Jim

Jim
Let the Adventure Begin

About Me

Las Vegas, NV, United States
This is my 2008 grand adventure...riding a bicycle with 35 international bikers across Europe, following the Danube River along the Orent Express route through eleven countries. The ride is 4000km over 50 days of which 39 are ride days with camping and 11 are rest days in hotels. Our tour group, TourdAfrique, provides a tour leader that provides directions and transposts our luggage, a mechanic, and a chef who promises gourmet local cuisines. We start out in Paris on June 1 and travel through France to Germany, where we pick up the Danube river. We then follow the Danube through Austria, Slovakia and Hungary. Then we ride cross country through Romania, Bulgaria, and finally Turkey, where we finish in Istanbul on July 20.

Jun 27, 2008

Day 24, Day 24, Bratislava to Gyor, Hungary, 87 km







Goodbye Slovakia, Hello Hungary

Today was a fast ride along an elevated Danube levee. It reminded me of Holland. It was exceptionally hot and humid with temps reaching 95 deg. Yea, warm at last! But, not dry! We had lunch at 10:00 at a large dam and locks on the Danube, which is now taking on the look of a large industrial river…a lot like the Mississippi.

The border crossing into Hungary was also interesting. The border crossing buildings were deserted. Hungary and Slovakia are not yet apart of the European Union and they have already removed their border controls. Anyone in these countries can move to another country. The young kids are leaving the town and moving to the big cities where the money and action is.

Hungary is a beautiful country, but many of the roads are beat up and the towns are in disrepair. It is another country on the move with lots of construction underway, but it needs 20 years to catch up from 50 years under communism.

We had a great campsite with hot water and toilet paper, but the bathroom looked like it was out of a prison…really seedy.

No one in the group speaks Hungarian and we all get lost because road signs are not consistently placed. The locals have been quite friendly and helpful. Prices are coming down.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

So that you know, both Slovakia and Hungary joined the EU in 2004...