Our last week in Hungary was marked by some fairly hot weather (+32C). As much as we braced ourselves for some challenging road and cycling path conditions for this segment, we were always surprised by the end of day on how reasonable the road had been. Each day, we paid greater attention to the bridge and ferry options on our journey to ensure we finished the day on the same side of Danube as where our accommodation was.

2022.07.24 – [HU] Százhalombatta ==> Dunaújváros (45 kms | Total: 3806 kms)

We both had very deep sleep during the night. We had our in-room breakfast early and left the guesthouse at 8:00am. We decided to cycle on the west side of the Danube in order to avoid having to take two ferries during our journey. This was the first time we deviated from EV6 route for the entire day. We cycled along a main country road, but thankfully, the fast moving vehicular traffic was light as it was Sunday. As we arrived at our destination town at 10:30am, we stopped at McDonald’s for some coffee and snacks where we uploaded our pictures and posted our blog entry in the quiet and air conditioned environment. Needless to say, we enjoyed our long rest. We visited a grocery store before cycling the remaining 2.5kms to our hotel. We checked-in at 12:00pm to the reluctance of the hotel reception. In the evening, we had our dinner at a Hungarian restaurant.

2022.07.25 – [HU] Dunaújváros ==> Paks (54 kms | Total: 3860 kms)

The hotel had their breakfast room setup in the basement. Shortly after leaving town, we crossed the Danube on a very long bridge. We finally rejoined the EV6 route for 15-20 kms after which we crossed the Danube again in order to be on the same side of the river as our hotel in Paks. We cycled through small towns and farmland. The hard part of our journey was the last 6kms where our Organic Maps gps recommended a cycling route away on the busy main road. Sadly, it brought us riding through a cemetery and then uphill over a rugged gravel road. The heat made this stretch even more difficult. Thankfully, we had purchased 1.5l of cold water before tackling this trail. In retrospect, we should have cycled on the busy main road and avoided the climb and difficult terrain. We checked-in into our hotel at 1:15pm. In the evening, we visited a Chinese fast-food restaurant for our dinner

2022.07.26 – [HU] Paks ==> Baja, Bács-Kiskun (65 kms | Total: 3925 kms)

We finished packing our panniers before our 7:00am alarm went off. We had learned yesterday that the ferry crossing took place every hour, so we planned to catch 9:00 am ferry boat. We left our hotel right after our breakfast. We were in the terminal by 8:30am – a 3kms distance from our hotel. After our ferry crossing, we rejoined once again the EV6 route for the remainder of today’s journey. After cycling for awhile on countryside roads, we moved on to ride on a gravel trail atop of a levee. The riding was monotonous and got hotter and hotter by the km as there were no shade along the way. With 30kms further to go, we stopped at a grocery for water in one of few towns we came across. In the end we bought two 1.5l cold sparkling water – our favorite drink while riding. Although we continued to ride atop the levee, the road was paved. When we reached destination town, we took a break in the shade before pushing on for the last few kms. We visited a grocery store before checking-in to our hotel at 1:30pm. To our surprise, we saw two touring cyclists on the road today and even more surprisingly seeing a Co-Motion tandem stored at the hotel’s garden area. We learned from the hotel reception, that the couple were from the US. We did not get chance to meet them as they had apparently gone to bed early. We had dinner at the hotel’s restaurant which served huge size plates.

2022.07.27 – [HU] Baja, Bács-Kiskun ==> Mohács (37 kms | Total: 3961 kms)

After breakfast we left our hotel and cycled back to the town center for a few pictures. Giving the small size town, we were surprised to have to struggle a bit to rejoin our EV6 route. Shortly after leaving town, we started to cycle atop a level on a gravel road which later changed to a sealed surface. The road appeared to support quite a bit of local vehicle traffic. We managed to ride onto the ferry almost immediately after purchasing our tickets at a booth atop the ramp – unlike most ferries which collected the fees during the river crossing. The hotel registration desk initially pushed back on our early checking request, but they ultimately allowed us in after we returned from the grocery store. In the evening, we visited a number of restaurants before settling on a Hungarian one. Looked forward to a good night sleep to help me recover from a cold I picked up a few days ago.

2022.07.28 – [HU] Mohács ==> Mohács (0 kms | Total: 3961 kms)

We enjoyed a lazy morning start at our pleasant hotel’s breakfast room. After some relaxing time in our room, we walked over to the grocery store for snacks and beverages. We walked a bit more before returning to our room for rest. Later in the afternoon, I did some bike maintenance. After that we visited a gelato shop and walked other parts of town. In the evening, we had a good dinner at a bistro serving knuckle pork and pork ribs. In summary, we savored slowly our last day in Hungary.

2022.07.29 – [HR] Mohács ==> Belišće (54 kms | Total: 4016 kms)

We showed up early to our hotel’s breakfast room this morning to get an early start on the road. Unfortunately, we left 10 mins later than expected as the hotel registration desk had some technical issue with their credit card payment system. We reached the Hungarian/Croatian border after 12kms and quickly passed the formalities. We confirmed that we received our EU exit stamp and a Croatian entry stamp in our passports. We stayed over 83 days in the EU – out of 90 days allowed under our Schengen visa. Back on the road shortly afterwards, we had a swarm of flies following us for almost one hour. For that moment, we had a flashback of being overwhelm by flies like in our 2018 Australian Outback experience. Along the way, we bid farewell to the EuroVelo 6 route and the Danube river as we embarked on a route towards our final revised destination: Zagreb (Croatia). The cycling through monotonous farmland under a hot sun was quite tiresome. We were relieved to check-in to our hotel at 1:00pm. We visited a grocery store before resting in our room for the remainder of the afternoon. In the evening, we visited a good local restaurant for dinner.

2022.07.30 – [HR] Belišće ==> Slatina (64 kms | Total: 4080 kms)

A single table was prepared by our guesthouse for breakfast – it was for us! As we cycled out of town on the main road, we were pleased to see that the forecast rain was delayed to mid-afternoon. As the kms covered progressed, we felt the headwind increase in strength while the sky started to darken in certain parts. Sure enough, it started to rain with some lightning and thunder showing up far away from us. It seemed like we were cycling along an imaginary mid-line where the sky on our left was very dark while on the right side it showed some clearing. The strong headwind died down during and after the rain. Although vehicle traffic was relatively light being on a Saturday, it was nonetheless stressful to see some cars moving at very high speed. We were relieved to arrive in the town of Slatina and check-in into our guesthouse. Later, we cycled to a local grocery for snacks. In the evening, we visited a pizzeria restaurant which offered a wide-ranging menu for our dinner .