Day 16 Bokros-Szop 66 km

We had a hearty breakfast in the farmhouse and watched our American friends depart. They had a longer leg planned than us, so left earlier.

Another pair of storks in the farmyard, preparing their nest.
The trail became more interesting as we continued on the north bank in Slovakia. There were many accesses to the river’s sandy, sometimes gravel beaches. I plucked up courage to have my first swim of the year. I was pleasantly surprised that the water was refreshing but not too cold to enjoy.
We stopped for a late lunch on a barge in Esztergom, and I enjoyed some tasty river pike.
700 years ago Esztergom was the capital of Hungary , and the huge Basilica behind is still the home of the head of the Hungarian church

We cycled up to the basilica and were amazed by its size. We had originally spotted it from 20 km away

Sue was standing in front of the green door
Great views from the site

From our lunch stop we continued east on the dodgy Slovakian trail, then crossed a small bridge into Hungary, where the trail immediately improved dramatically and took us away from the road.

Fancy finding a herd of dirty water buffalo next to the track!!
Beautiful countryside scenes as the countryside became more rolling.

It wasn’t long before we found our accommodation for the night!

This old water tower was built to supply steam trains, and had been redundant for many years. Our host had bought it at auction 10 years ago and gradually turned it into a guest house with 5 rooms.

He straight away gave me a cold beer and Sue a bottle of his home made red wine( which she really enjoyed!!) then he delighted in showing us around how he’d made all the rooms with a railway theme..

Our room was right at the top where the 100 ton capacity steel water tank had once been!
Even the doors were taken from old railway carriages
Signal lights now light up the kitchen
Railway track as staircase handrails.
Superb view

As there were no other guests we had the whole tower to ourselves, although we didn’t run up and down the 65 steps too much; except when I’d forgotten the phone charging leads which were still on the bike😡

Our most unusual and interesting place to stay so far; and all for £60.

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Published by Robkeene

Sue and I are both over 60 and looking to explore the cycle routes in France

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