4 Tata - small hills - Eszergom

Wednesday, 8th August 2018

Route: Danube Cycle Path (Komarom - Eszergom)

Distance covered: 68 kilometers

Highlight of the day: We overtook a tractor! The ride around Lake Tata, finally conquering the hill, the view from Eszergom's dome.

Breakfast was only available from 8 am at the hotel, so we didn't leave until 8:30. Before we left Komarom, we stopped at a Penny supermarket to buy bananas, pretzels, and cookies. We took the route to Tata. The road went up and down on a very busy road for about 15 km. We passed through vineyards, saw horses and many cornfields (like everywhere). It was tough but beautiful. Just before Tata, there was a slight downhill. But it was enough for us to overtake a tractor. The traffic in Tata itself wasn't too bad. Soon, we saw something like a pedestrian zone: an old, beautiful but dilapidated church with a square in front of it. It was enormous and reminded us of a sundial. But it wasn't because it only had 8 segments. We took a short break there. There was almost no one around. Occasionally, mothers with small children walked around and an old lady watered the lawn. Then we continued slowly to the city lake with its castle and along the promenade. On the way to Szomod, we also randomly passed by the clock tower, which was playing a tune.

There were many construction sites outside the town - Hungary is currently undergoing a lot of construction: houses, roads, bridges. Then we passed by poultry farms on the way to Szomod. And then the uphill began: approximately a 10% slope, but on a relatively busy road. However, the view on the way up and from the top was definitely worth the effort! We saw a hilly landscape with vineyards, small villages, and eventually the Danube. After passing a winery, we descended for 2-3 km. It felt great.

At the bottom, we were back on the main route, which mainly followed busy main roads to Eszergom. We had headwind there, which made the whole thing really exhausting. In Labatlan, there was a meeting point for cyclists where we took a break. There was nothing there, but there was a grocery store next to it where Julius bought a few things. There was also a guy sitting against the wall, around 20 years old. We sat down on the ground next to him and chatted. He wants to go to China, taking a year for the trip. I'm really interested to know if he'll ever make it.

After a longer break, we continued against the wind. Julius' knee started hurting more again and my front brake was rubbing against the tire. Julius was able to fix the latter. So we stopped in the middle of the bike path next to the main road in the middle of nowhere under the scorching sun, and Julius fixed it! He's definitely the hero of the day! From there, it wasn't far into Eszergom. We kept riding and suddenly found ourselves in the middle of a square, which was probably the old town. We had no trouble finding the accommodation, which was quite close to the Danube and the famous Basilica. The accommodation is good - friendly staff, a beautiful courtyard, and a spacious room. At first, it was even cool in the room! In any case, we rested (but didn't take a nap for the first time) and took a shower.

Afterwards, we went to the impressive Basilica on the hill. By the time we reached the top, we were soaked in sweat again. We quickly bought tickets (and a postcard) and were the very last ones allowed to go up! But before us, there was a mother with 2 small children (around 2 and 4 years old) who took a long time, so we had time too. It felt like walking up 1000 steps to the dome (which is why it's called Eszergom - the Rome of Hungary) and from there, we had a magnificent view of the entire surrounding area: the city, the Danube, and the mountains. Simply breathtaking! Afterwards, we briefly explored the entire fortress complex and then walked down to the Danube. There's even a beautiful beach there! Then we strolled through the city in search of food and eventually found something just 5m from our guesthouse. The food was okay. But then we were both tired.