Danube Bend

interior of the Basilica

July16:  Today's update will be brief, since the computer swallowed the nearly-finished one last night.  Esztergom seemed to be a good base from which to explore the other towns of the Danube Bend, so we signed up for another night and spent the morning at Castle Hill and the Basilica that dominates the town.  This was built in the mid 19th century on the site of the earlier church which had been mostly demolished by the Turks.  This is the historic and ongoing center of Hungarian Roman Catholicism and thus attracts tour groups, many of whom arrive by boat.

We left town at noon and rode a pretty route along the river through Visegrad with its castle ruins on the hill to Sentendre, the most popular town on the Bend.  Numerous churches, shops, and galleries fill the old town.  We ate our meager lunch fixings supplemented with a pizza on a bench along the river.

In late afternoon we headed south again, crossed the river with a brief view of Budapest in the distance, and headed north to Vac through much congestion.  We did stop to see the plaza and walk along the river.  The town has a Roman past and remnants of the walls in the square.

The Danube from Visegrad

Rob had planned a longish excursion through the countryside which eventually brought us to a dead end.  We don't have good road maps of Hungary and the GPS has been notoriously untrustworthy.  We retraced our way back to Vac and then to Esztergom, arriving at 8.  It was overcast for much of the day, but no rain and pleasant riding temperature.