Auf Wiedersehen Austria !
After a wet night, I am leaving Vienna early in the morning. A little day of biking is waiting for me, there are only around 60kms between the two capitals. Tonight, I am sleeping in Bratislava ! I love the name of this city, it sounds very nice, I am excited to be there. But firstable, I have to ride along the Donau for a few kilometers. 40km veeeeery long. I am on the right side of the river but I can’t see it. A forest separates each other. And, on my left side, only lands. And in front of me, long straight lines. 3 hours of biking is not very fun. Even the bridge to reach the left side of the river is very long (3km!). Still some kilometers before I stop in the shadow of a tree to have lunch. Time to let my tent dry and which I won’t need for the next two nights because I booked two nights in the hostel – so cheaper than the camping in Vienna. And while I am eating, a cyclist who I crossed earlier stops as well. David, a Hungarian passionate by bike – he has around 20 bikes at home. He comes here to try his equipment before going for a long trip by bike. He offers me a coffee. We speak about bikes of course, equipment, travel, Hungary. Then, we rode together to Slovakia. The border crosses, we are going in different ways. He is going back to his home, I am crossing the Donau again to spend 2 nights in Bratislava.
Bratislavaaaaa
I am going up to the hostel, which is at the top of the city. Soon I put my feet on the ground, I met 3 french guys eating pistachios (I could recognize them easily) on the terrace of the hostel. Again, we speak about traveling by bike, they decided to go back to France by bike after spending 6 years in Romania in the veterinarian university. So incredible life on every corner of the street! Tonight, I will take it easy. I don’t have energy to go walking in the city and I prefer to enjoy the “luxury” of the hostel, kitchen, nice indoor area… but a bed in a 10 bed dormitory room as well and a very hot night! I regret my tent ! When I crossed the border, everything changed : the nice temperature that I get in Austria becomes very hot here in Slovakia, more than 30° degrees in the sun. So on this Tuesday morning, I am going to visit the city early. There is no one and it is still a nice temperature. Like in Vienna, I booked for a walking free tour. We were only 3 with an American couple, perfect. It was especially about the history of Bratislava and Slovakia, I learnt more about this country which was still unknown until yesterday. Twelve o’clock, I am looking for something to eat. I discovered the Lángos, a Hungarian speciality. 3 layers of fat. A fried pancake with sour cream on the top and then grated cheese. I ate that under a very hot terrace without any air, I was sweating! To eliminate this big lunch, nothing better than to go for a short ride. With a light bike, without bags, it is so nice. I am going to see the castle of Devín, 14km, following the advice of David. But when I arrived there, I didn’t find the energy to visit the ruins, everything was under the sun. I’m going back to Bratislava. I stopped on the way along the Donau to drink a Kofola, the Czechoslovak coca. So it was a busy day in the city. I finished in the hostel watching the European football league, France against Spain, France lost !
The long ride along the Donau
Before leaving, I have to quickly fix my bike, I am still losing some parts… And I still needed 30 minutes to go outside of the city, which is a lot for a little capital. But it is mainly because, like in Austria, the red lights are very long! (and I don’t dare to do it like in France and cross at the red light…). And now, I am again on the Eurovelo 6. The Donau is on my right side and on the other side is Hungary. Nothing else. Neither cyclists to speak with, I meet anyone. The only thing new : the sun. Riding under the big hit, I forgot what it is. Luckily, with an app, I can find a fountain in a little village. With the headwind, this day was not very nice. I listened to some podcasts to make it better. I arrived near a campsite. David told me about it, he said around 4€, it was cheap. Few years later, it is now 12€… so I was thinking about doing wild camping in the little island in front of the campsite but soon I put my feet on the ground, I was bitten a lot by mosquitoes. I came back to the campsite, still a few mosquitoes but less. And it was a very good idea because I had the opportunity to meet Charlotte, a french girl traveling by bike as well! We spent the evening together, discovering lots of common points about our way to travel by bike. But sadly she is taking the opposite way from me, going to the north to get away from the hot days. So after sharing breakfast together, we separated from each other, with the hope to see her in France or somewhere else. And following her advice, because she has, like me, enough of these straight lines – believe us, you finish crazy with them! – I am taking the first bridge on my way to reach Hungary! The road, hopefully, will be less monotone…
