Through the Puszta
In the next days we ride past Hajduszoboszlo, Nagyhegyes, Hortobagy and Tiszafured, weaving through local roads, since bikes are disallowed on the main road from Debrecen to Budapest. Thus, we either break the ban and ride on the main road for a few kilometres, or we cycle for many kilometres out of our way to avoid this wretched road.
We have no communication problems as everyone here speaks German – for quite some time local thermal springs and Puszta have been attracting many tourists, especially Germans, Dutch and Austrians. Puszta is the biggest steppe in Europe – a habitat of thousands of birds and a vast space for grazing cattle. It is interesting how local people live in single, solitary homesteads. In the past, they were seasonal dwelling places for shepherds and fishermen, and served as cattle fields. Later, these places developed into farms, and then formed villages. The ride is great – it is a wild, quiet and flat region. In Tiszafured, spicy goulash soup makes us sweat more than the sun that has shined all day. There are many places to stay overnight. Unfortunately, further on, near Besenyotelek, finding accommodation becomes a problem. But since we are just 8 km away from the highway, we should be able to find something. It is getting darker, so we put headlamps on the front panniers. A police car pulls up – Igor asks the policemen about lodging. Supposedly, there is a motel in Fuzesabony. We get there and ride around the town for a good half an hour, asking about accommodation – but without results. What a disappointment! We go back to the main road and cycle in another direction, feeling lost. We notice a guesthouse. It turns out that the restaurant is open, but guest rooms are not available. Damn! We are back on the main road, already covering the section planned for the next day, and looking for a place to pitch a tent. We manage to do it quickly, then wash ourselves using water from the bottle and at 11 pm, having cycled 155 km, we fell asleep, completely exhausted.
We have no communication problems as everyone here speaks German – for quite some time local thermal springs and Puszta have been attracting many tourists, especially Germans, Dutch and Austrians. Puszta is the biggest steppe in Europe – a habitat of thousands of birds and a vast space for grazing cattle. It is interesting how local people live in single, solitary homesteads. In the past, they were seasonal dwelling places for shepherds and fishermen, and served as cattle fields. Later, these places developed into farms, and then formed villages. The ride is great – it is a wild, quiet and flat region. In Tiszafured, spicy goulash soup makes us sweat more than the sun that has shined all day. There are many places to stay overnight. Unfortunately, further on, near Besenyotelek, finding accommodation becomes a problem. But since we are just 8 km away from the highway, we should be able to find something. It is getting darker, so we put headlamps on the front panniers. A police car pulls up – Igor asks the policemen about lodging. Supposedly, there is a motel in Fuzesabony. We get there and ride around the town for a good half an hour, asking about accommodation – but without results. What a disappointment! We go back to the main road and cycle in another direction, feeling lost. We notice a guesthouse. It turns out that the restaurant is open, but guest rooms are not available. Damn! We are back on the main road, already covering the section planned for the next day, and looking for a place to pitch a tent. We manage to do it quickly, then wash ourselves using water from the bottle and at 11 pm, having cycled 155 km, we fell asleep, completely exhausted.
