The next day (Day 5) the bus transferred us out of Sopron to the top of a lake or see called Neuseidl am See. We actually had to drive through Austria for a bit before coming back into Hungary The directions for today's ride were a bit confusing and unfortunately, the group got separated and a bit lost. Lou and I were OK and that meant we were able to stop and see the wonderful recreation area that was full of kite surfers and wind sailors. The lake is really large and people can rent paddle boats and take cute little ferries across the wide water. As you might guess because of the popularity of wind sports, the area was really windy. No paddleboats today. We followed the road for a bit on a bike path through some pretty picturesque villages before we stopped for the day. We got a break today -there were not a lot of hills and it was only 38 miles . Sopron is beautiful - full of old beautiful old buildings and squares. There is a Jewish Quarter but unfortunately it just meant there were some really old buildings but no one ever there to open them. They had some interesting banners noting some of the residents of Sopron who perished in the Holocaust.
We ate dinner all together at an outdoor cafe on the square near the Fire Tower. We all were able to order from various Hungarian dishes including goulash and duck and a wonderful dessert with sponge cake, fruit and whipped cream. They are big on whipped cream here. These old towns are magical at night when they are all lit up. It was warm and lovely to walk around after dinner.
Duck with pickled cabbage and potatoes
Then next day (Day 6) we road from a town just outside Sopron called Osli to Gyor. The ride was relatively flat with part of it passing through the Ferto-Hansag National Forest ending in Gyor, a medium-sized Hungarian city with many beautiful buildings, churches and squares. The lunch break was on the grounds of a beautiful church that is on the route of the Santiago de Compostela through Hungary before it joins with the route in Spain. We were able to tour St. Jacob's Church and also see the community building that houses pilgrims on The Way. The community building was modern and welcoming and had a room with explanations and artifacts from the Camino. The ride after lunch became the only time Lou and I got lost. As usual, Lou and I were riding alone in the middle of the pack. After Lou took a pit stop and another couple of the group passed us, we headed off again. Turns out, somehow we missed the whole group stopped at a roadside cafe for a beer and they didn't see us. We kept on riding into Gyor. The problem was that the directions were not clear. We wound up in the wrong area of Gyor having gone over the wrong bridge, backtracked and then kept asking directions of people who mostly didn't speak English and we certainly did not speak Hungarian by showing our map that indicated where our hotel was. We eventually arrived only to find that we were the first. A number of others also had trouble following the directions including one of the guides Tomas.
St. Jacob Church
Today's picnic
Gyor was a town full of squares with fountains and churches as always. There were many small cobbled streets to wander and see old, ornate artful designs indicating what was or had been sold in the shop below. There was even a fountain honoring the monk who invented seltzer water many hundreds of years ago, right there in Gyor. This was the only night where the hotel just didn't reach even minimum standards. It was a substitute for the one were were originally booked in which was being renovated. Other than the lobby, which was fine, the hotel looked like a relic out of the Communist Era. It was hot without air conditioning, there was not enough hot water, the rooms were teeny tiny. But we all went across the river for a lovely last dinner on a patio next to the river.
View from our hotel room
Amazing interior of church whose exterior gave no indication that it even was a church
fountain honoring monk who invented seltzer water
One of the business "signs" in Gyor
With the temperatures in the 90's, one of the best moments of the day is a shower to get off the sweat and dust before emerging for dinner. My seat is beginning to question why I am on the bike for as long as I am day after day. It sure feels relieved when I dismount in the afternoon.
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