It was a great night in the ‘Hotel Corner’ in the historic twin town of Komarom in Hungary. The room was magnificent. When we got in to town late yesterday evening, we couldn’t find the Information Centre. It was cold, and getting dark fast. Due to the thick mist, it also felt ‘wet’ although there was no rain. We basically stumbled on the hotel after cycling blindly through the main street and a few side streets. We really hit ‘gold’. It cost us the equivalent of 24 Euros each, including an ‘all you can eat’ breakfast. The quality is as good as any hotel in which we have stayed.
We were up, dressed , breakfasted and out the front ready to roll by 9:15am. It was a lazy start because we planned to only ride the 55k or so further along the Danube to the historic town of Esztergom, described by the Hungarian writer Mihaly Babbits as “Hungary’s Rome”. By end of day it was easy to see why.
We shopped at Tescos, and rolled out of town now closer to 10am. The exit from town was easy, stopping briefly though to appreciate the beautiful church and local flower market. The nice path which started separate to the main, busy road soon ended and reverted to share the mostly narrow, single lane each way road with the morning traffic. I am aware how much the Hungarians have tried very hard to improve the cycling conditions, and they need to be commended, but we found the surfaces mostly very difficult, with large cracks every two metres on the early paths, and the roads were often rough, with broken edges and little or no aprons on which to ride.
Riding the road as we did most of the day was often ‘heart in throat’ stuff. It is bad enough when it is just one, but with three of us in single file, it was quite terrorizing sometimes. The road was the only road between Komarom and Esztergom, and it was especially heavy with trucks. The cars and trucks drove with a kind of madness, seemingly always in a hurry. Often we would see cars speeding at us in our lane when they were overtaking, even knowing that we were occupying the only vehicle lane. Cars and trucks coming from behind us at speed rarely if ever waited for oncoming traffic to pass us before they overtook us. We were often feeling squeezed out by passing trucks, buses and speeding cars.
The Danube was hidden from us by a wide belt of trees and levee bank. The mist that has been with us for weeks now, continued to lie thickly over our day, spoiling our views and also photos. Nevertheless, we enjoyed the passing scenery. We cleared the built up area of Komarom, watching intently for the first of several road turn-offs to keep us in the right direction. Being mostly on the road, the bike signs were scant.
We were passing through the town of Dunaalmas when we gradually sited a bike up ahead pulling a small wagon. At first we thought it was a mum towing a baby cart, something we have seen a lot, but as we got closer we could see that it was a tandem bike towing a small carriage. As we passed we said ‘hi’. The couple spoke English and were obviously American. In the few minutes we had available, while dodging passing traffic, we exchanged brief stories of our travels. They were riding a ‘Bike Friday’ which is basically a collapsible bike which folds up and fits into its own suitcase. Being a tandem, it breaks into two, with two suitcases. The suitcases are firm, and when placed on a frame with its own wheels, it turns into a ready made carriage for luggage. This couple, who were about our age, had come from Prague (describing the Czech side as ‘brutal’) joining the Danube at Linz and basically cycled where we had cycled from Linz. We thought they were brave, especially on this road today. We felt extremely vulnerable. I am sure they did too.
We crossed paths several times, and although we got to our destination a while before them, we discover tonight that they ended up in the same ‘Penzione’ as us!
The road now tracked closely to the Danube, giving us lovely views on one side through the beautiful yellowing lines of oaks. On the other side, the fields opened up, with views to distant villages but which were shielded partly by the mist. Although it never really warmed up again today, it didn’t feel as bitterly cold as it did yesterday. We were also dressed for the more intense cold and were consequently feeling a bit overdressed.
We stopped at the lookout just before the ancient village of Nyergesujfalu. It was quite a climb up from the road, but having made the climb, we discovered to our surprise the remains of an ancient Roman fort from the 1st century! The views up and down the Danube would have been spectacular but for the mist, but it was superb nevertheless. The views down over the village were likewise.
We were now nearing our destination. The new bike path in this section was now superb. Separate from the road, it hugged the Danube, but also gave sweeping views across the beautiful wide farmers’ fields and to villages in the distance. The church stood out from a long way back. The view of the farmer ploughing his fields with his horse drawn plough was the first of numerous that we saw in this final run into Esztergom. The trees along the Danube were spectacular, with their golden yellow leaves and the carpets of yellow along their base.
As we made the final turn in to Esztergom, we were back on the road with the traffic, and holding our breaths occasionally. Under these conditions, we were totally dependant on the goodwill and good driving skills of those coming from behind. However, we made it in to this magnificent town in the top corner of Hungary, known as “Hungary’s Rome”. For several kilometers coming into town, the famous Basilika stood out like the dome of Washington’s Capitol Building. It was spectacular despite the thick mist. It made us want to get in and showered and explore this ancient town.
