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Day 11 Bratislava to Györ
Wednesday June 18 2014
I wondered why our tour had us cutting short our
ride from Bratislava to Györ by taking a train ride the second half. I
didn’t question the route after we got to Györ. We met an American
couple from Boston in Györ square who had not had the option of the
train. They rode in the blazing sun all afternoon, neglecting to bring
extra sun block and both the father and daughter were sun burned as well
as exhausted by the extra 40km we had avoided on the train.
We returned to the south shore of the Danube from
Bratislava, rode 20km to the Hungarian border, another unguarded border,
our forth country on this trip. It was just another 12km to
Mosonmagyaróvár, passing fields of white poppies, cultivated for the
poppy seeds popular in Hungarian dishes, and purple flowering flax,
where we took the train the rest of the way. A kind, local man on a bike
got off in Györ with us and led us to the level crossings so we didn’t
have to maneuver the bikes down and up stairs through the underpass
beneath the rail tracks. Thank goodness for the kindness of strangers.
We rode the short distance to the old town and found our Hotel Kostrum,
checked in, showered, changed and were ready to explore this gem of a
town.
Hotel
Kostrum was originally a 300 year old Carmelite monastery, with two
monks still in residence and a 300 year old tree in the cloisters behind
the hotel. Our rooms were the former bedrooms of the monks, up long sets
of stairs on the 2nd floor with no elevator. Luckily, our
bags had been delivered to our rooms and when we left, we tipped an
employee to take them down to the lobby for us.
Györ has a nice, small historic center with
spacious squares, lots of shops and restaurants, one of which we chose
for dinner that night. There are high stone city walls along one of
several rivers converging in the town and several interesting churches.
Day 12 Györ to Kamárom
Thursday June 19 2014
Hungarian Stud Farm
Sometimes there are advantages to riding beside
traffic on a road, as long as the traffic is light and polite to
bicyclist. Once we were out of the industrial section of Györ, we found
out selves on a hard packed dirt road leading between houses and then
fields, which lasted for several km. The road progressed through a
forest and then through a section canopied with shrubs but we made it
without incident. Finally we were on a main road without a separate bike
path. It was a bit busy. We had to choose between going on another dirt
path or staying on the main road and visiting a horse stud farm. At
first everyone but me wanted to take the less busy road and dirt path,
but I wanted to visit the stud farm. The others gave in and we all took
the road.
Bábolna is the home of the Hungarian National Horse
Stud Farm. The farm was established in 1789 and has produced and trained
Hungary’s fastest and best racing thoroughbreds. The farm has been
registering Arabian horses for more than two centuries, staring just 25
years after England started an official Arabian horse registry. Part of
the farm is now a world class hotel with a beautiful inner courtyard,
around which the stables are located. The young workers, sitting around
after their lunch break, were nearly all female, most dressed in clean
white jodhpurs. The mares, some of which were pregnant, were in one long
stable and the stallions were in a separate stable across the courtyard.
We had eaten our picnic lunch in a park across the road from the Stud
farm, sharing our kiosk with two girls, one dressed in jodhpurs, who we
suspected were working in the stables. Sure enough the girls we saw in
the park were in one stable with rock music to help them with their
chores. The horses were all beautiful and well kept. There was an indoor
practise ring, where the horses are trained, just like the Winter Palace
in Vienna. You can stay at the hotel and ride the horses, for a fee.
After lunch we carried on to Komáron and found
Hotel Forras, part of a huge Hungarian resort-spa. We were given
bracelets allowing us to use the facilities, so as soon as we were
checked into our rooms we changed into bathing suits and went out to
have a swim in one of the many pools. Families and couples were sitting
in the many permanent lawn chairs or sitting on blankets on the grass
enjoying drinks and snacks. The closest pool to our hotel was an Olympic
sized practise pool with lanes for swimmers who were racing back and
forth, watched by a coach. Behind the practise pool was another pool of
equal size for recreational use with a big bubbler section and a large
water slide. At first I thought there were only three pools, the third
being smaller and shallow for young children. Jack and I went exploring
to find the reputed hot, thermal pool. We went by another large pool
inside a covered building with one side open. We spied a rounded
structure in the shape of a shamrock with horizontal sides that curved
over the top to form a partial roof. The only door, at one side, allowed
those with id bracelets access to the hot, sulphur pool. The hottest
section was a maximum of 35C so it was just right for basking against
the side. That was the relaxation we were all seeking. We stayed just
short of the prune stage.
Dinner that night was in a restaurant a few doors
away from our hotel. We were the only clients inside and we had some
trouble both understanding the menu and getting our requests across to
the waiter, who was probably the owner. We finally were served half
portions, instead of sharing dishes and of course ate it all. Then we
shared two yummy orders of pancakes filled with cheese and ground walnut
with a fruit sauce. That was so good we ordered some raspberry schnapps.
We got more than we anticipated with the schnapps, paid more than we had
expected, but it was all delicious, so we didn’t complain too much.
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