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 |
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.
To be continued ..............
Wow! Very nice and creating interest in me too. I just remembered my stay in europe ( Spain) for almost 02 yrs.
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot sir.
DeleteWow what a way to live life..Envy you Ashwini..
ReplyDeleteThank you.
Deletekhup chan. keep travelling...
ReplyDeleteThanks Savita Tai
DeleteAwesome writing! You wrote so nicely that the description has aroused tremendous interest so much so that I am longing to be a part of such adventure.
ReplyDeleteThanks. I am sure you will one day.
DeleteReally nice blog as usual. That day really came live in front of me. In memory lane I really relived that day.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment chandan. I feel accomplished when you say you relived the day.
DeleteSuperbly written. Enjoyed reading. Congratulations
ReplyDeleteReally nice blog. Perfectly written. Hearty congratulations.
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot Ravindraji. Appreciate your reading.
Delete