Jeff: The last days in Slovenia and the start of Hungary

Due to the forecasted temperatures predicting to be in the mid 30’s we decided to hit a thermal spa where we could bake in a sauna instead. Firstly we did a pre spa run which was nice and flat next to the river. The spa was in a town called Lasko (as per the Slovenian beer). We ensured we had enough food to keep us going and spent the day chilling and baking. The saunas were very quiet and we were the only 2 in the Turkish steam room when they dished out the honey for their version of an onsen. We parked back at the same space as the previous night as it was nice and quiet and had free electricity! We then hop-footed it onto the bikes for a quick cycle down the same river we ran that morning in the hope that we were not too late for the famous beer fountain of Zalec. This included buying a beer mug with a microchip in and then helping ourselves to the 7 different beers on offer, one of which was radiation green. They were all really nice and some guy who looked uncannily like Jason Alexander from Seinfeld tried to flog us some cheap beers he had in his bag. When he asked me why I wasn’t interested I had to refrain from saying that I was taught from a young age not to accept sweets from strangers. We tipsily rode back to the van and called it a night.

Next morning we drove up to Celje castle but was disappointed that we couldn’t get into the grounds and it didn’t look impressive enough to actually pay to get in. We drove to Slobenj Gradc where we were drawn in by a long cycleway up to Dravograd (a very boring town) but we did get to quickly cross the border into Austria. All in all it was 60km which was a warm up compared to what we had lined up in Hungary. We then chilled for the rest of the day at the camperstop.

Next morning we got the TRX out and hit the outdoor gym for a good work out as it was a decent gym set up. Afterwards we had a shower then headed in the van to get some groceries before getting to a town called Ruse where we got the bikes out and headed into Maribor, which is Slovenia’s second city. It only has a third of the population of the capital and not many must see sites but we wanted to see it anyway. We got in an parked up the bikes and god could we feel the heat today! There was no respite from it anywhere. We decided to walk through the old town and just see what there was but we soon noticed quite a few police around and the more we walked the more we saw. We then saw some interesting looking people around who wouldn’t look out of place in a motorbike bar and they were all heavily drinking. We did a bit of googling (well quite a bit actually) and found out there was a big football match on later between Maribor and a town in Bulgaria and most of these people supported Bulgaria and had the caption on their Instagram as ‘hooligans’ so we decided to stay clear of the area. We did manage to see the Liberation Monument which is a large sphere with many different faces on it to represent 200 people killed in WW2. We also saw the cathedral, the main square and many other buildings. We also went to see the worlds oldest vine which is 450 years old and still produces wine. After walking for awhile we decided we were hot enough so we cycled a little out of town to get some vegan ice cream and some cakes for later before we headed back to the van.

Once back at the van we met some Americans who had bought a van in France and were spending a couple of years travelling Europe. We sat and had some drinks with them while we traded stories of different countries and experiences before we had some dinner and headed to bed. The next morning we got up and did a run down the bike paths we had used the day before which meant that it was mostly flat and then had a shower before setting off to the expo centre Murska Sobota which is a large centre on a lake. We had a little look around before we settled on the lake, with free beach chairs and umbrellas, and relaxed for a bit. The water was lovely and warm and the beach area wasn’t that busy and we chilled there for the rest of the day. It was a lovely area with nice walks around the lake, nice showers and toilets and great bike routes (for those that wanted to cycle – we were taking a break after the last couple of days). We decided to spend the night there and were in for a treat as the thunder came in around midnight to give us a great show but it did keep us awake for awhile and even made us jump a couple of times as it got so loud.

The next morning we had a lazy morning as the rain persisted and it was a bit of a miserable wet day (although the temperature was still in the mid 20s and it was nice to have a cooler day). We decided to get some admin done and sat in the café at the Expo centre for a couple of hours and get a few things done. This was quite productive and a useful way to spend the time and in the afternoon we continued this in the van with a little outing to the supermarket.

The next morning we got up and headed to the huge outdoor gym the Expo centre had for a good workout before having a shower and heading to Orseg national park in Hungary. We parked up and headed to the open air museum where we looked around some old houses and farm buildings before going to see their goats, donkeys, chickens, ducks and rabbits. We then walked down the road where there was a herd of Bison who are being reintroduced into the area after being over hunted to the point of extinction in the early 20^th century. They were huge, much bigger than we had thought they would be, and we got very close as one was having a drink of water next to the fence. We carried on down the path to an observatory where you can get a good view of them but they were all at the other side of the field so we ended up making our way back to van for the night. We did a quick run the next day taking a slight diversion for a stray dog as we were not sure how well behaved Hungarian dogs were yet. We then made our way to Lake Balaton, the largest lake in central Europe stretching over 100km wide. We were very surprised to see enroute to the lake a Tesco Superstore. We stopped to take a look and decided to stick with Lidl!

Given the sheer size of Lake Balaton you would think it impossible to cover it’s entire perimeter in Lido’s. Well Hungary have made a good go of it. Entry is normally only £2-3 and you get well maintained toilets and showers as well as easy access to the lake so all in all it’s a bargain. It’s school holidays so it really busy but it was all very civilised with countless paddleboards and inflatables on the water. We moved to a different lido car park for the evening and was surprised to learn that after 7pm they open the gates and let everyone in for free. We then made plans for the nexts day big cycle around the lake. Every year a cycle event takes place called the Balatonkor where thousands of people set off at 6am to cycle the 200km perimeter. Our previous longest ever cycle was 100km and 200km may have been pushing the ebikes 2 batteries to the limit so we did a 140km loop which involved a short ferry crossing. There are plenty of cyclepaths and when on the road it was very safe. The first 50km to the boat flew by and we were blessed with some overcast weather. The next 40km was still good although we realised we had strapped the second battery too tightly to the panner causing it to bend slightly and causing the panner to tap the back tyre when going over a bump. We swapped batteries at the 90km mark and then started to feel the effects of the long distance cycle. The next 30km was only made bearable by the promise of ice-cream we had booked-marked in a town enroute. It was at this point we were taking breaks every 10km just to ensure we were drinking enough fluids. The ice-cream could have been rubbish but it tasted amazing at the time, with lots of vegan options. This gave us the boost we needed for the final 23km. We also became very aware why, the day before when driving around the lake, we would see people randomly at the side of the cycle path having a drink as you would have vast stretches of cycle path with no real designated place to stop. We were very happy to be back at the van and vowed never to get on the bikes again. We spent the next hours trying to eat the 3000 calories burned before heading for a dip in the lake, followed by a shower and then a much deserved beer!

Next morning we tried to lie in however we were rudely awoken at 6am by the gardener who was strimming. This coupled with the couple who were having an argument the night before at 10pm before both storming off on foot leaving their car idling until about midnight – Hungary must be a very safe place!

Today we got up and headed up to the castle above Szigliget which has great views over the lake and surrounding area. We paid and went in to have a look around and saw the different elements of the castle which was built around the 14th century and was added to over the years. This afternoon we have chilled by the lake on the paddleboard. We practiced both standing at the same time which is something we only tend to do on flat calm waters. I convinced Catherine to play the game where we both stand facing each other and try and topple the other one off without touching them. This little game taught us that our paddleboard is extremely stable and we physically couldn’t swing the board side to side enough to fall in. This meant that when it came to paddling again whilst both standing we were far more stable now we knew how hard it was to actually fall in.