Along the Danube day 3 (Mosonmagyarovar to Gyor)

Along the Danube day 3

Today would be another short ride of just 27 miles, so after exhausting all that Mosonmagyarovar had to offer yesterday there was no need for any more sightseeing with pedals down just before 10.00.

Pedals down at a leisurely 10am

We were heading to Hungary’s 6th largest town called Gyor which had the benefit of being a lot quicker to write than today’s departure point. It is famous for inventing the wine spritzer and like most city’s round these parts was the capital of Hungary at some point, probably. Most importantly it is known as the city of rivers as 4 of them meet there or though ironically we don’t actually get to see the Danube at all today. This obviously meant that I would be in search for River of the day today. If you are a fan of randomly taken photos of rivers then this is the post for you else skip to the end to see what I thought of Gyor.

The first contender was the stream by our hotel taken from one of the 17 disappointingly tiny bridges.

First contender for River of the day

When we had our pre tour briefing in Vienna on Sunday we were warned that there would be no refreshment opportunities on this part of the route which made my cycling guests very nervous. They were convinced that starvation or terminal dehydration was likely despite it being only a 2.5 hour ride. In order to mitigate the possibility they first of all hoovered up the breakfast buffet into their panniers before insisting on buying litres of water at the local supermarket. With bikes now laden down with a weeks worth of supplies we set off.

Setting off for Gyor with masses of provisions

There was early river action as we crossed the Lajta but it was pretty standard fair.

A standard river

Then it was many miles along the cycle track by the side of the main road as we passed fields of crops. Occasionally we came to a small village which despite the early warning each seemed to have a shop and cafe. At one of these,Hédervár, was the next river of note which was a lovely stream church combination. 

Hedervar stream and church

Apparently there was a castle here too, but as castles are so last week so we gave it a miss as we continued on the flat and by now rather boring track.

Rather samey cycle track by the road

The unreliable tour rep had told us that to spice the day up a bit then the last few miles can be done on an alternative off road route by the Mosoni-Duna (mini Danube) river. However she didn’t say the route was guarded by a large Hungarian who appeared as soon as we had made the turn. With much shouting and arm waving he insisting we stay on the official route by the road. He spoke no English but he did speak German. As I speak neither then that didn’t really help although he seemed to think it did. I resorted to much pointing at maps while he next opted for using the international sign language for its very bumpy. Eventually we agreed, shook hands and entente cordiale was restored as we went on our way.

Start of the bumpy off road section

We bumped our way for a short while until we reached the banks of the river Mosoni Duna, which was a good one. Here Jenny and Cathy spotted a swimming platform and excitingly decide to go swimming. Apparently it was very cold. What a surprise I thought as I went for a nice lie down under a tree.

An outdoor swimming opportunity

After a breakfast buffet style picnic, with plenty of water, we were off again along a terribly bumpy shingle track. I think we have learnt on previous trips that Mrs Crusader does not like to be jiggled on her bike and was not happy. Unlike our unreliable tour rep the Hungarian man did indeed know his stuff.

Mrs Crusader being jiggled on her bike

After a couple of miles the bumpy track became a nice tarmac one and we enjoyed pleasant cycling with glimpses of the Mosoni Duna.

pleasant riding into Gyor

In no time we arrived in Gyor where the 4 rivers join (although I could only see two) and we checked into our latest hotel.

Where the 4 rivers apparently join in Gyor

Once again my cycling guests were very impressed with yet more medieval stuff, little streets of coloured houses, town squares, coffee shops etc etc, yawn yawn, zzzzzzzzzzzzz

A slightly bigger central european medieval town square

So as a contrast I was pleased to see a number of ex Soviet accommodation blocks to give a more gritty feel to another town the pied piper had clearly visited in the past.

some ex soviet union style accommodation

It was now time for the main business of the day, cake. Around here it didn’t take long to find a cafe with a good cake selection but how would it compare with the exceptionally high standard so far on the trip.

Excellent cake selection

Once again my hot chocolate was an excellent really thick one, the coffees were good and the cakes first class.

First class cakes

Sadly we had moved back into the tourist area from the ex soviet accommodation zone but it was still pleasant enough surroundings and the Kuglof cafe took over as top cafe along the Danube (despite it being several miles away).

New leader in search for best cafe along (or within a few miles) of the Danube

In terms of rivers then the Monosi Dani was clearly river of the day but I’m not sure who owns it, so where to send the certificate? I think I will try the President of Hungary first.

Tomorrow is a slightly longer day where we should join up with the Danube again and hopefully find more excellent cake.

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	8	8.8	7.35	8.05
Kuglof	8.47	8.46	7.4	8.11

Cycle stats 

Route	Miles	Average Mph	Time on Bike	Metres climbed
Vienna to Brataslava	49.13	11.1	4:24	159
Brataslava to Monsonmagyarovar	24.07	11.1	2:10	43
Monsonmagyarovar to Gyor	27.2	10.48	2:35	38
Gyor to Komarom
Komarom to Visegrad
Visegrad to Budapest
Totals	100.4	10.9	9:09	240