Hungary

After a week of rain in Slovakia these sunflowers proved a good omen - nothing but sunshine in Hungary. Not that it helped my sense of direction - I was lost trying to ride through Bükk National Park when I saw this sign - none of the places on it were on my map.

Just to prove that getting lost isn't always a bad thing, all these photos were taken down a trail in Bükk National Park that I wouldn't have followed if I realised it was a dead end. The waterfall tumbling out of the cliff and filling the turquoise pool (top left) was amazing.

The trying of crop 49. Eger had about 30 of these cellars in a little semi-circle, all offering cheap tasty wine straight from the barrel. I got bitten on the eye by a wasp next to the vineyard pictured - really painful - the locals of the valley learned some new English words that day.

Stopped for a break by this fountain. In the 10 minutes I was there half a dozen people rode up on bicycles one after the other to fill large containers with the water. Only an hours drive from Budapest, I was surprised that they didn't having fresh water on tap. Still, the lack of basic services was made up for by extra large town names - I think Jaszfelsoszentgyorgy was the longest.

My guidebook describes Budapest as a "sublime mix of the old and the new." Notice how the 6-lane highway (bottom left) sublimely curves past the waterfall and sculptures?

The plains of western Hungary were a great motivator for riding long distances - no particularly beautiful spots to stop at and someone had helpfully sprayed the shoulders of the roads with broken glass and metal to discourage short breaks. Anyway, I rode from Budapest to a hostel on Lake Balaton in one day - 206km - which is my longest day's riding ever and about double my average.

Lake Balaton was a nice place for a day's break, and the scenery was improving - lots of smaller farms, pockets of forest and low rolling hills.

The rangers Orsegi National Park don't seem to be troubled by needing to look after much primary forest - I only saw farms. The camping ground I stayed for my last night in Hungary was in an orchard - I think I was the first person to camp there in a few weeks - a beautiful spot with these wild-flowers.