 Julianna and CJ's ~ Follow Your Bliss
Bicycling across Hungary - Eurovelo 6
667 km
Bratislava, Slovakia to Halászi, Hungary - 42 km
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Coming Soon
 We are in Hungary! |  Eurovelo 6 info point |  |
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 |  DSC05022.JPG |  Miam, we are starving! |
 Our camping spot at Party Csárda és Szabadidőpark |
In one day, we rode in 3 different countries, from Hainburg, Austria, through Bratislava, Slovakia and to Halaszi, Hungary. As we crossed Bratislava early mid-day, we chose to keep on going for another 42 km. In Cunovo, we got back into the road and crossed into Hungary soon after. The border crossing from Slovakia to Hungary was non existent, again no checks, no controls. A sign with "Magyarorszag" (Hungary) with the flag below along the side of the road was our welcome into Hungary, as well as a Eurovelo 6 info point board a few meters away. We stopped, took a few pictures, read the info, and cheered. We had made it all the way from France, St Nazaire to Hungary!!! Wow, not bad for 2 women who had never ridden before for more than a few kilometers at a time. At this point, we had bicycled close to 2,500 kms. Awesome, and what an adventure so far along the Eurovelo 6. We rode on the road onto the next village. There at a bank, we exchanged a small amount of Euro for some Forint, enough to be able to pay for diner and the campsite for the night. We kept on going, and rode alternating back and forth between the EV6 bicycle path by the side of the main road and the main road which had moderate traffic. We bicycled to Halaszi and stopped for the evening at the Party Csárda és Szabadidőpark. The campsite was small and simple but perfect for us. We step up camp, took showers and treated ourselves to a nice diner at the camping's restaurant set along the Danube to celebrate our arrival into Hungary!
...next Serbia on the Eurovelo 6 route
"The route from Rajka to Mohács along the Danube river is known for its outstanding natural and cultural attractions. The Roman 'Limes' along the Danube, the fortresses of Komárom and Komarno, the cultural landscape of the Danube Bend and the banks of the Danube in Budapest are all important heritage attractions offering visitors enjoyable diversions when they fancy a break from their bike. The whole Hungarian section of the Danube is protected as a Natura 2000 Site providing endangered species with vital habitats, such as the famous Gemenc Forest. The quality of the route and the level of connected services are under continuous development."
~ from the Eurovelo website
Romania
Serbia
Hungary
This portion of the Eurovelo 6 can also be bicycled in Serbia. We chose to stay in Hungary all the way to Budapest. This was a short day of riding only 37 km separate Halaszi to Gyor. The EV6 route took us more inland, away from the Danube and as the previous day, the bicycle path was right by the main road. We stopped at a bar restaurant along the road to have our sandwiches, ordered a couple drinks and some ice cream. The EV6 took us right in the middle of Gyor and its pedestrian streets. Gyor is quite a popular and charming town, famous for its hot baths. We found the office of tourism in the main pedestrian street and the man there pointed us to 3 different places we could set up our tent. Two of them, were actually hotels, with a small designated area for tents, but the camping fee included the hot baths and both were a bit expensive. We decided to skip those and go 5 km away from town to Topart Camping, which again was basic but good for us. There was almost no one there and we set up our tent by the pond. The campsite had a kitchen available to all, so we cooked some tasty spaghettis.
 Gyor's Pedestrian streets |  |  |
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We packed up and backed track 5 km into Gyor to get back on the EV6 towards Komaron. The EV6 route has us take a road now turned into a bicycle path it seems for a while and then, has us get on some dirt road for about 3 km. We get back on a small paved road with fairly low traffic. Once we get close to Komarom the bicycle path starts again into the city and through the city where we found a few hotels with hot baths/pools and campsites all in one. We stopped at the Thermal Hotel and camping for the evening. The place has an hotel, a restaurant, a large campsite, 2 hot baths/pools that are not included in the price but are available for extra money if we want to soak our bodies. We chose to pay just for our 2 persons and our tent. We set up camp, did our laundry with the washing machine available, and cooked a nice meal.
