04.-11.08.2023
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“You continue on the Danube embankment, under the bridge, then on the left there is first a maize field, then sunflowers and then a mown wheat field. There, after about a kilometre, you go down the embankment to the right; follow the path and you will find small fishermen’s huts directly on the bank of the Danube, the grass between them has been mown. You can camp there and have a wonderful view of the river and the opposite bank.”
So Janós, who stopped us in Faijz in search of water, engaged us in a nice chat in almost perfect English, led us first to a well with a pump and, with this description, the way to a wonderful camp spot, after exactly one kilometre!
The friendliness and willingness to help we experienced in this way is reflected again and again in our encounters with the people of Hungary – friendly drivers honking their horns, respectfully driving around us cyclists or even stopping to give us the right of way, passers-by waving encouragement or even admiration at us, people spontaneously offering to help us with our shopping – again and again moments that lift our spirits and make up the special charm of this way of travelling.
This also makes up for the monotony of the Danube floodplain landscape, which offers little in the way of visual appeal, or the very different quality of the Hungarian section of the Danube cycle path, whose condition ranges from the roughest, muddy field paths to paved gravel stretches and freshly asphalted, excellently marked cycle paths to long passages on busy country roads. However, the encounters with other international cyclists there or especially at the Budapest Biker-Camp were always invigorating.
Yes, Budapest! An absolute highlight was, of course, the entrance across the Danube bank into the breathtaking skyline of the capital city of Budapest, which was announced early on – despite the grey overcast sky, an inspiring experience that was only enhanced by the view we had of the atmospherically illuminated parliament building from the Fishermen’s Bastion over an evening cocktail.
