Day 10: Fri 27 Jun - Vác to Esztergom, 51km and 6hr

20-29 deg C, overcast to sunny, with NNW wind gusts of up to 45km/hr

Ride: 51km; total: 166km

Walk G: 8km; total: 90km

Walk W: 6km; total: 84km 

We were on the road about 9am and quickly found the EV6 route, and stayed on it all day, except when we veered off to visit some of the little towns on the way. Oh, and also the bit from Szob to Chľaba which we had to do to get to Esztergom. The ferry that used to run from Szob to Pilismarót is no longer running, so we had to go the long way round. Didn’t matter much as we had heaps of time before we could check in to the hotel at Esztergom. It also enabled us to make our first border crossing - into Slovakia. We then crossed back into Hungary just before Esztergom. 

It was a great ride today, a few short, gradual climbs, but nothing that second gear couldn’t manage. So after riding 90km, (over two days) we still had 43% left in the battery. We stopped at Verőce and Nagymaros, then Szob for lunch. We had another Hungarian traditional dish - Langos that used to be made from the last bits of the bread dough and baked at the front of a brick or clay oven, to be served hot as breakfast. Nowadays it is a deep fried flatbread and topped with lots of cheese and other stuff. We just had to make a stop at an ice cream shop in Štúrovo in Slovakia so we were not too early to check in!

We arrived at what we thought was our hotel, they have almost identical names, about 400m apart. When Wendy went to check, the man behind the desk had that odd look on his face, and then told her of the other hotel. Thankfully we had not unloaded the bikes, so were able to ride away to the real hotel and were checked in about 2:30pm. Our bikes are locked together in a locked cage that has power points to re-charge the bike battery. We elected to take our batteries out and charge them in our room. It is also extra discouragement if anyone was thinking about stealing them; no use without a battery! 

After settling in, Greg went for quite a wander, whilst Wendy rested her feet. They have been a bit sore after all that walking on hard surfaces in Budapest. This town has an amazing looking Basilica that she would have loved to have seen close-up, but is having a rest day from walking in the hope her feet will come good.

Dinner was had just down the hill a bit and the meals filled the stomachs nicely. A slow wander into town and back to settle the tummies before retiring for the night.

Veroce

Colourful farm scenery

Szobi Szent Laszlo-templon

Lunch

Some of the paths we rode today

Esztergom

Dinner restaurant - next 

Greg’s sesame crusted chicken fillets with salad and yoghurt dressing

Wendy’s extremely healthy Wienerschnitzel on a bed of stodgy chip

Nice setting and atmosphere 

Life is a beautiful ride

A different kind of restaurant - vending machines

Town Hall and Square

Scenery on the way back to the hotel

Greg’s bike ready to go

Wendy’s bike with everything less the kitchen sink

Our hotel

Room #310

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