This was a good day’s cycling. A very pleasant temperature, a bit of a tailwind and some hills to look at. In fact we covered the 30 miles or so on the road beside the Danube to Esztergom before lunchtime. So instead of finishing there, we spent a couple of hours looking round and then pushed on to the start of the Great Bend. Here we have found a great campsite beside the river in spectacular scenery for the first time since Krems.

Esztergom has a complex history, having been settled by just about everybody in Europe at one time or another! It was once the capital of Hungary but is better known now as the seat of the catholic church in Hungary, and for Cardinal Mindszenty, who was a thorn in the side of the communists and spent 30 years holed up in the American embassy out of their reach! The basilica dominates the town.

The bridge across the Danube was destroyed in WW2 to slow the Russian advance. It was not rebuilt until 2001 because of Slovakian resistance to the idea that their southern Hungarian minority would have a link to Hungary. The relationship is currently at a low ebb, with the Slovakians having banned the speaking of Hungarian in public in Slovakia.

We are getting the hang of Hungarian cuisine. It is brilliant for cycling since it has an enormous calorie count. Goulash and dumplings, masses of chips with everything, and pancakes everywhere. Tonight I accidentally ordered pancakes with cottage cheese in – a Hungarian speciality – and found, to my surprise, that it was delicious! The only downside to this is that, unless you are cycling 40 miles a day, you get enormously fat – as most of the population has done. This would be bad enough by itself, but combined with the Hungarian love of swimming pools it leads to some unsavoury sights (as last night, when we stayed next to the thermal baths in Komarom). Speaking of which, this excellent campsite has a swimming pool and we took our svelte-like forms for a very pleasant swim before dinner.

Helen’s track of the day: Stevie Wonder, As, a song I sang throughout a very jolly day and in celebration of my own happiness but for all those Hungarians who seem very keen on hugs and kisses too. And there was I thinking they would be a dour lot.