There ends the tour

Gearing up for the day

Today is the last day of cycling. We are served an elaborate and delicious breakfast and Hotel Belleview. We come out to take the group photo. It is the finest hotel of our tour. However we have spent the minimum time at the place. We have to rush now.

Spanish Cyclists

The route says we need to take a ferry after riding for around 45 minutes, then ride another 20 kms and take another ferry. Finally we have to catch a boat to reach Budapest. Quite complicated yet interesting. We are told that the ferry is every hour. It is already 8.00 am. We jump on the cycles and head to the Danube River. The route is very close to the river today. We cycle in and out of the forest and hit the river bank well ahead of the schedule. It is empty. There is no one around. We get busy in clicking the pictures and calling India since we realise we have hardly used our phones. In a few minutes some cyclists arrive. We try to talk to them. There are three cyclists from Spain. They are in the age group of 75 to 80 years and they have cycled 600 kms in Austria. We also meet Mr. and Mrs. Kirshener from Germany. They have met us almost every day during the tour. Very enthusiastic couple indeed.

The Route Along Danube

The ferry arrives and our excitement is at peak. We board the ferry along with our cycles. The ferry is on the other bank before we realise. We carve our way out and take the cycle path along the route. It is yet another beautiful route. Long grass lands are by the side and smooth tar road is spread out in front of us.

The route is along the river and next to the highway. Mountains to guard us on one side and the river to pamper us on the other side.  Expanse of river is mind blowing. There are tiny villages on both the sides.  They are connected by a ferry which runs every hour.

Soon we reach another ferry station.  Some of our anxious members think that this is the station to

Smita in action

The villages are well planed and excellently maintained. People look relaxed and happy. We try to absorb every bit of the goodness of  these towns.  As we proceed further try to match the description given in the guide. The route gets  us closer to Danube river.

We suddenly take a diversion and come on the main road. We are not sure if this is a correct route. Sachin has already gone ahead as usual. As we collect ourselves together, a small debate takes place. There is no one around to ask. Hence the debate prolongs than expected. Suddenly we see a local and we take charge of him. He tells us that we are on a correct path. We need to cross the underpass to get back to the road by the side of the river.

Sachin : Proof of Disagreement 😀

As we are under the bridge, Sachin brings the journey to a sudden halt. He wants a picture of him as a
proof that he was taking us on a correct route. We oblige to his demand and proceed further in the fear that we might miss our ferry.

As we reach the ferry station, Chandan pays for all of us and we board the ferry again. As we reach the other bank we realise that the route it much more beautiful. It is past lunch time, hence there are no people around. The water is also still as if it is having afternoon nap. We see a man with the dog. The dog is taking a dip in the river. There are small fishing boats parked at the river bank. The benches and lush green grass invite us to take a break for a while.

Sachin and Chandan

We decide to eat our Indian snacks while absorbing the nature. Since we are not sure as to how long it is going to take, we decide to get back quickly on the saddle. As we proceed further, the water looks greener and darker. We wonder if Danube is bidding us farewell on the last day of our journey.

After riding for an hour or so, we reach the main road. We try to figure out  the direction on the map. It says turn toward left. This time without any debate everybody follows the instructions. The road leads us to the Danube again. We see much activity on the river bank. It is well paved and protected. There is a small town  facing the river. As we enquire, the town is called Szetendre.

This is the town from where we are going to take our boat to Budapest. The ticket counter is closed. We have reached early. Since we have time. We head to the town to explore if there is anything interesting. There is a market flooded with  artifacts.  It is interesting to see the market area in small towns. You get a good bargain in these markets. Budapest is famous for varieties of chills. We see a shop loaded with different types of chilies. All of us scatter in in the market to buy a few things.

City Center Szetendre

As we take a walk we see the main square decorate with lanterns. There is a church but we do not have enough time to go inside.

Sangita : Feeling Accomplished

We try to get the feel of the town and rush towards the boarding bay. The boat has arrived. And before we realise it is full of people. We park our cycles on the lower deck and take our seats on the upper deck. The boat rejuvenates our energy. We are now trying to recollect every bit of cycling. There are other cyclists as well on the boat. The German couple is next to us. They are going to France next year. They want us to join them for the next trip. We exchange contact details and try to forget that the trip is ending.

First Glimpse of Budapest

The boat is gigantic.  But it cannot compete with our experience on this tour. All of us have known each other for years. However we learnt to stand each other and stand by each other in this trip.

We will reach Budapest in an hour and  will cycle our last miles to the hotel. We are going to miss everything we did here. Sachin will not make those hilarious videos on his mobile.  Milind’s clicks from his camera will go missing. Sangita’s sense of posing for the photographs will have to wait for another trip. Shekhar will have to wait till he sees another exciting museum to make poems.  Chandan will miss his map reading, Narendra will have to hold on to his expert comments now. We will miss Sharvari’s adventurous jumps. Smita will miss the days of her maiden cycling trip  when she gets into her car to reach office. I will miss all these fabulous people I cycled with for last seven days.

But above all, we will miss our cycling, our laughs over trivial matters, our fights for getting extra groundnut from chivada, and most of all we will miss Danube River.  

L to R Shekhar Sangita Ashwini Narendra Sachin Chandan Milind Smita and Sharvari