Road construction costs large amounts of money in Hungary. Millions of forints are spent on a short bicycle lane, and the price differences are significant.
As Daily News Hungary wrote before, the M6 motorway is being built for HUF 4.5 billion (EUR 12.5 million).
Of course, roadworks can have varied prices based on economy, the materials used, and the change in the other prices of products and utensils necessary for construction. Bicycle lanes are even less expensive than roads, but in Hungary, they can also be very pricey, and differences between the costs are noticeable.
A bicycle lane in Szentendre (Pest County) cost 250 million forints (EUR 706,399) per kilometre. Between Dunakeszi and Budapest (also Pest County), the price was even higher; the 5.8-kilometre-long bicycle lane was constructed at the cost of 1,114 billion forints, which means that just one kilometre cost 200 million forints (EUR 565,119), writes Magyar Narancs.
The most expensive investment was the bicycle lane between Paks and Dunakömlőd (Tolna County), where one kilometre cost more than 260 million forints (EUR 734,655), and the total cost rose up to 663 million forints (EUR 1,873,371) for 2.5 km only. The renovation of a 6.4-kilometre-long bicycle lane between Fertőd and the border (Győr-Moson-Sopron County) cost as low as 45 million forints (EUR 9,157,823) per kilometre. The investment was 293 million forints (EUR 827,900) in total.
Construction of a new cycle path connecting Hungary’s major tourist hotspots, Budapest and Lake Balaton, is under way, the Ministry of Innovation and Technology (ITM) said on Friday.
Almost every section of path from the capital to Balatonakarattya, on the northern tip of the lake, is being carried out this year, the ministry said in a post on social media, adding that the path, with the exception of the Biatorbágy and Székesfehérvár crossings, is expected to be completed by next summer.
The ministry is providing 13.5 billion forints (EUR 38m) in support to build the 108km path,
which will pass through the Etyek wine region as well as the area around Lake Velence and the city of Székesfehérvár.
We reported before that a 1.1 km long bike road was built for 556,000 EUR in Szendehely (Nógrád county). According to Magyar Narancs, it is not strange that road-building is very expensive in Hungary. For example, one km of the M6 motorway is being built for 4.5 billion HUF (EUR 12.5 million). Of course, bike roads are not that expensive since their technical content is more modest.
However, between Ságvár and Som (Somogy county, near Lake Balaton), 5.6 km cost 627 million, which means that one km was 111 million HUF (EUR 308,000). But almost the double of this price seems to be very much – Magyar Narancs says. The paper sent its questions to the local government of Szendehely, which ordered the construction, why they needed the bike road between two small villages for this high amount of money. However, they did not receive an answer.
If you are a fan of more active holidays and you’re not afraid of going on a tour on two wheels, the following compilation is for you. We have gathered some of the most beautiful cycling tours near water in Hungary.
Most of these routes could be taken in one day (except maybe Lake Balaton unless you’re really determined), but we recommend spending a few days on these trips, as there is plenty to see and visit along the way.
A superb location to circle around a lake is Lake Velence. This route is less than 40 kilometres. There are plenty of minor detours from the main road to check out some lookouts with a breath-taking panorama. For example, you should definitely visit the Savajc Cross and Lookout Tower and the Bence Hill Lookout Tower.
Once you’re at Lake Velence, you can rest a bit at the “Northern Beach” or, as they call it, the Vízi Vár (Water Castle). The 500-meter beach offers sports fields, restaurants, and water entertainment. If you’re up to a really sportif holiday, you could also try the canoe trips of Expedíció Velencei-tó in Gárdony.
Danube Bend
Photo: Pixabay.com
The beautiful route starts from the capital, and it is one of the favourite destinations for bicyclists from Budapest. Almost the entire Danube Bend can be toured on a bicycle path. The biggest challenge is probably getting out of Budapest, but the route is relatively easy afterwards. The distance is about 65 kilometres, depending on where exactly you start from in the capital.
There are plenty of places to stop on the way, like the city of Szentendre, Vác, or Zebegény and its surroundings. The bike path runs almost all the way next to the Danube and often crosses the Danube-Ipoly National Park.
Lake Tisza
Photo: Pixabay.com
Lake Tisza is one of Hungary’s favourite cycling destinations. Most of the small circle of about 70 kilometres is a comfortable bike path, and the tour could be completed in roughly three and a half hours. However, with admiring the beautiful area and the views of the lake, it might take much longer.
One of the most interesting places to visit here is the Lake Tisza Ecocenter, with the biggest freshwater aquarium in Europe. You can also hop on a small boat at the Ecocenter’s pier and explore the lake yourself. If you seek some more excitement, you could also visit the Aquaglide water playground in Sarud.
