Ride 3.3: Prague to Budapest (9/10-9/17/19)

Tuesday, September 10^th

Getting out of Prague was harrowing – car traffic, pedestrian traffic, and three missing posts meant we spent over an hour escaping its environs. But when we finally emerged into the countryside, we immediately found ourselves on a smooth paved path bordered by trees on one side and backyards on the other, with mirrors at every corner to help prevent collisions. Soon we were reunited with the Elbe river, our old friend, and were on it for the bulk of the day, on a shady one-track. The GPS maps that David had downloaded didn’t match the marked route completely, but by trusting the signs we got to Kutna Hora, a place known for its ancient architecture, and our campsite, with no real problems. The receptionist did not speak English, but she had an English printout of the camp rules, and I learned the Czech word for tent (stan). In the campsite, David got attacked by a kitty, which harassed us all evening and the next morning.

Wednesday, September 11^th

Happy birthday to me! As if the universe knew how much chocolate I planned to consume, today was our hilliest day by far. We’ve learned that the EV routes are deliberately beautiful and consequently meander inefficiently through any pretty sight that is nominally on the way. This is generally fine, as we are not in a hurry, except that today, with the hills, we realized we weren’t going to make it to our campsite before sunset (or before midnight), so we rerouted ourselves onto cycle routes 4111 and 5127 (does this mean there are more than 5000 cycle routes in the Czech Republic?), which skirted the foothills rather than following the ridge. We still made it to the campsite in Zdar after the reception had already closed, but we were able to call the receptionist, and she let us camp there for free because we were her first Californian guests. If you had asked me what I wanted for my birthday, I'm not sure I would have dared to describe today. It could only have been better with even more chocolate. 

Thursday, September 12^th

The universe heard me say that I hadn’t had quite enough chocolate for my birthday (which is totally true, as there is technically never enough chocolate) and we had another incredibly hilly day. This would not have been a problem, except that we had to get off the EV4 again in order to get to our destination on time, so we ended up on narrow two-lane roads with absolutely no shoulder, which was very stressful. We arrived in Brno, the second-largest city in the Czech Republic, in time to meet Tomas and Eva, our warmshowers hosts. They were as kind and as welcoming as anyone has ever been, and they took us to the city center for delicious Czech food, and to a biker bar, which was rowdy and fun. They even invited one of their friends who had recently been to Bratislava and Budapest, to give us some tips. What a fantastic night.

Friday, September 13^th

Tomas and Eva accompanied us to the edge of town, and although we probably could have found our way, they took us the nicest way, and their company was so appreciated. The path we took through Brno went along the river all the way out of town. Our beautiful rolling path through prime vineyard country was only marred by swarm upon swarm of gnats (you know, the kind that live for a day, die, get eaten by ants except for the wings which lay around for ages in a gruesome reminder of the ephemerality of life) and, at the end of the day, a tragically paved road. At one point, from the path we could look to the first trafficked road to our right, and we were looking at Austria. We camped on the grounds of an old boarding house in the city of Valstice, which seems to be a haven for cyclists who enjoy the finer things in life, namely Moravian wine. 

Saturday, September 14^th

On such a beautiful sunny weekend day, the route was packed with cyclists. Obviously, I’m thrilled, the more cyclists the better, but a small part of me loves the weekdays when we have the route almost completely to ourselves. Since we were quickly (within 6 miles) crossing out of Czechia forever, our first stop was a bakery in the central plaza where we bought exactly 212 kroner worth of pastries, with the help of sign language. We crossed into Austria and had a gorgeous tailwind for miles and miles. We saw a number of pumpkin fields, and one full of smashed pumpkins, and after some research, we learned that there is a way to extract pumpkin seeds in the field, although we have no idea if that is what actually occurred. There was a part of the path that ran along the river where nature was encroaching, it felt like passing perpetually through the entrance to the secret garden. There were a number of people mushroom-hunting in the forest. Thanks to flat terrain and a brisk tailwind, we quickly skirted the last mountain into Bratislava, which was marked by a hilltop castle and the vast Danube. We cycled along the river and through Old Town, before crossing through the ugly part of Bratislava to our camp. At the campsite, we dined on traditional Slovak dumplings (Halusky), Czech Kufola, and Tesco chocolate bars. 

Sunday, September 15th

We had to fight our way back through a large amount of Bratislava suburb, but this time it was Sunday and Mother Theresa Day of Service, so there was no traffic, and David had found a map of the limited bike routes in the city, so our exit was much more pleasant. We were immediately back on a levee along the Danube for the whole day, although it was a while before we could spot it past the trees. There were loads of cyclists, given that it was a beautiful holiday. The road was mostly gravel, which was great with our wide tires, but there were treacherous sandy bits. We stopped earlier than planned because we were so ahead of schedule and  because we passed a beautiful ecocamp in Velkyl Lel that had farmyard animals. There were six other bikepackers, including Alexandra from French Canada and two Germans who were carrying bows because they were on their way to a horseback archery course near Budapest.

Monday, September 16^th

Despite our late start, we were the first ones out of camp. The gravel road was totally doable with our tires, but the road turned into those horrible concrete slabs, and then fairly deep gravel, and then steeply slanted concrete, which is where I finally bit the dust. We crossed the river at Komarno, where there is a large fort and a model of different European houses. The last part of our day was unfortunately on the highway, in an increasingly touristy part of the country as we approached Budapest. There were no open campsites on the south side of the Danube, so we took the ferry across the river and camped there. We met Alexandra as she came off the last ferry, and shared a beer and fries with her at a nearby pub.

Tuesday, September 17^th

Today was a ridiculously short day, so we stretched it out by enjoying a coffee and croissant and later, some salty fried snacks on the river’s edge. The trail was fairly well signed, but zigzagged enough to keep you on our toes. Unfortunately, we lost the trail altogether somewhere outside of Budapest, and we were on a narrow two-lane street with no shoulder. We finally got our bike lane back in the center of Budapest in the touristy waterfront area, at which point we were dodging clueless pedestrians. We made it to our (enormous hostel) without hitting anyone and immediately did our laundry and ate some delicious Hungarian food before falling into a deep slumber.

By now, we've developed a mutually satisfactory approach to exploring cities. After getting our affairs in order (doing laundry, stocking up on groceries, doing repairs as required), I cobble together a map of the city highlights liberally interspersed with coffee shops that are work-friendly and we get to walking. Budapest is choc-a-block with stunning architecture, most remarkable being the Parliament Building abutting the bank of the Danube, and just as full of lively coffeeshops. We walked over 30km to see the Buda Castle, the Fisherman's Bastion, St Stephen's Cathedral and the Synagogue, however, our favorite night was a Mauritian meal followed by a drink at a nearby ruin bar followed by hot chocolate in the coziest shrine to chocolate and teddy bears I've ever seen. Also, where have draft cherry lambics been my whole life?