Budapest to the Black Sea

Budapest to the Black Sea

Sunday 2 June 2013

Black Sea or Bust - Day 16 - Bratislava to Gyor (82 km)


The last thing that I did before going to bed in Bratislava was to write out the correct translation of the various informative notices in reception that were,when I arrived, in excruciating English. I was gratified to find that when I came down to breakfast that they had all been changed. Doris and I set off back across the bridge towards the Hungarian border less than 10 km away.

What followed was a day of Magyar misery. It started to rain and didn't stop. I had made the mistake of crossing into Hungary without changing some euros into forints (between the wars the Hungarian currency was the Pengo, a much better name for a currency than forint) and so I cycled from village to village until I found an ATM machine. In desperation I took shelter in one of the crummiest bars that I have ever patronised. Filthy, with broken windows and with a clientele to match. How the breasts of the lady who ran it remained in her tee shirt will remain an unsolved mystery. Anyway they were all very jolly and we sat and watched the rain bucket down. I have had an email from 'Concerned' of Oxfordshire who was worried that I was letting my Rock 'n Roll credibility slip the other day wondering if 11.00 am was too early for beer. Rest assured 'Concerned', here I was at 10.00 am knocking it back big time with a gang of toothless Hungarian yokels. Can I get more Rock 'n Roll?

What of the rest of the day? It rained and it rained. By the time I got to Gyor i was hypothermic. However enough whining; here is a list of just some of the very interesting museums that I didn't stop and visit:

Bread Museum (Ulm)
Accordion Museum (Melk)
Broom Museum (Untermarchtal) the world's first apparently
Peasant Uprising Museum (Leipheim)
Museum of Concrete Art (Ingolstadt)
Bavarian Army Museum (Ingolstadt)
Organ Museum (Kelheim)
Danube Shipping Museum (Regensburg)
Golf Museum (Regensburg) the game and not the car I think
Motorcycle Museum (Bogen)
Glass Museum (Passau)
Farrier Museum (Engelhartzell)
Museum of Dentistry (Linz)
Hunting Trophy Museum (Mauthausen)
Bicycle Museum (Ybbs)
Cabinet Makers Museum (Pochlarn) this reads as if this is a museum of embalmed cabinet makers but I assume that it illustrates their trade which is less interesting
Wine Museum (Bratislava)
Clock Museum (Bratislava)
Fire Brigade Museum (Mosonmagyarovar)
Pharmacy Museum (Gyor)

These are just the interesting ones, virtually every hamlet has an archeological or agricultural museum.

The only saving grace for this miserable day was that while eating something rather disgusting in the cafe opposite the hotel I was able to watch Nigella Lawson dubbed into Hungarian. Even sexier than English because being incomprehensible it all sounded like a come on.

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Cycling Down the Danube

Cycling Down the Danube
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