{"id":2188,"date":"2011-06-23T16:48:54","date_gmt":"2011-06-23T14:48:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tourdebocrie.com\/?p=2188"},"modified":"2011-10-22T21:25:47","modified_gmt":"2011-10-22T19:25:47","slug":"day-34-wednesday-june-22-esztergom-to-budapest-hungary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tourdebocrie.com\/?p=2188","title":{"rendered":"Day 34, Wednesday, June 22 – Esztergom to Budapest, Hungary"},"content":{"rendered":"

So the Summer Solstice that arrived yesterday, brought with it summertime!\u00a0 Two days in a row of sunshine and heat, except the wind that had assisted us for the last two days was now in our face.\"\"<\/a> But all was good except for the roads we had to travel.\u00a0 The first couple of hours our trail was along country roads,\"\"<\/a>so we were able to pass through little villages and enjoy views of the Duna (as they say in Hungary).\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>But by mid-morning we were directed to the main road, poorly paved and loaded with traffic; which really would not have been a problem, if we had not been so spoiled by the previously isolated bike paths along the River.\u00a0 The stretch between Esztergom and Budapest, we would not recommend for anything less than a heavy duty mountain bike and preferably a car……..sedan……..with air conditioning………..and bar!<\/p>\n

In fairness, we did have an few miles on a rutted dirt path through the woods.\"\"<\/a>It was a pretty day (just tough to take pictures without stopping) and we noticed the difference in the quality and size of the homes as we got closer to Budapest.\"\"<\/a>There was a stretch a few miles before the city that, though still roughly paved, was a mini-vacation spot right on the Duna.\"\"<\/a>Then almost in the blink of an eye, we were looking at the City of Buda across the river.\"\"<\/a>The memory of the hot 50 mile ride from Esztergom disappeared as soon as this<\/em> came into view.\"\"<\/a>Getting closer only had our jaws dropping further; \"\"<\/a>it is an unbelievable site (especially when not expecting it).\u00a0 We crossed Chain Bridge (the oldest bridge in the city) and navigated to our stopping point.\u00a0 Our head navigator and hotel picker found a beautiful one bedroom apartment where we could take care of domestic necessities like laundry and washing water bottles.<\/p>\n

No touring today, the heat zapped us and we have one more chore for the day.\u00a0 Found a Great local restaurant serving fabulous local dishes and wine!\u00a0 Tour tomorrow.\n\t\t