It must be hot. The tarmac is melting and this afternoon, one temperature guage was seen to register 41 degrees centigrade! Bob cycled 90 miles from Lake Balaton to Kecel. Whilst Mark repeated the difficulty in escaping from Vienna and only scored 89 miles. Both are amazing distances in view of the heat - with copious litres of water consumed during the day.
Mark's final destination was the town of Kalocsa - capital of the world trade in Paprika, together with the surrounding 32 villages. Well known as the main ingredient in the likes of Hungarian Goulash, turns out this spice is derived from Chilli Peppers which were in turn brought from South America. Consequently, whilst it was grown along the Danube in Turkish times, only in the 18th century was it adopted as a staple part of Hungarian cuisine.
Talking about the Danube, in Germany and Austria the river was never better than green in colour (reflecting the surrounding trees). In the Austrian capital it is invariably grey or brown. But once across the border into Slovakia and now Hungary, it is genuinely blue. Therefore Johann Strauss the younger got it right when he named his most famous waltz, 'The Blue Danube'.
One final point of note for today, Bob was a silth-like 60-something when he started this excursion. Whereas, Mark was on the lardy side. Not anymore. To date he has lost 16 lbs. Anyone else fancy the crash-course marathon bike ride diet? Tomorrow, into Croatia.
No Farm Vehicles, Horse-drawn Vehicles or Bicycles!
Water-melons by the kilo
Parliament Building in Budapest
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