Day 7     4 August, 2000
Destination:     Budapest, Hungary  (Pop. 1,930,000)
Daily Cycle Distance:>     80.8km. (50.56 mi.)

My Photo from the Bike Route

For More information on the Hydrofoil Click Here

We left the 'truckstop' fogado at Rétság around 6:30AM, our earliest start to date (No breakfast). Doubling back to Rétság, the best we could do for breakfast was coffee in a bar. Next, we stopped at the local 'Supermarket' for water, snacks for the day and a pastry that substituted for the rest of breakfast. Turning onto E77, and heading South toward Budapest we competed with all those truckers for space on the road.  The first few km. was mostly climbing and we made good time with the traffic.  Often there was a climbing lane and the trucks and buses were considerate. After about 15km., E77/HU2 was marked with a sign, The symbols for 'No bikes/farm tractors/pedestrians' and we were presented with a minor road to Veröce.  
At Veröce, we connected to HU12 that parallels the Danube into Vác.  It too was quite busy, but we found a dedicated bike road that paralleled it and we were able to follow it into Vác (pop. 34,000).  It was on this bike road that I caught my first glimpse of the hydrofoil as it headed upstream on the Danube on its morning run to Vienna.

We did not get religion while on our trip, but we did find Göd.

We did not get religion while on our trip, but we did find Göd.

In Vác, we stopped for tourist info and a second breakfast consisting of more coffee and another pastry snack.  While we were in Vác, we were able to pick up some local bicycle route maps at the Tourist Info office in the city centrum.
For a while we were able to stay off of HU2 by following a dedicated bike path. It turned to dirt and ended in dirt streets at Göd. Back on HU2, I managed to acquire my first 'road rash' of the trip. In Göd, more signs indicated a continuation of the bike path and also HU2 again was marked 'No bikes/farm tractors/pedestrians'. Unfortunately, the bike path was more rut than road. So sandy at times that it was impossible to manage the bike. 

Now, very near Budapest, at Dunakeszi, we crossed HU2 and wandered along back streets to make it into downtown Budapest. Generally, the closer we got to Budapest, Bob got more and more irritable.  I finally determined that this was because of his anxiety with the city traffic.  Bob has been a cycling commuter for many years, while I have been commuting to work only a few months.  I was surprised that I did not have nearly the apprehension about traffic that Bob did. Later, I surmised with Bob that this anxiety may have had some valid basis because he and his bike tangled with a car several years ago in the metropolis of Blacksburg, Va.
On the edge of the city, we tried unsuccessfully to find an tourist information booth that Bob had been to on his earlier visit to Budapest in the 70’s. We did find a designated bike lane and followed it into city centrum. We continued to look for an information booth in centrum and ziq-zagged along several one-way streets getting nowhere. Hot and tired, I discovered we were in front of the Hyatt.  So, I said to Bob, "If they, will take us and our bikes, I’m ready to go for it."  At ~$240/night, it is our most expensive stay of the trip.

©2000 Bob Simonds Two recumbents in front of the Hyatt in Budapest.	A View of Central Budapest from the Tower of St. Stephan Basilica.
Hyatt Lobby (Yes, That is a real plane or at least a full-sized replica.)	Looking from East from Vár palota. Chain Bridge is on Left. The Hyatt is nearly in the center of the photo, the modern structure just left of the bridge.

After checking into the hotel, we showered and found lunch in an outdoor café across the street from St. Stephan’s Basilica.  We took a tour of the basilica and climbed to the top of  the tower that was open to the public. While standing on the parapet viewing the city, I heard English being spoken. Since I started this trip, English from anyone other than Bob has been rare, so I listened in. On hearing the comments about how Houston, TX had just recently become the smog capital. I had to laugh out loud. This started a dialogue with the English speaking group, and I discovered to my amazement that the woman making the comments was from Lake Jackson, TX. (a bedroom community near Houston.  

After the tower, Bob and I crossed the Duna (Danube) and took the funicular to the top of "Castle-Hill" (Vár palota) and walked about the restored 16th century Buda Palace and other buildings on the heights above the river.

Day 8     5 August, 2000
Destination:     Budapest, Hungary  (Pop. 1,930,000)
Daily Cycle Distance:     0.0 km. (0.0 mi.)

Early Saturday morning, we made a trip to the offices of the hydrofoil company to try to secure passage on the hydrofoil for Monday. We watched as passengers boarded the craft. There were several touring cyclists boarding for the Saturday morning trip. All appeared to be European. We chatted with two women from Denmark. They were hoping to get on the hydrofoil this very morning (they succeeded). We were not so fortunate. Monday AM was booked, and no guarantees could be made for Tuesday. Since our schedule was tight, we opted to prepare to bike on, leaving Budapest on Sunday morning. We spent the rest of the day seeing the sites of central Budapest. 

While walking along, the pedestrian part of the downtown (Váci Utca), I came to this street and the ubiquitous McDonalds.	The main Streets in Budapest are wide and public transportation is easily available. Here is one on the many trams plying its way along Károly Körút. (Part of the Inner ring road that encircles the Old Town of Pest and follows the former town walls.)
This is the Országház (Hungarian Parliament Building)	These (not so) little bronze spheres sticking out of the stone pedestals that formed a pedestrian archway in a government building across the street from Országház form one of the most unusual monuments that I have ever seen. The only words on the plaque that I could read were: "AZ 1956 Octóber 25 - I"  This was enough for me to figure out that the bronze spheres represented bullets marks on the pedestals that occurred during fighting in the Hungarian Revolution in 1956.
In Szábadság Tér (Freedom Square), we found the only Soviet Era Monument. This one was to the Soviet Soldiers (for liberating the city in WWII?)	Waiting for the Subway in Ferenciek Tére

With the exception of restaurants and a few other places, most of the stores close around noon on Saturday no to re-open until Monday.  If we had opted to stay in Budapest and try for the hydrofoil, it would likely have been a dull Sunday.  In the pedestrian mall, I was able to find a good detail map of Hungary and Bob even got one copy that had all the Hungarian Bicycle Routes marked. This will come in very handy for the remainder of our trip.