Esztergom

A day off after 2 days? Why not, our bodies are grateful for the rest. We hang around the festival, buy a few supplies and do some paperwork? Datawork?
Last night's roving and dancing group are on stage and amplified. Amazing!!
We meet with friends of Torquay friends and have a great night. Lots of chat and beer, and all are flabbergasted by our proposed trip and accommodation options! Ian learns about Hungarian shouts. Egesegedre!

Szokolya to Esztergom Hungary

Today is a chilly and early start. We eat a delicious breakfast at 6am with our very hospitable hosts. They have been in their 100+ year old farmhouse for 10 months, and have extensively renovated it. The walls are 600mm thick so it is very well insulated against the freezing winters. We leave with fruit from their orchard and home-made palinka - for medicinal purposes of course! An amazing couple who will very special parents for their soon-to-be-born child.
A beautiful ride today along paths and through small villages, crossing paths with many cyclists going the 'right' way.
We meet an English teacher in the park who asks if we'll talk to her class. They ask lots of questions, and are then amazed by the weight of Ian's bike and laden panniers!
Our destination has a food and wine festival so we eat dinner and drink while listening to music, then ride home in the dark on the footpath, no lights or helmets, like naughty kids.

Day of firsts. Budapest to Szokolya

First day of riding - 70km
First very welcome sign of eurovelo 6, the path we follow for days? Weeks? When it's not evident, there's bike symbols on roads, paths and posts, pink arrows for a bit, our route map when desperate and as a last resort Mr. Google maps. Technology is a wonderful thing.
First spill by Kay - minuscule blood and a minor wrenched knee.
First "australie - good luck" (we have flags)
First river crossing by ferry
First couch surfing home - with Gabor and Hajnalka, a lovely couple expecting their first baby in November.
Hajnalka cooked an amazing gf meal for our dinner, including veggies from their garden, corn bread and dessert. And fiery apple palinka (apple brandy) made by Hajnalka's dad. We'll sleep well tonight.

Yum

Too many beautiful building pictures to choose from so today you get to see food.
We found the posh part of town for morning tea. OMG 4 delicious looking GF cakes for Kay to choose from, Ian kindly went GF too so yummo. Double shot caffe latte also of course. It was worth every one of the $26. The box of biscuits? They just looked good, maybe to bring home later.
Lunch was away from the big hotels so a cheaper but equally delicious Turkish plate each cost total $10.
A rain storm swept through while we were out so came home to wet bikes, clothes and a flat tyre. All easy fixed.
Tomorrow we hit the road, or we hope path.

Water views ...

Taking the waters is a wonderful thing to do. We smell like rotten eggs but our skin and muscles feel wonderful after 3 hours of soaking, floating, aqua aorobic-ing and spa-bubbling. We tried indoor and outdoor pools from very cold to very hot.
Ian found the dentist for a lost filling, Kay found the gluten free shop for cake and emergency supplies and the phone now has a sim card; a very productive day.
And the view from our balcony ...

Sights of Budapest

Wow, what a busy day and we sure are tired after a 3 hour walking tour of the Pest side and so many beautiful old buildings and statues. We finished with coffee in a spectacular setting.  It's hot today so our hotel's cold swimming pool was very welcome.

Buses, bikes and a wedding

Yesterday, and the day before, passed in a blur of planes and airports. The time passed surprisingly easily with the help of movies, music and a few glasses of wine, and was uneventful apart from Kay attempting to eat dinner soon after taking a sleeping tablet. A bit of drooling and spillage was apparently evident but I have no memory of anything...
Today we tackled the extensive public transport system and navigated our way on a bus, tram and train to a bike festival. Lots of lycra. Then back into the centre of town to the old castle area where there were markets and food stalls and plenty to look at. A quick supermarket stop and it's back to our hotel, 10 km out of the city.
It must be wedding season cos we've seen a few today. Hey Jess lift your game, we want folk dancing and an oompah band!