Page 168 - WINE DINE AND TRAVEL SUMMER 2022 DISCOVERING MADRID

pest, the most difficult portion of the trip awaited
us: a 40-mile pedal that included a 10-kilometer
(6.2-mile) ascent with some grades of 9-plus per-
cent through Duna-Ipoly National Park to the
town of Szentendre.
At breakfast, I debated whether to do the climb.
But with the encouragement of the guides and
more than 200 miles logged so far, I opted to do
that ride. Though it was a long grind, I was able to
complete the ascent without resting. (Whew.)
After lunch at a cafe in Szentendre, we got some
tasty ice cream from a vendor that was served in
a sugary cinnamon cone and strolled past a shop
that had deep blue women’s skirts and dresses for
sale. Then we turned our bikes back over to the
Backroads crew and took a bus into Budapest,
avoiding busy urban roads and streets.
After one last night on the Amalea, we did a
walking tour through Budapest, which included a
visit to the neo-Gothic Parliament Building on the
Pest side of the Danube. Work on the massive
structure, which is reputed to be the largest
building in Hungary, started in 1885 and finished
1904.
Our guide told us more than 100,000 people
were involved in its construction, that it contains
more than 40 million bricks and that decorations
include more than half a million precious stones
and 88 pounds of gold. We also toured the city’s
Jewish quarter - decimated during World War II -
and saw statues dedicated to the students who
rose up against Soviet rule in 1956.
Now I’m back home in Madison, riding my bike
around lakes that dot the city and dreaming of re-
turning to Europe to ride along rivers such Portu-
gal’s Douro, the Rhine (from Basel to Amsterdam)
or the Rhone River in France.
Backroads (backroads.com) will offer a number
trips on the Danube this summer and fall, includ-
ing several with Amawaterways (amawater-
ways.com) where the ships are filled entirely with
cyclists.

A passel of Backroads cyclists wait
patiently for a train to pass in Freidhof
in Austria.

168 WINE DINE & TRAVEL MAGAZINE SUMMER 2022