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Destination: Rétság, Hungary (Pop.3000)
Daily Cycle Distance: 82.9km. (51.67 mi.)
After breakfast in the Hotel, I had an opportunity to take more photos of
the town. We left Banská Štiavnicá at our
usual time - 9:30AM. Our target destination is the border and the Slovakian
town of Šahy some 60km. away. Since we don't
have any information on accommodations in Šahy,
we are going on blind faith that we can find a place to sleep before we run
out of energy.
Banská Štiavnicá
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One of the reasons that we selected Hotel
Matej was the note in the guide that one of the amenities was a secure
Bicycle Storage room. It turned out to be in a storage celler off the
hotel lobby. |
SNP Monument In Banská Štiavnicá |
Restoration work (New Cobblestone Street) |
Almost all the trade workers wore bib coveralls
in distinctive colors. One color may designate a truck driver, another
a mason, etc. |
This little truck made quite an impression.
It was smaller than a pick-up, but carried at least a pick-up load
or more. |
The first 22km. was all downhill. Back down the mountain that we climbed
yesterday, although by a different route. By the time we reached relatively
flat ground I had an average of just over 21mph (~34kph). At Hontianske
Nemce, we picked up E77 a primary road (part of the European network) with
lots of tractor trailer traffic. Fortunately, after about 2km, we were
able to take a smaller less traveled back road by climbing over a ridge
into the next valley East.
At Rykynčice, I was able to photograph a little
old lady in typical peasant dress. Just after we passed through Pláštovce,
I found another of the many fields of sunflowers to photograph.
Peasant woman at Rykynčice |
Church at Rykynčice in the distance |
"Feld Sonnenblume" outside of Pláštovce |
On into Šahy our intended destination. We got
directions to the Šahy Hotel from the bicycle
shop in the center of town. The hotel seemed closed and we were told that
there were no rooms available, so we ate lunch at a restaurant across the
street from the hotel before moving on South. For lunch, I had a 'Pivo'
(beer), my first in the middle of a riding day. Curiously, it did
not seem to have any effect.
After lunch, we headed South across the border into Hungary which was at
the edge of the town. The Hungarian border guards showed a lot of interest
in our bikes. At this point we had no choice in route and covered another
23km on E77(also Hungary primary road 2). We eventually arrived at the next
large town - Rétság, where we were finally able to find a room at Lókos Fogado
(a truck stop, hotel & restaurant). Tomorrow we may see another 10km
of E77 before we can take a minor road to avoid traffic. The room tonight
is 4000HUF ($14) In Rétság, we ate supper in the restaurant at Lókos
Fogado then walked a kilometer or so into the main part of town to find the
Bankomat. Our stay at the Lókos Fogado was relatively quiet until about 10PM
when the truckers started rolling in.
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