 |  Dirt road it is on this fine day |  |
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 |  |  Riding along highway 1 towards Budapest |
 Almost there! |  Arriving at Komarom |  Thermal Hotel and Camping, perfect for us, spacious grounds, small "kitchen", washing machines, good bathrooms |
 Our campsite for the night in Komarom |  |
We started early, packed up and we're back on the road again. It rained during the night on and off, and we started the day with slight drizzle. So far, not knowing what to expect, we had been enjoying riding through Hungary and we had been blessed with a good amounts of bicycle paths. We had encountered some roads with some little traffic but nothing too crazy. Today, the route took us back along the Danube river, which was nice and we rode mainly on the main road which was not quite as nice. Along the way, we passed a few little villages, took breaks and had our sandwiches at a very tiny bar overlooking the main road. A few kilometers before Esztergom the bicycle path started again and we rode it right into town. We stopped at a grocery corner store, stocked up, then by a church, and then, we went right to our campsite for the night, along the Danube, the Gran Camping. The camping was nice and spacious, with very few other campers, mainly eurovelo ridders, and we set up our tent by the bungalows. The rain started as soon as we were done setting up the tent, perfect timing and we had a good excuse to go to the camping's restaurant and enjoy pizza!
Komárom to Esztergom ~ 56 km
 Stopping for a break in Sutto |  |  |
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 Nice bicycle path getting into Ezstergom |  ....and back along the Danube |  |
 |  Across the Danube, there is Slovakia |  Our Camping for the night |
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Esztergom to Budapest ~ 88 km
Budapest ~ 5 days
Ráckeve to Dunaföldvár ~ 57 km
Dunaföldvár to Solt to Kalocsa ~ 56 km
Kalocsa to Kiskőrös ~ 33 km
Budapest to Ráckeve ~ 45 km
 Hero's Square |  Hungary most famous thermal baths |  Parliement on the left in Pest and Buddha's Castle on the right in Budda |
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 St Stephen |  |  |
 |  The Castle District, Budda's Castle |  Around the Parliament |
 Beautiful view of Budapest, left ban |  |  Margaret Island |
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 |  Budda's castle |  |
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 |  |  Budapest at night is magnificent and worth the sight. Especially from the Castle District. The views are fantastic! |
 |  The parliament at night is beautiful |  |
 |  Budda's Castle |  |
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 |  Ferry into the other side of the ban |  |
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 |  Arriving at night was magnificent - The parliament all lit up |  The Castle District beautiful as well |
 |  Our own little apartment in Budapest through Happy Hostel |
As the previous night, it rained on and off throughout the night and again, we started out the day with slight drizzle. Either way, we were excited as we were getting closer and closer to Budapest...but maybe a little to excited. We decided to do the 88 km all in one shot to get to Budapest that day. We rode by the Basillica first. Then, little did we know, we had 2 ferry crossings to take, which took a while, as we had to wait close to 20 minutes for one and about an hour for the other. As the rain started to come down, we took a break in Szentendre, ate a little something, locked up the bikes, and took a little walk around the small town center full of shops. The rain stopped for a while, but soon started again with heavy heavy rain and storm right before us getting into Budapest. Soaked from head to feet, we attempted to wait out the storm in a restaurant boat along the Danube. We ordered a drink, dried off as much as possible with our towels, and an hour or so passed by. The rain was still coming down and since nobody was coming in, the restaurant was closing. We went back out and kept on riding under the rain very slowly. The bicycle path leading to Budapest was soaked, with so many puddles, and the night was falling quickly. We arrived in the outskirts of the big city at night, which was in turn a gift. Arriving upon the city after dark, as its monuments and bridges where all lit up was simply magnificent and breath taking from afar and from close up as we moved into the center of the capital. We crossed the Danube, to get into downtown and find an hotel. Unfortunately, most hotels were fully booked as the European boxing championship was happening in the city that same week. So quite exhausted, we kept on cycling in the center from hotel to hotel, and finally scored a room at the King's Hotel, which ended up being perfect for us. They had a nice covered area for the bikes inside the hotel, a nice simple clean room and bathroom and all that for the price of $70, including breakfast, sold!! After checking in, unloading everything, locking the bikes, bringing all the gears to the room, it was close to 8:00 pm, this had been our longest day, and will probably be our longest day hands down. We took quick showers, went to the restaurant and ate a nice meal. Now, we are in Budapest, we take rest!!!
