Another sunny day, but this one a bit warmer, started off at 78, but the wind was still blowing, so it helped to cool the day.

Most of our ride today was on a road and at many points, we could have been in “Anywhere USA”.It reminded us of our cross country trip, until we went through a village

where the homes were distinctly different.  We saw very few people in the villages, but the ones we did see where very friendly and offered hearty greetings. A few times our course pointed us toward the bike path/dike top, but with the ‘speed bumps’ along the waywe were always happy to be on the road again, though we did miss seeing a lot of the river.We find the drivers very courteous of us biking on their road, even with no shoulder for most of it.

There are so many things we could add to this sign, but sometimes the imagination is the best joke teller.

We have a short ride today, instead of a long one-day trip into Budapest we decided to make it in two.  Plus we wanted to see the sights of our destination today, “Hungary’s Rome”.  So we stopped in Stúrovofor lunch with a view of what was to come.And as we cross the river, we really get a treat.Crossing the Donau and we are in Hungary.We cross a second bridgefor our hotel room and to get into the old city, then the tour!

It’s a nice town, but we really came to see Castle Hill and the surroundings; first settled in the Stone Age.

This city is one of the oldest in Hungary and the Roman Catholic church’s capital.  The Basilica’s

construction began in 1822 yet was not completed until 1869 and is the country’s largest church and the largest in Europe.  Surpassed only by Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome and Saint Paul’s Cathedral in London………….Hmmm, where should we go next?

Not sure what the statistics are on the door, but it has to be the largest in some category.This is the largest alter piece in the world painted on a single piece of canvas.It is truly a site to see inside.

This side chapelis “the most beautiful Renaissance monument of Central Europe”,  Built in 1507 of polished red marble.  The outside views from this vantage point are awesome too.

So once again, the tour draws to an end and the quest for dinner begins.  We are struck with how few restaurants we see.  In fact, the only ones we can find serve ice cream and beer (?) only.  We find someone who speaks a little English and he tells us about a pizza palour down the street.  Our plan was not to eat pizza, so we walked the streets looking for something local, anything local, until we happen upon the restaurant we were told about.  Well, Rüzes Hetek is anything but a pizza palour.  Yes, they offer pizza, but they also offer Duck with mashed potatoes, pastas, The most fantastic salad we’ve ever had…….etc.  So if you end up in Esztergom with a dinner dilemma, don’t worry, this is where you want to eat.

This is where we will begin our trek down the Donau tomorrow.