The day was already heating up as we prepared to leave a little before 9am, and we were soon in open countryside, passing oil pumps interspersed amongst the wind turbines.  We made a brief stop in the town of Oberweiden which had some interesting sculptures made from twigs.  continued...

I had booked us into the earliest possible city and castle walking tour, as it was forecast to reach 36 degrees by mid afternoon. Whilst waiting, I explored the square with its fountain and old town hall. Once the group gathered, it turned out we had a choice of two tours starting at the same time. After a quick discussion, we shifted to the 20th Century Tour which covered the stories of the Slovak people over the past 100 years, led by Jakub, who had created the tour and was passionate about the recent history of his country. continued...

We had left our bikes locked in the courtyard thinking they were secure. Unfortunately, someone rifled through our top bags and repair kits and helped themselves to things of interest.  They took the repair kit off G’s hire bike, and the first aid kit from Si’s bike, as well as some tools in his top tube bag.  Nothing was removed from my bike – the toilet paper stored in the top tube bag apparently not of interest. continued...

With a shorter ride planned, we took some time to explore Gyor and picked up a map from the tourist information centre.  We started our tour at Gyor’s main square with the Esterhazy Palace, now an art and historical museum, Iron Stock House and the Church of St Ignatius. The Column of the Virgin Mary in the centre of the square was erected in 1686 to commemorate the recapture of Buda from the Turks. continued...