2025 - Europe, East to North West: Day 4: Sat 21 Jun

13-27 deg C, sunny, with a light breeze

Walk G: 9km; total: 36km

Walk W: 5km; total: 32km

Ride: 40km; total: 51km

After breakfast, we took the bikes for a proper ride. Originally, we were going to recce the route for our departure on Thursday, but decided to go south instead, as we will not see that part of Budapest. We found the EuroVelo 6 route and off we went. We almost made it to Dunaharaszti before returning on the other side of the river. We did this as we were hoping to avoid the not-so-nice part of the route (pot-holed dirt and sealed track, very narrow track, and a bit of paved track). In the main the bit of the EV6 we did today was not too bad. The return was on quiet roads to start with then got busy, then we crossed the river back onto the EV6 only to ride straight onto the horrible part. Oh well, it gave the bikes a good test ride and nothing fell off, and neither did we.

We decided to stop at the monster food hall for an early lunch before going back to the hotel. Greg went in first while Wendy guarded the bikes. He came out 10 minutes later with nothing. He said it was all sweet stuff, not proper food. So, we found an Aldi we had been looking for underneath the food hall and bought a couple of sandwiches and mixed fruit juice and ate them while overlooking the Danube.

Back to the hotel for afternoon rest. While Greg went for a walk, Wendy got the maps out and did some planing for various touristy visits over the next three days. We purchased two 72hr Budapest Cards that allows free travel on all transport options, free entry to a lot of places and discounted entry to others. We would prefer to walk around, however, we opted for this card rather than a HOHO bus because of the free entry, and there is just too much to see in a short space of time. Many of the museums are not open on Mondays, so we have to plan accordingly.

Dinner was had at Restaurant Horgásztanya Vendéglő, and we both had the Goulash soup with homemade dumplings (very few), and crusty bread. It was very flavoursome and more’ish, washed down with Pesci premium lager. Two bowls of beef soup, two beers, and bread = AUD85! They see us tourists coming don’t they? A slow wander home.

Euro Velo 6

Danube river scenery

Buda Castle Gardens

Parliament

Chain Bridge

Vertical pano of the staircase in Buda Castle

Stats from Wendy’s new bike. Specs state that the 400Wh has a range of 140km, so we are happy with these numbers. Yes, we weren’t loaded up with luggage, so our first ride with luggage will be the truth teller.

Dinner venue