We were up and organized for an early breakfast in the 120 year old winery cellar upon which the ‘Penzione Decsi’ had been built. The Penzione was operated by the Decsi family and was only minutes from the town centre of Esztergom. It is no small place either, with seven double bedrooms, and three four-bedroom units all with TV, shower and toilette.
We rolled away down the short hill and through the town at about 9am. The route today would take us out of town below the great Basilika, along the Danube’s edge for some twelve kilometers before doing an abrupt left turn down a straight road across a stretch of Danube backwaters, to the ferry that would take us across to the village of Szob on the left bank of the Danube. We knew the ferry ran hourly on the 40th minute of the hour, and when leaving town we expected to get to the ferry in time for the 10:40am crossing. However, rolling out of town rather efficiently, we suddenly had a ‘rush’ of blood thinking we might just get there for the 9:40am crossing.
So we put the throttle down, and belted our way along the bike path, brushing with trees and dodging occasional cyclists coming the other way. It soon became obvious that we would miss it, and we backed off to enjoy the journey through the heavily wooded track and also sharing the road with other traffic. We turned down the road that ran straight to the ferry, and noticed the stream of cars coming towards us. The ferry had just off-loaded, so we hurried as best we could only to make the ferry just seconds after it had cast off. It was barely 20 metres from shore on its way, and the ferry driver was not interested in turning around again. We then had a long wait in the cold! We also learned that it departed the opposite shore on the 40th minute, which made sense with the time of our arrival and the narrow miss of the ferry.
We crossed. It was a bleak, cold day with visibility affected by the mist. From the ferry we turned right, the lovely bike path hugging the edge of the Danube running on the left bank and into some of the most glorious scenery of the entire Danube trip. The path was almost a continuous carpet of yellow. The trees on both sides and lining the Danube were all large elms and oaks, having turned a lovely golden colour for autumn. We were heading into the ‘Danube Bend’, a distance of about 20k where the river has broken through steep mountains and cliffs on both sides, and where the river takes a distinct ‘elbow’ series of turns (actually more like a big ‘S’ bend) , as it changes direction from easterly now to southerly as it heads to Budapest and beyond.
We were confronted by sheer beauty on both sides of the Danube. We chose the left side for this section because it is dedicated bike track (the other side is shared road) and the views to the right bank are glorious. Riding through the elbow, with the high cliffs to our left and the sweeping views across the Danube to the ancient village of Visegrad, we found the views simply stunning. The trees that lined both banks were brilliantly yellow, the only disappointment was the absence of sun to make the scene come really alive for us.
We were heading for the ferry port at Nagymaros so that we could cross back to the right bank at Visegrad, for the final 40k run mostly by road to Budapest. We were never too sure if these ferries would actually be operating. However, as we pushed our bikes along the bank, knowing the ferry port was close, we were delighted to see the ferry already half way across the river towards our side. The ferry was carrying an enormous removal truck which took up the entire ferry! We had confidence that it would cope with our loaded touring bikes! Intriguingly, the 'ferry' is basically a floating deck, but pushed over and back by a tug boat, a manouvre performed with great skill by the tug pilot.
Visegrad sits at the foot of the Visegrad and Borszony mountains. It was a critical Roman fortification from 1st century. In the 13th century King Bela IV constructed a massive castle on the 350 metre high hill overlooking the town, which stood out like a beacon for miles up and down the river.
We stopped for coffee at Visegrad simply to warm up a bit, and then looked for somewhere along the river to have lunch. We passed out of Visegrad along the foot of the castle and Roman fortifications of the city, quickly knocking out a good few kilometers on the beautiful road along the river. We found a lovely little picnic area where boats on the river were moored. We even had our own picnic table, where we enjoyed lunch with lovely views of the Danube.
Knowing we had 40k to go, and most of that in the built up outer suburbia that lined the river on the approach to Budapest, we knew we had little time to lose. We shared the busy road for several kilometers before having our own path beside the road, but it didn’t last long enough. We were back on the single lane each way road with busy afternoon traffic racing by constantly. We hugged the broken edge in single file, Sarah-Jane leading the way with Julie in pursuit and with me bringing up the rear.
We had basically left the rural countryside now with continuous suburbia on both sides of the road, and the Danube out of sight. We watched the kilometer count to Budapest gradually decrease, anxiously waiting for the 20k mark where a separate bike path supposedly started for the run into Budapest.
