Road Untrodden: Enormous Journey to Esztergom

My Journey Mate

“Today’s route is slightly complicated.” Chandan is beaming with  enthusiasm as he studies the route. We will cross Danube river on the bridge today and cycle on the Slovakian side for some time. Later we will cross the Wag River and again come on the Hungarian side and will continue cycling up to the historic town of Esztergom. 

The Yacht Club

We finish our breakfast quickly today since there is not much of a choice. As we cross the bridge and reach the Slovakian side, it feels stunningly beautiful. We are blessed with a clear and cool  weather today. 

The path is excellent. Fresh grass on both the sides is welcoming us. ( According to Milind, the grass is so fresh that you feel like eating it.😃) We are full of energy and are getting used to our routine. There are some other cyclists following the same route. There is a yacht club we must visit  as per the guide. It is a small club with no one around. We take a quick look and proceed further. The poppy flowers have disappeared.  Road is paved though the baron grass land along the Danube River. 

Heep of Dry Garbage : Hungary

 I see a tiny hill in the midst of grass land. As the curiosity is aroused I focus my camera lenses  and zoom it as much as I can. And to my dismay I realise it is a heap of dry garbage. I can clearly see a small mountain of plastic junk overlooked by the vultures flying around it.  So the situation in Hungary is no different. 

Selfie Time : Road Unpaved

Today’s route is mesmerizing. I feel in the heart of heart that this road should never end. And of course it comes to an end. We are suddenly dumped on a path we  never dreamt about. It is a bear path with no surfacing. It is decorated with grass and sand. We try to reconcile with the path. It is really difficult to keep our balance and pace at the same time. There is another path parallel  to this path at 10 feet above us. We hope that it is a better road and climb up the dike with our cycles. However to our disappointment it is no better. Hence after a lot of deliberation we decide to continue on the dike. We struggle to  push the peddle. The path seems to be really long. After cycling for an hour or so we decide to give up to the route for  Bakarwadi and Chivada give us some energy.

One for the road

some time and sit down in the middle of the road. Snacks come out of our saddle bags.
rizing. I feel in the heart of heart that this road should never end. And of course it comes to an end. We are suddenly dumped on a path we

As we cycle down this path and try to make friends with it, the path ends suddenly and we are back on the tar road. Our effortless cycling gives us a feeling of floating in the air. We are rejuvenated. Today  we will not go directly to the hotel. We need to visit the Basilica in Esztergom.  It is regarded as Rome of Eastern Europe. As we ride past the green fields and clear streams, we suddenly reach a huge bridge on Danube River. 

The first thing we notice is the gigantic structure of Basilica. It is situated on a small hillock and

Basalika

hence is noticeable from a distance. As we click the pictures, a group of teenagers crosses the bridge in the opposite direction on their push bicycles.

We carve our way though the town and reach the base of Basilica.  There is one hour  before it closes. Hence without wasting time we rush towards the entrance. As we go inside, we are flabbergasted by its sheer size. The gigantic dome, huge organ in front of the altar, the holy Christ everything is so enthralling. 

Girls on the Bridge

We come out and spend some time observing the surroundings. There is still enough daylight hence we decide to rush to the hotel. It takes us almost 45 minutes to reach the hotel. It is at the fag end of the town.  We are awestruck by the view of the hotel. It is one of the finest hotels of our trip. However since it is far away from the city center, we have to take a bus back to the town to eat. We do not want to go back on our bicycles hence we decide to use the city bus. 

We reach the city center and eat in a Chinese

Dog Carriage

restaurant. As we wait for the bus to go back to the hotel, we take a final look at the town. Everything has closed down as the Sun has set. As the bus arrives, Chandan Takes out Euros to pay for the tickets. The bus driver nods his head in denial and says he will accept Forint which is a Hungarian currency. We do not have any. This is probably the last bus and we have no time to change the money. Driver is quite adamant and asks us to get down. There is a man at the door who tells us that he is willing to change Euros. He gives us the money in exchange for the euros and we are inside the bus.

Without much difficulty we come back to the hotel. It is already bed time. We now hit the bed without any word. Tiredness takes over from here as we dream about our last day of cycling. 

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 ..............

Glory of Gyor

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.

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.😄😄 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. 

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. 

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 ...............