A RAINY RIDE TO KOMAROM

Danube at Komarom

As I peep out of the window in the morning, I shout, Chandan look, it is raining.  “The weather forecast in Europe is very honest. If they say it will rain it will, Ashwini!”  Chandan tries to educate me. We get ready and start loading bags on our cycles. Sachin is trying his wits on his mobile. After greeting (god alone knows whom) he talks into the camera. He says, "the entire backyard of the hotel has been dug by Chandan in search of his wife's safety jacket." All of us burst out laughing. But our laughter disappears as soon as we hear Sharvari saying that she has a flat tire.

Sachin, Shekhar and Milind decide to use their knowledge of cycle repairs which they had recently acquired from Rane Guruji. I quickly check in the hand book if there is any cycle repair shop nearby. I call up the shop and the person tells me in his broken English that the shop will open and 10 am. I am not sure if I heard him right and hence I go back to the receptionist to reconfirm. She  speaks to him in Hungarian and we get to know that though he usually opens the shop at 10 am, he is not going to open it today. 

I come back and check on the progress of tube replacement. Everybody is now giving instructions all the time.  Finally the cycle is back on wheels. We congratulate each other for the success and start riding. 

As we land on the main street, I discover that my rain jacket is clinging to my saddle. I try to adjust it however before I am able to do anything I come down crashing. Everybody assembles and tries to comfort me.

  I realise that it is a minor accident. We are back on our cycles and are trying to get back on the cycle route. We try our best to read the maps. However today is not a normal day. We somehow find a route which is marked as a cycle route. 

In front of the Fort : Komarom

It is raining heavily. We are cold. Almost freezing. All of us are now on a cycle track and are relaxed. Everybody is trying to warm up in his own way. Some of us are trying to jump and get the energy, somebody is riding fast to get the warmth and some romantic personalities are dancing to the Bollywood tune. Sachin and Milind collectively declare that Shammi Kapoor picked up  his style from our group members. 

We now try to read the signage and ride hard. We have now taken a route along the highway. The speed of vehicles is scary, however the distance they keep between us ensures us of the safety.  We are riding in hope that it will stop raining soon. 

Sachin and His Cycle

It is almost three hours since we started our journey. We see a small store on the highway. Everybody halts to check if we will get some coffee in there.  As we go inside, the lady helps us with a small cup of coffee from the vending machine. We see lot of eatables in the store. Each one of us picks up chips and chocolates.  As we munch our chocolate warmth and energy is retrieved. 

As we come out, the cool wind embraces us. We now want to reach our destination as soon as possible. It has not stopped raining. Komarom is now only 10 kms. away. We peddle harder to get to our destination. 

Finally we are in Komarom.  We find Hotel Corner without much difficulty. It has stopped raining

A relaxing moment

now. We are in no mood to ride our bicycles today for sight seeing. However since it is a tiny town we decide to ride our cycles. 

The fort recommended for sight seeing is already closed. We decide to do a photo-shoot at the back of the fort which is on the river bank. The area is enchanting. The quietude of this place is mesmerizing. We click photographs crack jokes, listen to the sound of nature and try to absorb the silence of River Danube inside us. As the sun is setting we decide to cycle all the way to the other bank of the river. This is a peculiar place. The river is a border for two nations. We are in Hungary and the other side is Slovakia.

Baklava : Turkish Desert

Shekhar has the privilege of deciding the restaurant to eat today. He takes us to a decent Turkish restaurant. Our excitement rises as the menu arrives one by one. We are delighted with the delicious food we are served after the strenuous cold rainy day. 

Our stomachs are full and the minds are absorbed in the beauty of the tiny town. We come back to the hotel in anticipation of another exciting day.


To be continued ..............