The local inventor of the soda bottle

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. 

Next stop was the magnificent Carmelite Church before crossing the bridge to Rado Island which offered views of the castle walls which line the Raba River. We couldn’t visit the Basilica as there was a church service in progress so continued on to Gutenberg Square, where the Ark of the Covenant Statue glistened in the sunlight. 

Of particular interest was the Jedlik Fountain which honours the inventor of the soda bottle, who was a former teacher at the local Benedictine school. After deciding we did not need a sixth Opinel knife we picked up some cherries and apricots at the produce market before going in search of lunch provisions and bike tools. 

Fortunately a bike shop was able to provide the requisite scanner and Allan keys. Though it was nearly midday, we decided to get a few kms under our belts before finding a sheltered picnic spot for lunch near the Danube.

It was another flat, rather dull afternoon of cycling before we rejoined the Danube and crossed the bridge back into Slovakia.  We checked into our accommodation in Komárno and had a cup of tea with the pastries we had purchased for our morning tea, before heading out to explore the town.  It had a long history linked to its fortification system which we hoped to catch a glimpse of on our way out of town tomorrow.

Built at the end of the 20th century, Europe place was a more recent addition, with the square representing the architectural styles of 45 different European nations.   We passed the city hall in Klapka Square and St Andrew’s church before detouring to the supermarket to pick up some dinner provisions

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