The Plan

The Plan: Two months of unassisted cycling and camping through Belgium, Holland, Germany, Austria, Czech Republic and wherever else our legs may take us.

The Route: Starting in Brussels and flying out of Berlin are the only given at this point. We plan to cycle parts of the Flanders Cycle Route, Rhine River and the Danube River. We will also be using the EuroVelo and regional cycling routes.

Accommodation: WarmShowers website (like couchsurfing for cyclists). We are also planning on staying at campsites, backyards of friendly locals or in the wilderness.

Monday, July 29, 2013

Day 40: Balatonkali to Budapest - 34km (plus trains)

The Lake Balaton bike path though is pretty bad overall. There are roots coming up through the path that shake your whole body with every bump. The result is that your muscles are constantly tense as you ride. Not fun. It is also surprisingly narrow so that two cyclists with panniers riding in opposite sides can barely pass one another. 

We ended up on the road a few times skipping some of the poorer sections of the path until we reached the next town. Hearing that the route between the lake and Budapest was lame resulted in us catching another train. We arrived at the station with under ten minutes to go. As Elizabeth rushed off to buy tickets I saw our train pull in on another platform on the other side of the station. As we rushed up and down the ramps, we got a double dose of Hungarian altruism as random locals helped us push our bikes up the steep slippery ramps. The conductor yelled to a kid who slid open the train car and we heaved the loaded bikes on board. Two and a half hours later we pulled into Budapest and as the sun set, we wound through foreign streets at high speeds until we were met with one of the most beautiful welcomes to a city I have ever experienced: the parliament building across the river in Pest which I have on my handheld camera and will upload later!

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