Budapest was out favorite city of the entire Eurovelo 6. We loved it so much that every night, we kept on saying one more night, just one more! We ended up staying 5 nights. First of all, it was affordable, and there was so much to see and do that we loved every moment of it. The first two nights we stayed at the King's hotel, then the next 3 nights with rented our own little apartement (with kitchen, small living room, bathroom and upstairs bedroom) at Happy Hostel, right in the middle of town for $40 a night. We had splendid weather the all time while there, despite our arrival under the rain and loved checking out the city. We rode our bikes most of the times and also took some nice walks along the Danube and the city center shopping streets. Despite the size of the city, we felt very safe and at ease. Navigating through the city on either side of the Danube was very straightforward. The Buda's side's got some amazing views and monuments. The Pest side's got monuments, shopping streets and lots of hostels, hotels and restaurants. In the middle there's Margaret Island, which can be ridden by bicycle. While there we got to see the Heroes' Square, the St Stephen Basilica, the Parliament, Matthias Church, Fisherman's Bastilion with its great views, Castle Hill and the Castle District, Buda's Castle, to a walk along the Chain Bridge, rode our bikes on Margaret Island and even took a deep in the most famous and ancient thermal baths in Hungary, Szechenyi Thermal Bath. Budapest is not to be missed in the Eurovelo 6 route. It is worth riding all the way here.
Leaving Budapest was quite easy compared to getting into Budapest at night and getting lost a few times. We followed the route along the bank of the Danube to get to the outskirts of the city. With sporadic EV6 signs along the way, we were glad to have the GPS. Getting out of the city did take us quite a while but it was easy riding, nothing to risky and mostly on uneven bicycle paths. Once completely out of the city, we stopped at a Doner Kebab restaurant and got some awesome food for cheap. Then, we continued on our way, and found our next campground for the night right before getting into Rackeve, Aqualand. Wow, really? Aqualand in Hungary? Yeap! To our amazement, Aqualand had everything anybody would ever need and so much more. A super nice hotel, bungalows, amazing pools, thermal baths and a campground. The price for our tent and 2 persons included all the swimming pools and thermal baths and so, we enjoyed an evening in the hottest thermal pools. We soaked and soaked and enjoyed every moment!
 Leaving Budapest |  |  Stop for lunch along the EV6 road, Kebab is always tasty, especially in Hungary |
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 Our EV6 road for a while |  It keeps on going.... |  Yes...pavement |
 Aqualand Camping Reception |  Our Camping Spot for the night, right by the showers |  Aqua-Land Hotel, rooms and swimming pools |
 Aqua-Land Outside Baths, we enjoyed relaxing our bodies in the thermal baths late at night |  Filling up our water with tasty thermal water |  The thermal water contents |
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We truly enjoyed our night in Aqualand and had a bit of a hard time leaving in the morning after soaking our bodies in such nice hot warm baths the prior night until 11:30 pm. But, we did. As usual we packed up the tent, enjoyed our bananas, muesli, small croissants, and our coffee for breakfast and we were ready to move. We made our way through Rackeve, and then rode along the Danube for a little while. Then, the Eurovelo 6 route took us through some dirt roads for a few kilometers, which we didn't mind too much but didn't make for fast or easy riding. We finally ended on a rural road and the ride to Dunavecse was quire easy compared to the dirt roads. We then had to get off the EV6 route to get to Dunafoldvar and had no choice but to take a heavy heavy traffic road and to go over the bridge to get to Dunafoldvar and our campsite for the night, Kék-Duna Camping. The campsite was situated right along the Danube but quite old and with very basic amenities. Good enough though, we set up camp and cooked ourselves some delicious mash potatoes puree with hard boiled eggs! Sweetness!!!
