The Road to Tata

All I can say is if I never see a corn field again, that would be just fine with me.  We rode 89 km which equals 55 miles - I have never done that in my life.  The good news was that the sun was out.  But there was absolutely nothing to see.  As par for the course, getting out of town is a challenge.  I went to the front desk to get a city map and that helped a bit.  Geoff got us out onto the route but it still didn't stop us from taking a wrong turn here and there.

We all took what we were led to believe was the more scenic route - going through small towns.  Should have known that the towns would not be charming.  More of the same of what we have been seeing the past couple of days.  Lots of farms.  No more cafes either.  Ate lunch in front of a grocery store on a busy street in the middle of a small town.  We went up and down hills all day.

One highlight was the Bascillica in Pannonbhalma, which is up a very steep incline. We were told you couldn't go in without a tour guide and the tour was 80 minutes.  No time for that.  Mark, Gail, Geoff and I trucked up there anyway hoping for some better views.  Not really worth the effort.  There was a glass gallery up there but they wanted you to buy tickets just to look around.  Strange.

After lots of looking at maps and directions that made no sense, we finally made it to the hotel.  A very nice guy on a bike led us down to the sign pointing the direction.  We went up yet another hill and coming down there was a sign saying we were leaving the Tata - which is where the hotel is supposed to be.  More confusion - but yes, we were on the right road and the hotel is not really in Tata.  How would we know that????

Totally exhausted right now.  I also have to swap out my bike.  It was making odd noises all day and I am afraid that it will seize up on me at some point.  Geoff and I even stopped into an auto repair shop and had them lube it - to no avail.  This company keeps spare bikes at the hotels, so there is one in the garage.  Geoff just went down to see if it would fit me.  I cannot put my tush down on another bike seat right now.

Dinner at the hotel - which is lovely by the way - since there is nowhere else to go - unless we go back up the hill.  No thank you.  I am sure we will all be laughing about this at dinner tonight.


OMG I am absolutely stuffed!!  The food is outrageous in this country and so very, very cheap.  Of course, one thing about biking 55 miles is that you feel entitled to eat anything you want.  And believe I did.  Geoff had this incredible dish of grilled catfish over noodles and cottage cheese (like Grandma's) with paprika sauce.  I had the salmon with some fabulous spinach.  Then we split the Grundel Pancake which is a crepe filled with walnuts in chocolate sauce.  Dinner was very civilized and quiet.  We did all laugh and enjoy rehashing the ups and downs (literally) of the ride.

This place is lovely and I do wish we had more time to take advantage of all the perks.  Apparently, Hungary is a very "wellness" oriented country.  Every hotel so far has thermal swimming pools with saunas and massage but so far we get in too late to use anything.  I  hope we have a nice place in Budapest because we are there for a few days and I would like to partake in some of these wellness services.

Next time.... Esztergom