day 12

today sucked. thats really all i have to say.

we ate breakfast and they had omelets again so the day started out great until the germans told us that we are riding 75 k today. sure enough that is what we did, 75 k is equivalent to about 47 miles. that is way to far in one day. majority of the ride was uphill or against the wind, and riding along a highway. kirsten and kirt almost checked out at one point. for abby and i it wasn't really hard it was just sooooooo boring. and you can't take a nap because you got a bike. at this point we are thinking cars might have been a better option.

we made many stops. for snacks, lunch, ice cream, coke, the list goes on and on. but luckily we all made it and everyone is alive.

I do have to tell you about lunch. we saw this nice place in the middle of a scary town in hungary. we were happy because everywhere else looked a little iffy. we walked in and it looked really nice but it looked more like a banquet room not a restaurant. we found a worker and ask if we could get a table so we did. come to find out this was a arabian stud ranch, just down the hall they had conventions rooms with people eating. they were very nice and even told us to come visit the ranch and they would only make us buy 4 tickets for 8 people. but due to time we had to keep moving so we didn't do that. at the restaurant we all ordered schnitzel just to make it easier on them because they were busy. i think someone in our family has gotten schnitzel at least once a day, usually twice. seriously schnitzel might be my favorite food.

we have all decided that besides the alps slovakia is the place to live. the food is really cheap. the people here are so pretty, the little kids are all over town and they are so cute, it is clean, and the people are very nice. today we rode back into slovakia for the night and we couldn't be happier.

we decided to stay in tonight and just order pizza so that everyone could regroup. kristen said "if i see one more little kitten, i am picking it up and we are going home." i think kristen has about had it. we all fell asleep around 10 pm so that we could wake up to watch the USA soccer game at 1:30 am so that is what we are doing right now. kristen isn't attending, she needs her beauty sleep.

day 11

the breakfast today was delicious. it was a great start to a great day. they served omelets which is the first real breakfast food we have seen in 11 days. we notice now why doreen and her family are never hungry or wanted to make stops for snacks and that's because they actually eat their breakfast.

considering we got lost yesterday we knew exactly how to get out of the city. the bike tour does not lable the path very well so every decision we make on what direction to go is basically a guess. i would say we have done good so far. today we ran into a couple from canada so we just kept saying follow the canadians, they know where they are going. of course we stop at the first gas station we saw to get a snack and beverage and then we were on our way. 

everything went very smooth. we didn't get lost one time. the trail got a little sketchy though. at one point we were riding on a rode that cars could go 100 k. we had a near accident but i was at the back so it was just fun to watch. we had two big accomplishments today. first abby and I mastered riding without hands. dad on the other hand found a way to sit on the back part of the bike go stretch his legs out and show off his butt crack.

we made a few stops on the way. one of them being a church in a small town. as we were sitting there kristen just happy as ever since we haven't gotten lost yet says "well we are really kicking some ass today." it was priceless.

so the plan for today was to ride our bikes for about 45 k then get on a train to the next city. the tour provided us tickets and all. before we went to the train we had some lunch and walked around the city. our new thing now that we can't find mcdonalds anymore is ice cream. its the only sweet thing in europe that we actually liked. so we stopped and got cream after lunch. then abby and i when back and got even more. 

let me tell you, getting on the train with 8 people and 8 bikes was really something to see. first we had to get to the other side of the tracks. so we carried our bikes down stairs under the tracks then up the other side. while i was carrying my bike my phone fell off the back of the bike face down..it broke. the screen is shattered and fuzzy. the touch screen doesn't work so i can't do anything on it, so no phone for me. once we got back to the top we realized that there was a gate where you could just walk across the tracks. we realized after that that was why everyone was looking at us funny...who knew.

we guessed that the bikes go in the back of the train and luckily we were right. the train only stops for 1 minute so us getting all 8 bikes and people in the door was quit the process. it didn't help that there wasn't enough room for all the bikes in train. there were a lot of raised voices and panic while maneuvering onto the train.

once we got to the city the germans checked the map and asked a taxi driver for directions and next thing you knew we were at the hotel. we didn't get lost once all day, how could we complain.
well considering i broke my phone we decided to stop at the mall and see if we could get my screen fixed. along the way we ran into just an everyday store, i needed fingernail clippers we went right in. kristen decided she might invest in a blow dryer because her and abby are always late to our departure times and they thinks it's because they need 2 blow dryers. but the funniest part was that when she checked out she didn't get a bag. i guess you have to pay for a bag. so she walked all night with a blow cryer in her hand. what could go wrong? it was so funny!!!!!

then we had an enjoyable dinner in the centrum. it was fun, there were little kids running around and lots of people out and about. dinner was funny, dad got really confused with the money and how much it really is. at the end of the night we weren't sure if we gave him way to much or not enough. the money (forints) is really confusing.

after dinner we found some more cream then strolled through the centrum and headed back to the hotel. we have decided that germany is the most put together, great food, people, and facilities. austria is a lot like germany., very clean, nice people, good food. solvakia by far had the best looking people, and good food. we have yet to find something we like about hungary. except for the sunset after dinner. 

