September 14th Stage 43
Mohacs to Osijek 73 kms.
The weather was still threatening and overcast this morning
and it was in sombre mood that we set off for the border with Croatia some 17
kms from Mohacs. Everything was very quiet indeed in this remote corner of
Hungary and just as yesterday I was sorry to leave Kalocsa so today I was sorry
to leave Hungary.We were also leaving the Danube and for the first time since
Riedlingen I spent an entire day’s
riding without glimpsing the river. Now Katherine and I seemed almost to be the
only ones on the road. The border
crossing was polite, even friendly and whilst I felt a little intimidated by the warnings of mines
in the fields immediately after (and before actually) the frontier, the well- kept
churches, standing proud and tall amongst the low houses of the villages were
welcoming even if it was sad to see so many lovely gabled cottages falling to
pieces, their small courtyards overgrown with weeds.
The roads were long and straight and the fields stretched
endlessly to the far distant horizon. I was glad to see some low hills in front
of me which I would have to cross; they broke the monotony of the landscape
somewhat.
Of course, had the weather been kind then my impression of
the landscape might have been quite different. The wine growing region around
Draz, for instance, with its orchards and well-tended vegetable gardens was
pretty but by now the rain was coming down in torrents and I was in no mood to
appreciate it.
Topping the low range of hills I turned right on to the 212
and simply concentrated on getting to Osijek. Most of the roads, once they left
the villages, headed in a straight line for the next cluster of houses. Luckily
there was relatively little traffic until Bilje, and the last perfectly
straight 5 kms into Osijek, to be honest, was a frightening nightmare.
We were happy enough to book into the hotel that the ladies
in the post office recommended and which a young student from the university
offered to show us the way to. I needed to dry out and rest and in any case
there seems to be no camping to be had. The fact that the hotel is extremely
unexceptional and expensive to boot is another matter.
Total from Schaffhausen 1,635kms. Total from Galway 3,545
kms.
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