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Saturday, August 24th – Budapest to Balatonkenese, 9578 km
Jan is already eating when I get to the cafeteria at 8. Eero is putting their bikes together and loading on their bags at the rear of the building. He join us at the table before we are finished. We discuss our itineraries. They have invited me to cycle with them to Lake Balaton, 100 km southwest of here. From there, they plan to cycle along the north shore to the west end of the lake to Keszthely, and then northwest towards Vienna. I tell them that if today’s ride goes well I can ride with them as far as Keszthely and perhaps part of a day beyond.
I bring my bags down to the storage room at the back of the hostel and load up my bike as they wait for me. Then we begin the first leg of today’s ride, the exodus from the city. The ride is not that difficult. We follow the esplanade along the west bank of the Danube past the Elizabeth Bridge, the citadel the rises above us, the Liberty Bridge and the Petofi Bridge. Finally, we pass under the Lagymanyosi Bridge and the road turns away from the river at the southernmost suburbs. I have been following the valley of the Danube for 12 days and this is the last I expect to see of it. I cross the 9500 km mark of my trip as I leave the city.
Hwy 7, which parallels an expressway, makes quite a straight line towards Lake Balaton from the south end of Budapest. The Finnish brothers are riding at a steady but not hurried pace, about 17 km per hour. Jan is in the lead and Eero, who is a shepherd by nature, brings up the rear behind me, making sure no one falls behind, though that isn’t likely. We will stay on this road until we reach our destination Balatonkenese and overall it will be an easier day.
We reach the town of Martonvasar sometime shortly after noon and Velence Lake about half an hour later. Here we stop briefly for lunch. Neither Jan or Eero are the type to frequent restaurants. We make simple sandwiches from the groceries we have bought, each of us supplying some of the ingredients. I notice Eero has a gentle, non-intrusive way of looking after his little brother. Jan is very independent and never asks for help. He doesn’t object to Eero’s attentions either, and it is easy to see the love between them. I am fascinated and a bit envious. I have never had a relationship like this with either of my younger brothers. I couldn’t imagine trying to travel with either of them, not that either of them would try this type of travel.
Hwy 7 rounds the south end of the Velence Lake and passes under the expressway to reach the town of Szekesfehervar. It is another hour and a bit to get to the lake and another half hour to follow the northern end of the lake to Balatonkenese, which is a simple resort town. It has several smaller hotels but nothing over a three star variety. The Finns are economy-minded like me so we choose an inexpensive one.
It is only 3:30 so we unload quickly and head to the beach for swim. After the swim, Eero takes a walk along the shore, Jan suntans and I lie beside him writing postcards. I had noted his handsome, youthful face in Budapest but I hadn’t seen his smooth body. Now than he is lying mostly naked beside it s hard to focus on my writing. Thank God, I am lying on my front. Actually, his brother Eero is handsome too but also they both give off such ‘straight’ vibes that I hadn’t given them much consideration. And I was distracted by Daniel then too.
Too many handsome men in this world, and too little sex.
After showering and dressing for the evening (it is getting cool at night again, especially by the water), we go out searching for an inexpensive restaurant for dinner. I talk them into a slightly more expensive Italian one, selling them on the idea of pasta loading for tomorrow’s 100 km ride. I ask them if what I have heard is true, if Finnish is the only language related to Hungarian in Europe? Yes it is, Eero tells me, which is one of the main reasons they wanted to visit Hungary, but they cannot understand any words in Hungarian. He says perhaps the grammatical structure is similar. Jan tells me the people who spoke the original language came from the Ural Mountains in central Russia and they separated about 3000 years ago.
When our meal is done we stroll back to the lake to gaze at the last of the sky’s lavender reflection on the lake. Sigh. The west-facing cliffs outside of town have that lavender glow too. We saunter back quietly to our shared hotel room and undress for bed. I get another pang of envy as they crawl into bed together, leaving me alone in the other bed. They don’t exactly cuddle, but they aren’t the least bit cautious about touching each other either.
PHOTO 1: the esplanade along the west bank of the Danube
PHOTO 2: the Elizabeth Bridge, one of 7 over the Danube
PHOTO 3: Liberty Bridge
PHOTO 4: Martonvasar
PHOTO 5: hay fields near Velence Lake
PHOTO 6: Szekesfehervar
PHOTO 7: nearing Lake Balaton
PHOTO 8: Balatonkenese
PHOTO 9: cliffs behind Balatonkenese
PHOTO 10: Lake Balaton
PHOTO 11: Jan
PHOTO 12: sunset in Balatonkenese
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