we will be biking about 50 more k tomorrow. departing around 9:30 am

day 10

every morning we have to have our luggage in the lobby but 9 a.m. for the bike tour to pick them up and haul them to our next destination

today was rough. the rain woke me up this morning around 6 am, and the rain didn't stop. we eat breakfast and decided it was time to head out on the bikes because the rain had slowed down. here is a picture of how the morning started..padded compression shorts.

we headed on our way and it wasn't even 20 minutes into the ride and it started raining. we took cover under a bridge. everyone got rain ready. kristen and i wanted to keep the hair dry because i had already showered and thats just how kristen is. my rain coat works great, kristen's on the other hand he jacket doesn't do much. even with the hood on she still gets wet hair.

we rode on and sure enough, another rain stop, then another. it was the day of rain. we thought bratislava was only 18 k but that turned into 25 k when we missed the turn. eventually we gave up and just turned on the GPS on our phones to get us to the hotel.

once we go to the hotel we had a half hour to get ready before michaela meet us at the hotel. michaela was a foreign exchange student when doreen lived with us. she just lived down the street so she practically lived with us because she was always over. her and her brother took us on a tour around the city. we saw many churches and a castle.

and we ran into another festival, what are the odds. every time we see a festival dad say "wow this is something, make sure you take some pictures. you don't run into festivals just any day." well dad we've ran into one every day in europe so they aren't to special. the only thing we look forward to at a festival is american mini doughnuts and they didn't have them today. so we had to get the doughnut holes from mcdonalds instead.

as michaela showed us around her city there were two things i really liked. first, she showed us her high school. it was more of a private school and she had to take a test in order to get in. the high school specializes in math. second, the blue catholic church. this church is seriously baby blue and so cute. they were just finishing a service when we showed up.

after exploring bratislava we met up with michaela's boyfriend for dinner along the danube. it was fun to sit around and talk to michaela again. she hasn't changed much thats for sure. then in hopes of finding ice cream we started walking back to the hotel. no such luck. all the ice cream places were closed, but i'm sure we will find some tomorrow. but the sunflower seeds on the biker were clutch. 

we will be back on the road tomorrow.

day 9

today was a great day! we left the big city of vienna and headed back to the smaller cities which we all seem to like better. today was the first day of the bike tour. we had to have our bags downstairs by 9 am, then we had to go pick up our bikes. everything went smoothly, we each had a name tag on our bike. each bike include a saddle that held your belongings but no drink holders. my bike was to big for me but abby just switched me bikes so it worked out. 

after kristen did a little stretching and we all went to the water closet we headed out on the bikes. we rode along the danube for the first little bit. it wasn't a half hour into it and we were already stopping to get a coke and snack. her is a picture of dad and his fancy fanny pack and a coke light.

riding along the danube was great. there was a rowing race going on with a small crown watching that. but that wasn't close to the best thing we saw. kristen was leading the pack when next thing you know a naked guy is riding his roller blades. abby and i ducked and didn't see a thing while everyone else looked in  shock. it was hilarious. by the end of the day we saw four naked guys.

after riding for a while a nice man told us that the path was going to end soon and we should turn around. sure enough we rode 5 k out of the way. so we found ourselves turning around and going back the same way we came. our first stop was suppose to be a castle but the castle was turned into something else and we weren't interested in it. we saw a church next door so we thought we would stop by and look inside. three women were sitting outside and they informed that their would be a wedding today. next thing you know dad was dancing with them...not okay. they church was really pretty inside.

then we found a cute little place for lunch and once again we had schnitzel. we were sitting under grape vines when all of a sudden it started to down our. perfect timing. so we went inside and ate lunch while we waited out the rain and dad took a nap. 

I was thinking we were getting close to our destination but i was wring. we still had more that 20 k left to go. it got really long and really boring there for a second because we kept driving through the same sights. but no matter how boring it can get, it is so cool to be biking through europe.

now we were on our home stretch into hainburg. we had to cross a bridge over the danube to get to the city. the pas was very small with a railing on both sides. this path was not good for the freelands. i'm not sure exactly what happened cause i didn't see but dad fell off his bike and kristen can't even tell the story without dying laughing. shortly after that i was trying to take a picture and i lost balance. i know i was going to fall so i just bailed out but i will defiantly have some bruises.

hainburg is a cute little city. we got there check in and then headed out for dinner. we ran into another festival, this was a greek festival. we ask a worker if we could eat there too and he said yes so we ate dinner in the sixty center with all the locals. we stuck out like a sore thumb, we could just tell, they kept looking at us funny.

after that we decided to explore the town. hainburg is blocked off with a big wall and you can only get into the city but going throw the select gates. it was so cool.

sure enough we find ourselves hiking three miles uphill to see the castle on top. on our way up we ra into a very old old cemetery. the cemeteries here are so much cooler than our at home. then we made our way up to the castle and it was worth it. it was so pretty up there i was amazed and the castle was so cool as well. hainburg has been on of my gavotte stops along the way.

we get back on the bikes tomorrow morning around 9:30 am. stay tuned.