Along the Danube Day 4 (Gyor to Komarom)

Along the Danube day 4

With no sightings yesterday, then today we would get to see the Danube again as we headed to the split town of Komárom/Komárno. One is on the Hungarian side of the river and the other on the Slovakian bank. Like all towns out here, both have probably been capital of Hungary at some point. They have been unified and de unified many times over the years and I think they are currently in unified status. Hopefully this will mean an abandoned border crossing on the bridge to add to my collection.

With only 34 miles to cover today, and not much to distract us on the way, we opted for a leisurely start time aiming for pedals down at 10:00.

Pedals down at 10 am again today

The route was very varied starting out through the industrial area of Gyor where there is a large Audi factory.

Industrial Gyor

Next came a series of cycle paths by roads or through little villages. It was on such a section where I caused today’s international incident of the day. 

Traveling on a series of little roads in the region

I had decided to take a quick photo of my cycling guests in action but as I turned round to snap it they were just being overtaken by three young women in bikinis on their bikes. In the confusion I captured them by mistake before quickly having to explain to Mrs Crusader as to why I had done it. The worried looking women sped off clearly thinking I was some sort of weirdo. Chasing after them to try and explain only made matters worse.

International incident of the day

Now firmly in the dog house things got worse as for the first time on the official route we had two sections of rough track. The first on shingle.

An off road shingle section

And the second through a very bumpy field for over two miles. It made a change from some of the long dull stretches by the sides of the roads but we were all very shaken, literally, when we pulled into Acs in search of lunch.

Very uncomfortable section through a bumpy field

Acs isn't a big place but we found cafe Piskota down a side road.

Today's lunch stop

I was surprised when it had an excellent cake selection. To avoid any further incidents I made sure the waitress was well out of shot as I photographed them.

Another good cake selection

This area of the world is definitely cake heaven when even the local caf has such a good range. The coffee and teas were excellent too so once again a highly rated cafe although far from the best this week.

Surprisingly good refreshments from a less than promising looking stop

Once off again we got to our 3rd, although most pleasant off road section of the day 

A nice off road section with plenty of Sunflowers to enjoy

before reaching Komárom on the Hungarian side which was a haven for fans of ex soviet era accommodation.

Some excellent ex soviet era accommodation to enjoy

Then the highlight of the day as we turned the corner to see the bridge over The Danube leading to the larger Slovakian side of town. It was a triple whammy. First a photo of the abandoned Hungarian border post (in black and white).

Fabulous Hungarian abandoned border crossing

Next our first views of the Danube for over two days, although it hadn’t changed much.

Finally got to see the Danube again

Then finally the abandoned Slovakian border post (in black and white) which I felt was one of my best to date.

The Slovakian abandoned border crossing

We arrived at tonight’s accommodation in the centre of a rather bland town. It had the obligatory square, large church, dull museum etc etc  but felt rather dead compared to our other stops.

A rather dull town for our overnight stay

There was time for cake at the rather modern Cafe de Luxxe on the edge of the square. Apparently for some reason they don’t sell hot chocolate in the middle of summer, I said I would come back in the winter then, but the waitress didn’t laugh. 

Another cake testing opportunity

It was another fine cake selection with the solid chocolate cake being yet another winner.

Who doesn't like a solid chocolate cake?

Despite this, and getting a full tea kit, it was not enough to put the Cafe de Luxxe anywhere near the podium but another great cafe effort.

Full tea kit with a choice of milk, lemon or honey. I went for all three.

Tomorrow is the big one as it is the longest day and comes with additional ferry jeopardy as we criss cross from Slovakia to Hungary and back twice. There is a bail out option after about two thirds of the ride but I’m optimistic that my cycling guests will shun this, but we shall see.

Route

Cafe ratings table

Cafe	Drinks	Cake	Atmosphere and Ambiance	Rating
Uferhaus, Orth	7.5	8	8.5	8
Stadt, Helmut	6	7.6	7.1	6.9
Monarchia, Mosonmagyaróvár	8	8.8	7.35	8.05
Kuglof, Gyor	8.47	8.46	7.4	8.11
Piskota, Acs	7.9	8.2	6.65	7.58
Cafe de Luxxe, Komárno	7	8.6	6.45	7.35

Cycle stats 

Route	Miles	Average Mph	Time on Bike	Metres climbed
Vienna to Bratislava	49.13	11.1	4:24	159
Bratislava to Mosonmagyarovar	24.07	11.1	2:10	43
Mosonmagyaróvár to Győr	27.2	10.48	2:35	38
Gyor to Komarom	35.4	10.14	3:29	174
Komarom to Visegrad
Visegrad to Budapest
Totals	135.8	10.7	12:38	414