We must finish this thing! Various reasons, it cannot go on for ever, it has come to dominate, but most of all no-one has said the European health card will still be available after March next year to UK citizens and one rather suspects not?
ll, we have started - or re-started. It is Tuesday 14 August and we have cycled for two days from Sopron. The first was very hot, against a hot wind and the second was in the rain, at least for the second part.
Left Sopron with some regrets; it is a lovely place, but the essence of long tours by bike is one leaves places, lovely or ugly, behind. Uphill then downhill out of the town, past many hectares of vineyards, and into open countryside in the sunshine. Now we appreciated our electric bikes; it was quite hilly, but we took this in our stride in a way that Tom, anyway, could not have done. A twisty route at first to Deutschkreutz, which is where the trains from Vienna via Sopron end up. We took over an hour to get there..... But comparing with train timings is it not what it is about. The EV13 route has beeen re-worked at this stage, as far as I can see to keep it closer to the Austria-Hungary border. After Nikitsch, in Austria, we crossed to Hungary again and came to a small commemorative display aboUt the closed border. Then an extradinary recreation place with lotus of high-up climbing rigs up high poles. There was a sort of clubhouse where they sold us a couple of nonalcoholic beers and we had our pack up (lunch). Nonalcoholic beer round here is infinitely better than what you can get in England, where they seem to think it is for sissies, and of course not compatible with brexit.
The route now went along excellent cycle paths on a river valley, ending up in a village where a sharp left took us to a really tough path which was gravelly, like a railway track without the rails and sleepers but with the stones. So rather a lot of tiring pushing. Finally, at the top of a hill, it became a decent levelled dirt track and one could appreciate th lovely wooded Hill scenery, descending into Koszeg, where we had booked into a guest house.
Koszeg turned out to be an impressive old place with a good atmosphere. Our guide book says it has suffered from economic decline and is trying to build up its tourist activities.
THe next day rain was forecast for 11.00. We had gone some way by 11.00, and light drizzle began exactly on time. It was. later it became continuous. Out of Koszeg, the route red quite hilly. It was cooler and cycling more pleasant. In a while we were going along a level and well-surfaced road gently downhill, which could have been described as bliss. Then up hill to Feltosocsatar where there was a diversion to a border museum, up another steeper hill. THe museum was a private one, graphic about the minefields that had been there and about people killed in them. There is also an example of th modern fence, put up in 2015, against Serbia and Croatia, which brought home aspects of the current refugee situation. As we left ththe museum, the real rain got going; not heavy but continuous. During a break in the rain we stopped on a bench in a churchyard for lunch. The route went in and out of Austria and Hungary. IN an Austrian phase we stopped for coffee and totally cream-based cakes. Soon after, we diverted from EV13 to go to our next lodging in Kormend in Hungary; EV13 at this stage is in Austria where places to stay are very much more expensive! And here we are.
Next entry will have some pictures.
Left Sopron with some regrets; it is a lovely place, but the essence of long tours by bike is one leaves places, lovely or ugly, behind. Uphill then downhill out of the town, past many hectares of vineyards, and into open countryside in the sunshine. Now we appreciated our electric bikes; it was quite hilly, but we took this in our stride in a way that Tom, anyway, could not have done. A twisty route at first to Deutschkreutz, which is where the trains from Vienna via Sopron end up. We took over an hour to get there..... But comparing with train timings is it not what it is about. The EV13 route has beeen re-worked at this stage, as far as I can see to keep it closer to the Austria-Hungary border. After Nikitsch, in Austria, we crossed to Hungary again and came to a small commemorative display aboUt the closed border. Then an extradinary recreation place with lotus of high-up climbing rigs up high poles. There was a sort of clubhouse where they sold us a couple of nonalcoholic beers and we had our pack up (lunch). Nonalcoholic beer round here is infinitely better than what you can get in England, where they seem to think it is for sissies, and of course not compatible with brexit.
The route now went along excellent cycle paths on a river valley, ending up in a village where a sharp left took us to a really tough path which was gravelly, like a railway track without the rails and sleepers but with the stones. So rather a lot of tiring pushing. Finally, at the top of a hill, it became a decent levelled dirt track and one could appreciate th lovely wooded Hill scenery, descending into Koszeg, where we had booked into a guest house.
Koszeg turned out to be an impressive old place with a good atmosphere. Our guide book says it has suffered from economic decline and is trying to build up its tourist activities.
THe next day rain was forecast for 11.00. We had gone some way by 11.00, and light drizzle began exactly on time. It was. later it became continuous. Out of Koszeg, the route red quite hilly. It was cooler and cycling more pleasant. In a while we were going along a level and well-surfaced road gently downhill, which could have been described as bliss. Then up hill to Feltosocsatar where there was a diversion to a border museum, up another steeper hill. THe museum was a private one, graphic about the minefields that had been there and about people killed in them. There is also an example of th modern fence, put up in 2015, against Serbia and Croatia, which brought home aspects of the current refugee situation. As we left ththe museum, the real rain got going; not heavy but continuous. During a break in the rain we stopped on a bench in a churchyard for lunch. The route went in and out of Austria and Hungary. IN an Austrian phase we stopped for coffee and totally cream-based cakes. Soon after, we diverted from EV13 to go to our next lodging in Kormend in Hungary; EV13 at this stage is in Austria where places to stay are very much more expensive! And here we are.
Next entry will have some pictures.
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