruins. It was a section of the aqueduct they built in 41 A.D. It was interesting to read about the engineering it took for this project. There were some hills in this last stretch that seemed to revive both of us a bit. The flat stretches seem to tread heavily on us.
As we got into Koszeg we searched for the campground sign but didn't see one. We asked a man on the street in German and he said there wasn't one in town. We asked about the visitor info center and he directed us to the city center. It was now 4:45 and we figured it was already closed, but it was our only thought at the time. As we were riding through the town square John spotted a bike shop and said we should ask them if they knew about camping. The sales guy didn't but he asked the guy in the back, he came out with a bike and gave us an escort to the campground which was only about .5 kms from the bike shop. What service!
The campground was behind a penzio, which is sort of like a hotel. They have many different room rental types here such as zimmers, penzios and apartments. We don't really know the difference yet, but I'm sure that by the end of the trip we will have experienced them all.
We set up and showered. At one of the previous campgrounds we saw that they had a clothes spinner. We figured this would be perfect for us since we usually wear our riding clothes into the shower, soap them up, rinse and wring them and then hang them from the bikes to dry if the sun is still out. There was a wringer here and it worked great. The clothes were dry in no time. We could cook here in their small kitchen, so our plan was to walk back into town and get some chicken to add to our noodles. Well, unless you are at a fairly large supermarket, salami is really your only meat choice. The store closest to the campground was fairly small, so we would again enjoy Hungary's official meat for dinner.
After dinner we walked back into town to have a look at this classic European town. There was a large square with a very tall church on one end. All of the buildings were attached to each other and the little, narrow lanes were textbook Europe.
Kms 95.85
Time 5:23:00
Avg 17.2
Odometer 585
After riding for a while without much of a break, John was getting hungry, so we detoured into Kormend and happened upon a Konditerei (quickly becoming our favorite German word - cake shop) where we enjoyed 3 pieces of delicious bakery and a cappacino. From there we continued north taking many small breaks but not really an official lunch break. We stopped in Jak and looked at a large church with some beautiful stonework on the doorway.
We could see the much higher hills of Austria on our left and John kept singing the "Sound of Music". We found ourselves confused as we followed the bike route to Narda at one point and were suddenly facing those big hills of Austria. We knew that going in that direction couldn't be correct. We used our map to ask a Hungarian gentleman on a bike and he pointed us to the right. We started down that road which soon became very narrow and eventually became a gravel path through a small gorge. Needless to say, at this point we weren't sure where were. We stopped for a snack and could hear the hum of insects filling the air. After about 2 kms we came to a paved road, took another right and we on our way to Narda.
The heat and sun were taking their toll on us at this point. We stopped at a bar in Narda to buy some potato chips. The joint was hoppin' for a Monday afternoon. We spoke with one character in German as well as we could and would have liked to stay for a beer and more merriment, but a beer would have put an end to our riding for the day, so we pressed on.
We were really doggin' by the time we arrived in Bozsk, the town with the first camping opportunity of the day according to our map. We probably would have spent the night there if we would have seen a sign for a campground, but we didn't and we didn't have the energy to look on. We both felt that we could make the 13 kms to Koszeg for the next campground. So after a snack and some cold water from the town well pump (we've finally caught on that just about every town has a blue pump with nice, cold water somewhere - you just have to spot it) we climbed the hill out of town and had to stop at the top because Marie had a flat rear tire. John fixed it quickly in the heat and found a thumbtack stuck in it. Bad timing since we were both tired and wanted to get the last 13 kms done with.
Shortly afterwards we stopped at a site with some Roman ruins. It was a section of the aqueduct they built in 41 A.D. It was interesting to read about the engineering it took for this project. There were some hills in this last stretch that seemed to revive both of us a bit. The flat stretches seem to tread heavily on us.
As we got into Koszeg we searched for the campground sign but didn't see one. We asked a man on the street in German and he said there wasn't one in town. We asked about the visitor info center and he directed us to the city center. It was now 4:45 and we figured it was already closed, but it was our only thought at the time. As we were riding through the town square John spotted a bike shop and said we should ask them if they knew about camping. The sales guy didn't but he asked the guy in the back, he came out with a bike and gave us an escort to the campground which was only about .5 kms from the bike shop. What service!
The campground was behind a penzio, which is sort of like a hotel. They have many different room rental types here such as zimmers, penzios and apartments. We don't really know the difference yet, but I'm sure that by the end of the trip we will have experienced them all.
We set up and showered. At one of the previous campgrounds we saw that they had a clothes spinner. We figured this would be perfect for us since we usually wear our riding clothes into the shower, soap them up, rinse and wring them and then hang them from the bikes to dry if the sun is still out. There was a wringer here and it worked great. The clothes were dry in no time. We could cook here in their small kitchen, so our plan was to walk back into town and get some chicken to add to our noodles. Well, unless you are at a fairly large supermarket, salami is really your only meat choice. The store closest to the campground was fairly small, so we would again enjoy Hungary's official meat for dinner.
After dinner we walked back into town to have a look at this classic European town. There was a large square with a very tall church on one end. All of the buildings were attached to each other and the little, narrow lanes were textbook Europe.
Kms 95.85
Time 5:23:00
Avg 17.2
Odometer 585
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