Legs are turning.

Wednesday 28th August 2024. Be kind to Humankind Week!

Bratislava to Hohenau an der March – 87km.

Today is where the adventure really begins….on the bike. Having said that today was more about trying to get into a routine.

To start at the beginning….I had a good nights sleep apart from the first hour or so. Being in a six bed (three bunk) mixed dorm is usually interesting. Two females, four males. I was in bed by 9pm, which is quite early so I didn’t expect instant peace. One of the young women put the lights on which didn’t help but the main thing was the guy in the bunk below me! I presume he was ‘gaming’ on his phone because, although he was quiet he kept rocking the bunk at exciting moments. I hope he was ‘gaming’ and not doing anything else!

I woke after 7am and got straight up as quietly as I could. I took all my bags outside the room whilst I went to the bathroom. I later realised that when I pulled my charging plug from the socket I left the adapter in the wall! Stupid….I only realised when I got to the next accommodation.

Breakfast wasn’t really an option at the hostel so I went to the nearest backerii. I ate inside and found out the guy serving was Kosovan. He told me that Dua Lipa used to be his neighbour! NB. older readers, please Google Dua Lipa! Younger readers, please Google NB!

I was riding out of Bratislava along the Danube by 9am in lovely warm sunshine.

I was now cycling north up the Morava river on the Slovakian border with Austria. The route is part of Eurovelo 13, named the Iron Curtain route for obvious reasons.

The route was mainly traffic free but the surface varied from tarmac, to cobbles, to gravel, to sand. I wasn’t complaining about the surface….but it was bloody hot! I cycled in Vietnam earlier this year and it was 38 degrees every day but today’s 33 seemed hotter.

I stopped at Marchegg, partly because it has a funny name. It was across the river, in Austria. I returned back into Slovakia to finish the journey.

I tried to be more healthy today. My lunch was bought at a Coop shop and it involved a banana, an apple and a raspberry yoghurt. My spork was quickly in-action. I had to drink plenty of water too.

I admit to being tired and heat crazy when I arrived into Hohenau an der March in Austria. I went straight to the accommodation. They didn’t seem to expect me but they were empty tonight and I was quickly shown to my ‘own’ room. Very nice, clean and modern too. It took two clod showers to cool me down, one for the heat and one for the anger at leaving behind my plug adaptor at the hostel!

These things matter because I depend on the mobile, iPad and Garmin for getting around and blogging. I used Google translate app to ask n a could have shops if I could buy a UK to European adapter anywhere….no, was the reply. I later realised that I just needed a European plug with USB connections. No problem getting one of those….

You might wonder why a small bottle of wine is in the photo?

Well I haven’t been kind to any humankind today so I remembered it is also National Red Wine Day. I have been good all day but couldn’t resist supporting such a good cause.

There aren’t any photos of Hohenau. Mainly because there isn’t anything worth a photo. It’s clean and orderly and it has a nice shopping centre but I won’t be sightseeing tonight. I ate in the room but have booked a breakfast for the morning!

It’s already ‘cau cau’ (bye bye in Slovak) to Slovakia I enjoyed the brief visit.