kozmopolit.de


LOADING
Statistics

Km done: 855 km
Daily Average: 74km
Days in HU: 12
Days on the Bike: 8
nights in the Tent: 6
nights in Houses: 6
Breakdowns: 3 broken Spokes
Daily Average: 18,05€

Hungary a vague memory from my childhood.
(15.06. - 27.06.2014)

I can remember the fact that i was standing in the Balaton , Water to the Belly Button... Allegedly i also visited Budapest, but there is nothing left in my memories...

Starting in Bratislava in the morning heading to Budapest. Crossing the Bridge i meet Dan and Marina, two cyclist from Landshut on their way from Passau along the Donau to Budapest... so we share the way. The Chemistry is right and so we enjoy the day very much and have a lot of fun. At the End of the Day we finish in Györ where we met Jakob who did the the way from Germany (Donaueschingen?) along the Donau on his way to Budapest. Together we watch the Football-Match of the Evening in the local Open-Air Pub with Hungarians and a hungarian Commentator on the TV...

The next Day is focussed on the Germany-Match in the Evening. We want to ride to Eztergom and watch the Game totally relaxed. Unfortunatly we pass to account. The Distance of 120km was very ambitions but the Fact that the route leads us through the „Uplands“ of Northern hungary crossed our plans totally... I was used to the „Hills“ a little bit but my colleagues reached their Limits quickly. On the Way we found not a single Pub who showed Football...Totally bewitched... We reached Eztergom short before Halftime. The second Halftime we enjoyed with Pizza and Beer! Superb after this crazy day :-)

The promised 70km the next day went to 95 and so it took the whole Day along the River to reach Budapest.. The Arrival in Budapest was wonderful. The last Kilometers we cycled along the River and the Panorama of the City appears. Parliament, Castle and the Silhouette of the Houses along the River, the City is really impressing. After we separated at a hostel I started searching the House of Bela, my warmshowers-Host, where i get a heartly welcome and a visit to his favorite Pub where we enjoyed a good handcrafted Beer.

The next Day i did the traditionally Sightseeing doing a lot of Kilometers (this time by feet). In the Afternoon i meet Bela again and we take a tour through the Pub-Culture of Budapest. Some Pearls i could not find without his help and the usual Suspicious out of the Lonely-Planet-Books and so we finished the Evening after a few beers and a lot of good talking late in the night...

The following day it was the time to repair my spokes and to say goodbye to Bela. Thanks for all!! There was a agreement between Dan, Marina and me that they take some things back to Germany. We met at the hostel and they told me that they didn’t get a train for that day. So we stayed together for one more night and visited the Gellert Spa and enjoyed the warm water and the fantastic architecture. Best Ending for the day was the footbal-game of the english team in the evening in a Garden-Pub.

After they left early in the morning i started Packing and left Budapest again on my own. After 25km i finally reached the Citysign and entered the countryside again. In the Afternoon i reached the Danubia-Dike that i finally left on the end of the next day... I stayed the night in a small forest directly beneath the Dike.

To be just in time to watch the Germany.Match the next day i started early. Early in the Afternoon yet there were 100km done (no magic with tailwind and the flat dike under my wheels) and i decided to go on a little bit more. On my map there were 2 Campsites in the next 40km, so i headed towards them. But unfortunately both were closed somewhere the last 10 Years... So i was forced to go the total distance to Pecs. There i arrived a quarter past nine and be very astonished about the ambiente. Public Viewing on the Mainsquare with almost 1000 People watching...
In the half-time break i had a conversation with a german Guy who invited me first to his table and at the end to his home. So i spent the night at the House of Hans and Ellen. the next Day he gave me a Sightseeing with his son (he is living there for almost 15 Years) and after that there is time to enjoy the special and very relaxed flair of the City... The Mix of old Architecture and young Studentlife has it´s allure...

Going on the next day my way leads me to Mohacs at Danube-Coast. In the Pedestrianzone they show the Holland-Match and i decided to share it with some Dutch Fans. We had a conversation in the halftime break and at the end they invited me to stay in their house. The night followed by a second and i enjoyed the time at Harry and rites fantastic House near the City. Thanks to you both!!!

The Day i leave i meet the local vintner, a friend of Harry and Rita. He showed me his wine cellar and gave me a degustation of his products. We talked and at the end he told me that his ancestors came in the 18.Century from a village 40km away from my home in Germany. The world is a village... At the End he gave me two bottles of wine as a gift... Great!

These day brought me rain. The first 80km it Rains nonstop... After tagt i can enjoy a little bit of evening Sun before the rain comes back. But then i´m already lying in my tent and enjoying my wine...

The following day i reached Szeget, the last city on my way through Hungary. a big flood destroyed almost the whole city at the end of the 19. Century. After that it was rebuild totally with international money. The Cathedral is a gift to god for the Reconstruction of the City. Mighty church, well designed and painted. The City has a modern Structure and from the times of reconstruction some very nice Art Nouveau Buildings.

On noon the next day i reached the border after 12 Days in Hungary... Romania! That will be the next story...


On the Road it had some conversations with hungarians, some (in the South) also in german, cause the german minority is numerous. The people are very helpful and outgoing.
The more south i reached the more the poverty was visible. South of Budapest you can see horse and cart and the quantity of Trabant and Wartburgs grows...

Bela as a hungarian and Hans and Harry/Rita as foreigners living in Hungary told me from the Problems of the local system. But all said that Membership in EU brought the Country on the right way. If i count the signs with the EU as a Projectfinancer i can imagine the reasons... ;-)

The cycling together with Dan and Marina was very nice and the first hours of cycling alone afterwards takes a little to get used to again. But the cognition of the environment is deeper and better when you are alone on the road. After two days i was back in my procedure and enjoyed it with full force ;-)

The number of animal road casualties grows, in the south with increasing heat the smell comes in addition. Often i smell the Victim long before i can see it... If it is visible at all.

Budapest and Pecs as Cities Impressed me deep. Budapest is really a cosmopolitan city and knows to score with it´s old culture and also with it´s nightlife. Pecs still has it´s Smalltown Charme and is first league in Historic and Culture. The Cathedral was extremely impressing... Go and take a look at this very nice southern part of hungary!

The Landscape is mostly boring. Most of the Country is totally flat and used heavily for Agriculture. North of Budapest and in the South there are some hills what gave some variety.

An interesting country that worths a visit!