Hainburg to Narad, Slovakia: Kilometre after kilometre of dyke trails.
Today we left Hainburg with an overcast sky, but warm. Perfect cycling weather. As I write this journal, it is 8:30 pm, and hot!
We started out this morning on beautiful paths, through small villages and pristine farmlands. We crossed the boarder into Slovakia, although there is no longer an official boarder, or check. We cycled past the former, now abandoned boarder that was larger than Peace Arch in Vancouver. We cycled over the bridge to the old city of Bratislava. After a great coffee, we did a self guided cycle tour through this beautiful old city. After leaving Bratislava, we took the dyke route along the Danube, which had great, paved paths, and although straight, and at times monotonous, there was no water, mud or detours. We were very impressed with the trails. There were two parallel routes, with many people out enjoying their Sunday exercise. There were more inline skaters than we had ever seen, as well as cyclists, runners, walkers and some horseback riders. The path that we were on was wider than most country roads at home. We crossed over the Danube at the Gabcikove Dam, where we watched kayakers, on what we assumed was an Olympic training course. It was fun to watch these crazy guys. After many more kilometres on the dyke, I noticed a sign that said restaurant/pension, so we checked it out, liked what we saw, and called it a day. It is actually quite beautiful, good food and very inexpensive. It is called Penzion Platan, in Narad
Happy Fathers Day to all the fathers out there!
