Komarno to Esztergom

June 14 2023

We rolled out of Komarno under increasingly cloudy skies this morning.  My weather app did not have any rain in the forecast but it sure felt like rain. There was that kind of heavy humidity in the rain and the increasing cloud make sure made it look like it.

As we left town we came to the first Komarno fort which was built on the point of land where the Var river flows into the Danube river.  It was a long wall which must have gone on for a couple of kilometers.  Illustrations we had seen in the town showed quite a large fortress in side the walls but it was not evident from the road.  

We crossed the Danube to the north side which we followed all day.  The north side is the Slovakian side and the south side is the Hungarian side.  Along the river was a high dike with an excellent paved path on top. ùso we were able to just fly along chased by a nice tail wind. 

Atout 8 kms into the ride we came to this Roman fortress ruins.  The Roman fort had been built around 172 AD.  It had been a Roman encampment as 3aerly as 100 Ad  but after some Germanic tribes attacked it was convered to a fortress. Although it was a UNESCO world heritage site there really wasn't that much to see.  

Following the dike along we came to a little village of Maco where we had a coffee stop before continuing on down the trail.

At about the 38 km mark my route took us down the highway on into town.  Bob's route continued on along the top of the dike, which had turned to a rough gravel track with a high grass center. The two tgravel tracks were quite narrow and had a lot of loose pea sized gravel in them. I always felt like the bike was wanting to run side ways on me and I had to fight to keep it straight.  What was most interesting about the track was that there were a zillion little black insects which were highly attracted to Ken's yellow jersey.  When every we stopped for even a few seconds Ken would be covered in hundreds of these black bugs. It sure didn't look like it was very much fun being swarmed like that.  

After about 12 kms on the dike we came to the place where Bob's route took us north to the highway. however we weren't finished with the rough road as we than had about 6 kms of trail which was made of the concrete blocks all of which had a good offset and every joint had a nasty bump to it.  Personally I think I would have sooner ridden down the highway which was about 10 kms and not endured the gravel on the dike and the concrete blocks.  Yes there was some traffic on the highway but it was all really polite and gave us lots of room.  

When we got to Esztergom we approached from west and could see the large dome of the Esztergom basilic from a long way off. It was a magnificent site from the other side of the river.  We crossed the bridge and into the hotel.  The hotel is right below the basilica.  Ken and I walked up to and through it.  It is being completely restored.  Work has been on going for the last two years and will not be finished for at least two more years but could take much longer.  It is really a magnificent structure.  

We wound up at 58 kms which was a very nice days ride.  

Tomorrow is the last ride day into Budapest and is one of the longer days at around 85 kms. 

well crap got two images and can't delete one.  

Terry 

Terry