However we were disappointed. It was separate, but initially was actually shared minor roads of very poor quality, one way traffic against us (!) and when we did get our own path it was very poor surface (mostly) of broken bitumen, and in some cases almost impossible for what we would consider a reasonable riding surface. At times it was better to ride in the dirt beside the bike path because the actual path was too rugged.
We also hit sections of very poor dirt, avoiding mud puddles and deep crevices. Anyway, we don’t wish to complain because we know how much the Hungarians are trying to improve their conditions for touring cyclists which brings so much business to the local economy.
There were, happily some lovely pleasant sections, especially when the path came back to the Danube. Sadly, in our need to get to Budapest before dusk, we passed through the very ancient civilization of Szentendre with its cobblestoned market square and narrow streets, with ancient architecture influenced by Serbian settlers and traders many centuries ago. Gothic and Romanesque remains were discovered after the WW2 cleanup, and have now been restored and displayed. It was a pity to have to ‘breeze’ through, but Budapest beckoned.
We were eventually excited to pass under the motorway which crossed the Danube, the first of five major bridges that commenced our countdown to our ultimate destination, the ‘Erzsebet Hid’ (bridge) that would take us from ‘Buda’ across the Danube into ‘Pest’ and to our booked apartment.
This was no easy task. The signage was poor and the complexities of the bustling city immense, combining to make it a very difficult and confusing entry into the city. I wish I could say it was as simple as following the right bank of the Danube, because now in the city, the train lines, tramways, expressway and cycle ways are all concentrated on the right bank of the Danube. We needed all our combined ‘wits’. The best at this was Sarah-Jane who had a “londoners’ sense of logic and direction in very confusing city conditions. Eventually though the bike path hugged the edge of the Danube, and for the final 5-6k we could see down the Danube, the numerous beautiful bridges spanning the river between Buda and Pest (we were staying in Pest, the left bank). We counted down the bridges, until finally we came to our Erzsebet Hid, but needed to walk our bikes across busy roads and tram tracks, through a park and tunnel under the bridge, and then up a pedestrian ramp just to get on to the bridge in order to cross.
We posed for a photo under a significant city sight (of which we had no idea what it is, but we will find out) and then made our way into the busy city heart of Pest, found our street, and then the number of the building of our apartment. It is a long story, but the bottom line is that our booking had been cancelled, but the woman who cancelled it worked very hard with SJ to find another room. Eventually we scored ‘gold’ again – a massive 3 bedroom fully equipped apartment on the 4th floor of a city apartment block. It has wireless, cable TV, DVD, dishwasher, washing machine and an owner who just can’t stop doing things for us. He has given us a mobile phone so we can call him anytime, he has stocked the cupboard with teas, coffee and special items, he even hung out our washing for us! We have a lounge bigger than all bedrooms combined. The owner even helped to carry our bikes the four flights of stairs to the apartment! The place is a blessing, just like so many others.
Today was a solid day. Due to the mix-up with the apartment, we didn’t get in until about 7pm. We were very weary. We went out for a quick tea, finding a tiny quant pizza shop who prepared for us a pizza in a massive 42ch plate (‘large’ is usually 32cm!). It was a mega pizza, but we were so hungry that there was barely a crumb left over. Suffice to say, we enjoyed the sleep immensely, grateful to have arrived safely in this city which is to be seen to be believed.
Throughout the day we often saw signs warning us of wild deer. We have been seeing these signs for weeks, but have only seen one deer in the wild in all that time. They are lovely, almost feeble creatures and very shy. The one deer we saw, it came out of the forest and crossed a small open field on its way to cross our bike path until it saw us approaching. We wanted to stop to enjoy the lovely scene of this precious animal from the wild, just standing as if frozen by fear at our presence before it quickly darted back into the obscurity of the forest.
The deer is mentioned in scripture. The Psalmist creates a wonderful image of a thirsty deer that anxiously longs to find a forest stream in order to quench its overwhelming thirst. The Psalmist says, as the deer thirsts for water, so his soul thirsted after the things of God (Psalm 42). Whenever I have seen one of the many ‘deer’ signs along the path, especially today, it has brought me to think about my own desire for the things of God.
As we rest tonight in our 4th floor apartment in Pest, in the great city of Budapest with views from our bedroom across the rooftops to the magnificent lighted domes of the Basilica of St Stephen, we rest knowing that the God who quenches the thirst in the human heart watches equally over us all.
With love from the banks of the Danube in Budapest, Hungary…….Kelvin, Julie and Sarah-Jane.
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