This week we headed on tiny back roads into Hungary, where we immediately noticed there were plenty of cycle paths and it was very flat.

Our first night in Hungary we stayed with Lukaz and Eszter (W.S) who hosted us in their old house in the middle of the woods. It was totally isolated, and we enjoyed cooking on an open fire and hearing about how they live off the grid.

Hungary was nice, lots of empty, rolling farmland, and we found out they have Tescos! But it was very flat, which makes for quite boring cycling. We headed over to Lake Balaton, which was fairly disappointing as we could barely see the lake past all the tourist summer homes and cafes.

Heading north, we had alot of hot, sunny days, and perfected the afternoon ice-cream stop. We stayed at a few campsites which ranged from really lovely to terrible and expensive, and enjoyed the easy riding and friendly locals.

Towards the end of the week the wind picked up, and our nice sunny days became gray and cold as we battled the headwind. We crossed into Slovakia via a big bridge over the Danube. Slovakia has had even more cycle paths than Hungary, and some lovely bakeries.

In Sopondna we stayed with Jan and his family (WS) and enjoyed an evening full of chatting and playing cards. It was nice to sleep inside in the warm and dry.

Hungary and Slovakia have been lovely, but fairly dull, we are missing the mountains and sun. We seem to be flying through countries now, and home is definitely on the horizon.

Jade

Jim’s words – Hungary, Goat, Bark, Flat, Bad, Slovakia and Headwind.