|
Destination: Levice, Slovak Republic (Pop. 19,000)
Daily Cycle Distance: 54.1km. (33.69 mi.)
I managed my best sleep thus far.(6.5hr.) Today we packed our bikes and
were away from the hotel around 9:40AM. The first stop on
our agenda was a Potraviny(‘Super Market‘) - Nitrazdroj a.s. We picked up
snacks for the trip today and 2 liters of still voda. For the last two days
my CamelBak has contained Minerálna voda. The first time I took a gulp, I
was surprised with a mouth full of fizz.
We cycled SSE toward our ESE destination. This
photo of Čechynce is fairly typical of many of the rural villages
that we have passed through since the first day. I can imagine a
collective farm here in the past. Usually included in the buildings are
farm sheds and barns. While the homes are similar, an ironwork fence, brightly
and distinctively painted usually distinguishes each one. In this
photo, you can see a blue and red one. There were open fields across
the road.
Before we reached Vel‘ky Cetín,
we could hear it. The village had loudspeakers all throughout town. Although
the words were in Slovak, I could imagine them saying, "Work harder,
Stalin will provide... ". The town, not much larger than Čechynce,
appeared to me to be something like the 1950‘s Communist brain washing
that I remember from the news when I was a child.
Our meeting with the Hungarian farmer near Paňa
Shortly after Vel‘ky Cetín, we encountered our first big climb into Paňa.
We stopped for a break at the top of a hill just before the town. An older
guy (Ungarish/Hungarian) came out to offer directions. Offered us some
white wine grapes off the vine. He may have offered us some wine too but
I‘m not sure. This chance encounter turned out to be one of the most
pleasurable events of the trip.
After we left him, I zipped downhill into Pana
where Bob got a photo of me coming into the village with an interesting
church as a back drop. We climbed out of Paňa
then downhill into Dyčka. Along the way
I managed to hit 70kph. We reached Vráble - A
larger crossroads town on Hwy51 and almost immediately diverted our route
o a smaller country road.. More loudspeakers blaring away. (This would
begin to bother if I stayed any time here.) Tehla - another farming community...another
steep climb. At least it was shaded. Sweat bees were a bother during the
climb. We took a food break in the shade of the trees. These back roads
although paved are rougher and climbing is harder because of the rough
pavement. What we gained climbing, we lost (and then some) downhill into...
Ina. Just outside of Ina, I noticed the first triangular grade sign
(12%). At least it was short. From there to Lok and then we reached Kalná. As
we were moving through this town we encountered people gathering for a
funeral. No cars, just people walking up to the church. In Kalná, we reached
the junction with Hwy. 51 and the traffic. After 7 km on this busy two-lane
we reached our destination for the day, Levice (Pop. 19,000). Riding
through the center of downtown in this fair sized city, we rode right up to the
Pension Tilla.
It is very small but nice. My room is an ‘apartment‘
(a bedroom and sitting room). At 1300SKK($35), it is the most expensive
room so far in SK. Through a communication problem, we managed to decide
on 2 rooms only later to discover that the doppelbett was actually 2 singles.
Bob is in the less plush single at 700SKK ($19). We ate lunch at
the Pension and did a look around the centrum. We got directions to a cyber
cafe and there sent some email. Bob is still fighting his cold. I am watching
for symptoms. These half day rides make for a more pleasant trip. And I
am glad we got out of the Galanta area. Levice is a lovely place.
|
