Hungary: Romania to Eger

Entering Hungary was a relief. There was a bike lane directly from the border and everything just seemed easier. We had been used to Romanian cars and trucks using their horns to get us off the road. But in Hungary the drivers were courteous, except for the odd Romanian truck. By the end of the day we were able to discern which trucks were Romanian before even looking at the number plate! There was still the occasional "no bikes" sign on busy roads. It took us a while to find a map that indicated where these roads were.

No bikes, tractors or horses and carts

Our first meal in Hungary was basic and traditional. We found a small restaurant in a tiny town and sat down, expecting a menu. We didn't speak any Hungarian yet but that didn't seem to matter because there was only one meal option. This was soup followed by a kind of pasta cooked in pork fat, topped with white cheese (thanks for the warning Matt).

Most meals in Romania and eastern Hungary consist of pork and potatoes. The differences between restaurants are the different ways they cook these two ingredients. We tried to order a meal without potatoes once but failed. We'd ordered enough dishes but none of them contained potato. The concerned waiter approached us and kept pointing to the potato dishes until we ordered one.

Sunflower field

The westerly headwinds continued as we cycled through Hungary so we thought we'd take a train to Nyíregyháza. This was surprisingly easy. The train wasn't really meant for bikes but the conductor helped us get the bikes on anyway. This attitude was so different to what we'd experienced in Romania.

We headed north to Sóstó, a holiday region with lakes and lots of greenery. From there it was an easy cycle to the wine region of Tokaj, known mainly for dessert wines that comes in 6 grades of sweetness. We hung around the little tourist town tasting and learning about wine production.

Wine tasting in Tokaj

By now we'd obtained a cycling map and the route to Miskolc looked difficult. Most of the roads were prohibited for cycling and we'd have to do a big detour. So we thought we'd try the train and again it was easy. We camped near the Miskolc-Tapolca spa region and then headed west into the hills.

The Bűkk plateau is a national park and ski region. We explored the gateway town, Lillafűred, and then climbed into the hills. It was a long, hard climb but well worth the effort. At the top we found a private campsite run by a very fit looking Hungarian and his family. He'd built a beautiful wooden house and a few huts on his hilltop paradise and was living a very happy existence. His dog was happy too.

Roger and friend

From there we traversed the plateau on good forest roads that are open only to bikes, horses and feet. We didn't really know what to expect but it was a beautiful ride through grassland and beech forests.

Luisa on Bűkk Plateau

Looking down

We descended from the plateau to Szilvásvárad, a town known for it's Lippizanner white horses. We found a Dutch lady who had a great little campsite in her backyard and she organised a horseriding trip with a fellow Dutch lady who'd moved to Hungary two years earlier. We spent four hours wandering the hills on horseback, to little towns, lakes, and through forests. We had to duck our heads on some of the trails to avoid branches and got a bit scratched. The horses were happy and well cared for and they enjoyed roaming the hills and cantering on the flats.

We popped out of the forest to this village

Horsecam

The next night we were joined at the campsite by a group of school children and their teacher on a 6 day cycle tour of northern Hungary and Slovakia. The gas supply to the whole town was cut off for that day so we had to vie for shower time before the hot water tank ran out!

From Szilvásvárad we cycled south to Eger helped by a rare roaring tailwind (!) and found ourselves in tourist country again.