It is a pleasant morning as
we leave Bratislava behind us. The green fields are back. We are
now cycling
with much comfort. Each one of us is now used to the routine. We push the peddles, sing to the tunes and
float in the air like free birds. The route today is amazing. We cross green
fields and small bridges on the streams with ease. Some of us also decide to do
a speed-trial. The men boast about doing 45 kmph. I have my doubts, but they
look like they were going fast. I experiment with my video recording skills
while cycling. My camera is hanging on my neck and I record a video with one
hand on the camera and steer my cycle with the other. It is amazing how well
the recording turned out to be and I decide to try it more often.
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| On the Way : Green and Gorgeous |
We are now inside a forest.
The peace shakes us to the core. No people around and hence no small talk. We
decide to take a break at a bridge. As we take a look at the surroundings, some
of us sit down and some of us lean on the railing. Something is cooking inside
Sachin’s naughty mind. He suddenly sits down in the middle of the road and says,
“Rule is rule! Some of you are not wearing safety jacket. Unless and until all
of you wear your jackets, I am not going ahead”. I know who he is pointing to. I
try to tell him that it is not compulsory, and I want to flaunt all the new
shirts I have purchased, but the kid inside him does not want to reconcile.๐๐ All
of us burst out laughing and wear our safety jackets and proceed. My plans of
clicking selfies in my new shirt are doomed now.
 |
| Smata : Mighty Lady |
The route turns even more
beautiful now. The green fields are decorated with orange poppy flowers. It is
a feast to our eyes. We jump off our bicycles and rush to the fields to click
pictures. Milind, Shekhar, Sachin and Narendra are left behind. As we pose
Titanic and DDLJ style, the foursome arrives with pale faces. Narendra says “something
serious has happened. Milind broke his camera lens” and makes a sad face. Smita
is cool. She says, ‘does not matter we will buy another one’! I am shocked at
her calm reaction. Milind starts dancing between the poppy flowers and the lie
is uncovered. I admire Smita’s composure in the heart of heart. She is a lady
with lot of determination and might. She has never cycled all her life. At
55 plus she booked her ticket for this cycling trip, she picked the cycle and
started practicing. She is a lifetime banker by profession and knows what is gain
and loss in life in the real sense of its meaning.
We now proceed to a town
called Masanmagyaror. It is the place from where we will take a train to Gyor.
I am in love with this route
and I do not want this journey to end. We pass some small villages
and finally
reach the town. The travel guide points us to a list of good restaurants and we
decide to have lunch at one of them. It takes us 20 mins to find the rest of
the group as mobile networks are patchy. As we reach this modest restaurant we realize
that we are the only customers. The hotel manager does not understand English and
yet is very hospitable. He guides us though the menu and bears with us along our
continuous chattering. Masanmagyaror is a beautiful European town. The city
center is neat and tidy. There are museums, churches and other monuments, however
we must catch our train to Gyor. After a
scrumptious lunch, Chandan, Sachin, Narendra and I proceed to the railway
station. The station is further than we think, and it takes a good 10-15
minutes of cycling before we finally reach the station.
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| Train Station Masanmagyaror |
The station is tiny and has three
platforms. As we enter our coupon numbers, 18 tickets roll out one after the
other.(Nine for us and nine for our cycles). We find our way to the platform while we wait for the remaining members.
Time is running out and we see the remaining group of cyclists enter the
station just minutes before the arrival of the train. Europe silently teaches
you how to be punctual.The train seems to be really
small. We try to figure out which bogie is for bicycles. We get to know that
there is no special bogie for bicycles on this train. As the train comes to a
halt at our station, we push our cycles inside with much chaos. The train
leaves immediately. We look outside and try to capture every bit of the route.
It takes about 30 minutes to reach Gyor.We get down at the railway station and
proceed to our hotel.
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| Hand Granad? No Key of Klastrom |
Soon after we enter the lobby of Hotel Klastrom, the receptionist
informs us, that she had a very nice colleague who has taken all our luggage to
the second floor. In Europe, transferring your luggage from lobby to your room,
without an elevator is the greatest pain. All of us cheer with joy. She hands us
our keys and, in my hand, is the weirdest key chain I have ever seen. It is
made of wood and is the size and shape of a hand grenade. We look around the
place and we realize that we are in a heritage building. Everything about the
hotel is classy yet modern.
 |
| City Center : Gyor |
As we take charge of our
rooms, we also examine the rooms of others. There are four beds instead of two.
Shekhar, immediately says in ‘Puneri’ Style, 'had we known this, we would have
booked only two rooms'.
Gyor is mesmerizing. We take
a walk around the city center. There is something unique
about this town. The
city center is flooded with restaurants and cafes. The church building is
enormous. Doors are very tall. Unique door knobs, glass-work and huge statues,
there is so much to see. As we reach a square, we come across an event going on.
There are loudspeakers and yet the sound is just appropriate for the audience.
It does not spill over to the entire market place.
 |
| Relaxing at City Center L to R : Chandan Ashwini Milind Sangita and Shekhar |
The glory of Gyor enchants
our minds. We are tired, but our minds are fresh. We want to absorb every bit
of this City.
As the day ends, we wait,
for a new beginning, a new route and a new town.
To be continued ...............
