Munich to Budapest

Today was going to be a 70+km day and so I told the kids we had to leave early. I woke up at 5.30am to get a head start packing. By 6am the kids were up and eating our home-cooked breakfast at 6.30am.

It gets bright here so early that it didn’t feel too early and we got off to a good early start!

We passed through Prater Park, with its roller coasters and the much loved Liliputbahn train.

Prater Park reminded us of East Coast Park with its long stretch of road with lots of cyclists and joggers. But this seamed to be a large actual rod though it was car free.

Ethan was ecstatic to find his Liliput train and be able to see it one more time before leaving Vienna. Don’t worry Gu Ma, it’s not a “real” train track!

As we were were standing to take this photo and ambulance passed nearby and blasted its siren. Talia and I jumped thinking it was a train!

We left the city crossing a huge and long bridge. The cycle lane went under the cars.

We entered a narrow strip of land that was quite idyllic. I had read it was reclaimed land placed there to mitigate floods further inland.

We were making good time and stopped for a break.

We were cycling along when I saw a nude guy sunbathing by the side! I had read that this part was popular with naturists, but had forgotten to warn the others. We passed about 10 men and women in the buff along the path, with Ethan laughing and Talia saying “yucks!”

We were getting tired and looking for or a place to rest.

An oasis appeared! 15 minutes got us drinks, ice-cream and a pastry and we were off.

The scenery changed as we left the isthmus and wide fields opened up.

It was getting hot but still pleasant to cycle.

Wildflowers greeted us as we sped by.

We entered national forest with a long smooth surface and tall trees on either side. They were only had finished with this track as some parts were blocked off.

But we stayed on this track as it was so good and smooth, making good progress in the morning f.

The kids were doing well with a good smile on their face as we ticked past 40km and it was sri still before lunch.

Small lagoons and meadows punctuated the expanse of forest. We must have passed about 10-15km in this manner!

It was nearing lunch and we crossed a large bridge into a small town and found a lovely restaurant. We were stuffed with grilled fish and fish & chips that we were all feeling sleepy with the full stomachs and hot weather.

Don’t worry said daddy, we were making good time at almost 50km done. I had seen a nearby park and said we could rest under a shady tree! Bringing a ground sheet was so good for this trip! We had a wonderful rest and a short nap was all we needed to get us going again!

Re-energized, we pressed on and were thankful for some shaded paths.

We passed another town with more fantastic cafes, but it wasn’t time to stop yet.

The stone-walled fortress watched my beautiful daughter roll by smoothly.

It’s still fun to see the EuroVelo 6 signpost! We were just 8.5km from the city and very the Austria-Slovakia border!

Talia grinned widely! She had worried about the distance yesterday but now knew should would easily complete the ride!

A beautiful and very steep embankment led to a perfectly straight row of trees! In Singapore this would have a high guard rail!

Very near the border we saw a big map. Grinning, we could see that we crossed the entire map today!

The motorists had a road sign which said “Slovakia”.

A disused border checkpoint station lay abandoned by the side of the road. What used to the Iron Curtain now had multiple lanes of cars zipping across and a bike lane on one side!

We gleefully entered Slovakia and rolled into it’s capital, Bratislava.

Passing a riverside park, there were many families enjoying the amenities so we stopped for some play time. Amazingly there was free WiFi in the park!

We crossed a marvelous bridge shared by cars, trams, bikes and pedestrians!

Entering the old city we could feel the Soviet influence, and the “border town” vibe. We found our hostel where we had booked our own room with 4 beds and walked out for dinner.

We had searched for typical Slovakian food and enjoyed this pan-fried sheep’s cheese with chanterelle mushrooms, duck with red cabbage, and dumplings with cheese and bacon.

The soup had an unpronounceable name, but were were hoping for something similar to borsch which is what we got! It was delicious!

We were all sleepy as we walked back. We passed a big group of young adults in a square, chatting with drinks in hand, listening to live music in what appeared to a wholesome concert area.

Talia had completed the longest ride ever at 75km! We were all proud of her and she beamed when I told her so. Ethan had done a few 70+km days and one 90km day in Korea. Talia was awe-struck and a little scared upon hearing her brother’s exploits but now she knows she can do it too!