 On dirt roads most of the day |  |  |
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 Kek-Duna Camping right after the bridge and before getting into town |  Our campsite spot along the Danube |  |
Győr to Komárom ~ 53 km
Halászi to Győr ~ 42 km
Train from Kiskőrös to Belgrade ~ 260 km
That morning, Julianna was not feeling too good. She woke up with a sore neck/back. Maybe too many nights of sleeping in the tent and so many kilometers of riding were starting to make their toll on our bodies. Despite the slight pain, we chose to go on, managed to pack up, backtracked for 3 kilometers or so, into heavy, stressful, intense traffic over the Danube, to rejoin the Eurovelo 6 route straight to Solt. Once in Solt, her pain started to intensify. Not knowing what to do, we chose to lay out our tarp in a small park in the middle of town, and take a nap. After an hour or so spent relaxing, the pain was still there and it was about mid day. Wanting to take it easy, we chose to find a hotel in Solt for the night. We found Park Motel, four, five kilometers away from the center of town. We checked in and took rest. The next day the pain was still slightly there, but less. We packed up with the idea to ride to Kalosca about 35 kilometers away. The route to Kalosca was quite easy and without any stress. We rode on bicycle paths or non eventful quiet rural roads from village to village. Once in Kalosca, we followed the Eurovelo 6 signs, which took us through the main streets of town, and pass the Paprika museum. There, we found a nice little hotel Piros Arany Hotel. It had an enclosed courtyard for us to lock the bikes and we got a very spacious room over looking the courtyard in case we wanted to keep an eye on the bikes. We went out to the restaurant next door for our diner. Over diner we started to look at our bikeline book and thought maybe, we had seen enough of Hungary, Budapest being the highlight, and maybe, we could fast forward a few days. Back at the hotel, we talked to the manager about our plans. He looked online for us and told us the closest train station was in Kiskoros about 35 kilometers north east from Kalocsa, on the main highway, pretty much a straight-shot with modest traffic. He gave us a train number and its time of departure. There in Kiskoros, we could catch the train to Belgrade, Serbia, by passing the rest of the EV6 in Hungary and the beginning of the EV6 in Serbia including Novi-Sad. We decided to sleep on the idea and see how the idea felt once we got up the next morning. For now, we had nice beds to sleep in and rest. We were Happy!
 EV6 signs in Solt |  Park Motel Entrance in Solt |  Park Motel's restaurant |
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 |  Our Hotel in Kalocsa |  |
 Hotel Court Yard for the bicycles |
After a great night in our comfy beds, a nice hotel shower and another, museli, banana, croissant, coffee breakfast, we had made our choice. We were going to ride our bicycles to Kiskoros to catch the train to Belgrade at 2 pm that same day. We packed up, left the Eurovelo 6 route behind and headed north east on the main highway. It was a straight shot, the road was nicely paved and had some moderate but fast traffic and a couple semis here and there, but we did good. We rode nice and quick and didn't lose any time getting there. We arrived in Kiskoros, around 11:00 am. We stopped at a nice cafe/bar/restaurant for lunch. Then, we headed to the train station where we waited for the ticket counter to open 45 minutes before the train was scheduled to depart.
The trains from Kiskoros to Belgrade took 7 hours. We had one change in Kiskunhalas which was made with ease. We waited quite a while at the Serbian border for passport check but, all in all, the trains were nice and the journey was good. However, buying the train tickets at the Kiskoros train station was quite a challenge. First, the lady at the counter did not speak english and second, she didn't want to let us on the train because the train from Kiskoros to Kiskunhalas was not equipped for bikes, even though the next train from Kiskunhalas to Belgrade would be okay with bikes. She wanted us to bike the 30 km between Kiskoros to Kiskunhalas, spend the night (this was the last train for the day) and then, the next day take the train from Kiskunhalas to Belgrade. After pedaling all morning to Kiskoros, and waiting for an hour for the ticketing counter to open, we were not going to take no for an answer. After persistently insisting and finding someone that could somewhat translate between her and I, we agreed that she would sell me tickets, if I agreed to pay a fine for the bicycles once approached by the train controllers in the 1st train. She wrote on the tickets that bikes should be fined. The fine would be minimum $15 per bike. "No problem", I replied, "Can we please get tickets?". Finally, we had train tickets and the funniest thing is that no controller ever said anything about our bikes the entire way to Belgrade. We were glad we had insisted and stood our grounds. Finally, around 9 pm at night, we arrived to Belgrade. We pedaled out of the train station, and directly went to the hotel across from the train station, BG City Hotel. Lucky us, they had a room, including breakfast, we took it and by 11:30 pm we were in bed! We are now in Serbia!!!!
Sunset from the train
Julianna at the cafe in Kiskoros