We arrived in town about 2:30pm looking for a Hotel. We actually found this difficult, there being no Information Centre. A passing lady must have sensed our need. She could not speak English, but in no uncertain terms she was trying to tell us about a ‘Penzione’ just a few blocks from where we were. She was quite ‘pushy’ but we were happy to take her direction. She even pulled her phone out of her bag, dialed the number , and handed the phone to Sarah-Jane. Yes they had a room for three, yes it would be only 50 Euro with breakfast, and yes bikes were no problem. Deal done, we rode the few blocks to find another lady waiting for us. The ‘Penzione’ is nothing short of spectacular, newly constructed over the top of an ancient wine cellar, in which we will be eating breakfast tomorrow morning! The lady had prepared our room, had the garage already open for our bikes, and nothing was going to be a problem. Paying her in ‘Forint’ (the currency of Hungary) it was costing us 45 Euro, not the 50 quoted in the street.
Esztergom has also been the seat of the Archbishop of Hungary’s Roman Catholic Church since the 11th century. The hill on which the castle (Castle Hill) and Basilica were built was fortified by the Romans almost 2,000 years ago. Esztergom, one of the oldest cities in Hungary, was the centre of the Hungarian nation with Stephen, Hungary’s first King being crowned here over 1,000 years ago. The later King Bela VI moved the capital from Esztergom to Buda (as in Budapest). The Archbishop and clerics then moved in to the now empty royal palace, with the construction of the Basilika on top of the hill in later years and dedicated to St Adalbert.
The views of the Basilika dominate from every direction. From the Basilika, the views are panoramic in every direction. It was quite a climb the way we went, just exploring and climbing by a dirt track from the Danube side, not the usual tourist route! On top it was glorious. The gardens are filled with golden oaks, the grounds a carpet of yellow due to autumn. The statue of the crowning of King Stephen in marble stands out over the edge of the Castle Hill walls.
The views to the other great architectural masterpiece, the Maria-Valeria Bridge that spans the Danube, the widest and most glorious that we have yet seen the Danube, was nothing short of spectacular. We explored the bridge before climbing to the Basilika. The midpoint of the bridge is the official border crossing between Slovakia and Hungary.
Just as we approached the bridge, we passed a football field and were blown away to see RUGBY POSTS! Not only that, there was a boys Rugby team on the oval training! There was even a Rugby Hotel.
The famous bridge was built in 1895 but sadly was destroyed in WW2 and not reconstructed until 2001. Likewise, the Basilika was badly damaged by Allied bombing in WW2. Interestingly, there is a small plaque on the Hungary side of the bridge that probably goes unnoticed by most people. But what it says is very profound indeed. Put there in 1991, the inscription on the plaque simply says “The Bridge Connects”.
When we came in from dinner at 8pm, we went to the garage to check our bikes. We couldn’t believe it, but the ‘Bike Friday’ was parked in there next to our bikes! Our American friends got in to town long after us, but must have met the same pushy lady in the town square! It was great to catch up with them again.
Reflecting on today, it has been another great day. We have seen some great sights and shared some unforgettable experiences. The sights here are spectacular, and the history is overwhelming. However, probably the thing that will stick in my mind most is not the sight of the grand Basilika, or the magnificent marble statue of the crowning of the first King Stephen, but the simple inscription on the tiny plaque on the great Maria-Valeria bridge linking Hungary and Slovakia. It simply reads “The bridge connects”.
Bridges do connect. The French word for bridge is ‘pont’, and the word adopted by the church for the head of the Roman Catholic Church is ‘pontif’ which comes from the scriptural meaning for ‘Priest’. The priest in scripture was considered to be the bridge between man and God. The priest represented God to man, and represented man to God. The priest was the bridge, connecting humanity to divinity, and divinity to humanity.
The writer to the Hebrews, chapter 4 says of Jesus Christ that He is our great High Priest, the ultimate connection between God and His creation, particularly mankind. It is Jesus who demonstrates to us what God is really like, and it is Jesus who connects us personally with God the Father. That’s why the writer says “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone to heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us live our lives consistent with our confession of faith”. (Hebrews 4:14).
As we rest tonight in the shadow of the great Basilika overlooking us and the Danube tonight, we also rest in the greater knowledge of the truth that in Jesus Christ we have a bridge far greater than the Maria-Valeria who is our ‘connect’ with our Heavenly father.
From the edge of the Danube in far northern Hungary we send our love.
Kelvin, Julie and Sarah-Jane
ps here are some 'web' shots of the Basilika and Esztergom without the mist.....
A couple of days ago we had to drive in Esztergom from Nyergesújfalu and back. On the way to Esztergom we saw the farmer with the horses, but I didn't have time to take a photograph - even though my camera was hanging around my neck. 20 or 30 minutes later we were on the way back, but by then the old man had left.
ReplyDeletePS: We have a 13 time cup winner and 11 time Hungarian Champion rugby team making them the most successful team in the country.