Lake Fertő
Photo: Facebook Fertő Part – Az élmények otthona
The Fertő region has unparalleled wildlife, and if you’d like to explore this incredible natural environment thoroughly, the bike is a perfect choice: the area is too big on foot, and its most beautiful parts are inaccessible by car. The whole lake can be circled on a super comfortable 115 km bike path.
The Esterházy Palace in Fertőd, also called the Hungarian Versailles, is a must-see in this area, but Sopron, a unique wine-producing city, packed with monuments should also be on the list.
The Balaton Circle
Photo: Facebook Balaton Bike Tour
The 210-kilometre circle around Lake Balaton is something everybody should do once. The tour takes around 3-4 days at a comfortable speed, and it is an excellent opportunity to discover the villages and landscapes around Balaton, while also enjoy the beaches in the summer. Most of the circle is on signposted bike paths and low-traffic roads, and the level difference is barely 100 meters, so it is safe with children as well.
About 15,000 cyclists participated in the I bike Budapest bicycle parade on Saturday, the Hungarian Cyclists Club said, based on its own estimate and one by police.
I bike Budapest, which has been postponed for a year and a half because of the pandemic, aims to
send a message to decision-makers that development projects for cyclists are worthwhile because of the scale of the demand for cycling
and the long-term benefits to city living, the organisers said.
I Bike Budapest march on June 26th
Photo: MTI/Balázs Mohai
I Bike Budapest march on June 26th
Photo: MTI/Balázs Mohai
I Bike Budapest march on June 26th
Photo: MTI/Balázs Mohai
I Bike Budapest march on June 26th
Photo: MTI/Balázs Mohai
I Bike Budapest march on June 26th
Photo: MTI/Balázs Mohai
I Bike Budapest march on June 26th
Photo: MTI/Balázs Mohai
I Bike Budapest march on June 26th
Photo: MTI/Balázs Mohai
The route took cyclists on embankment roads on both sides of the Danube before entering a final stretch on the capital’s grand Andrássy Boulevard and ended in the City Park.
The event was opened by Dutch ambassador to Hungary Rene van Hell, a long-time supporter of the cycling movement in Hungary.
A representative survey conducted by the Hungarian Cyclists Club shows most Hungarians would cycle during the week, too, if there were more bike lanes and bike paths.
A call for bids for the design and implementation of four sections in Budapest of the EuroVelo cycling routes have been posted on the EU’s public procurement site, the Budapest transport centre BKK said on Wednesday.
The tender covers a 2.42km section in the north of the capital to complement paths at the the Northern railway bridge. The two-way, 3.5m section will be part of the EuroVelo 6 route
running from the Atlantic coast to the Black Sea.
Once completed, the path will allow cycling on a designated path between the city centre of Budapest and the Danube Bend, BKK said. The other section, also in the north, covers a 13.3km stretch as an addition to a path already connecting Bekasmegyer with tourist hotspot Szentendre.
The new stretch will create a link between Chain Bridge and Békásmegyer. The other two sections covered in the tender are in the south of Budapest. One is a 10.4km stretch linking Mezőkövesd street with Campona street in Nagytétény, while the other is a 7.6 km section along Honfoglalás road and the Hosszúréti-patak stream together with a cycling bridge. These sections are to form part of the EuroVelo 14 route
connecting Budapest with holiday hotspot Lake Balaton.
BKK noted that the Budapest Mobility Plan 2030 gives priority to cyclists and pedestrians. The road network will be made bicycle-friendly by the summer of 2023 with funding of 8.39 billion forints (EUR 25.7m) from the EU’s Competitive Operational Programme (VEKOP), BKK said in a statement.
The well-known MOL Bubi logo got a facelift after seven years, and the whole design of the public bike-sharing system will be renewed. The new logo symbolises achievements attained to date and future successes at the same time. In addition to the logo, the complete service will be upgraded to offer a more modern and sustainable MOL Bubi to users in Budapest.
MOL Bubi, launched in 2014, became a success story in Budapest: more than a 100 thousand registered users covered some seven million kilometres with the public bikes, thus significantly popularising cycling, and they have contributed to making the city greener and more liveable by saving 531 thousand kilograms of emitted CO2.
In the past seven years, a valuable brand has been created on the shared mobility market, so it came as no surprise that Forbes listed MOL Bubi among the trendiest Hungarian brands in 2015.
The bike-sharing system fostering urban cycling will be rejuvenated this spring.
Photo: MOL BUBI
The signage of the apple-green bikes has become widely recognised and acknowledged, that is why easy identification was a key priority when redesigning the logo: accordingly, the symbol of the public bike-sharing service has been adjusted to current design trends, while keeping the original characteristic features.
The renewed logo represents continuity with the earlier version of the service, while at the same time depicting rejuvenation and being a better fit into the corporate design scheme of the title sponsor.
Budapest, Hungary. Budapest public bike-sharing system will be renewed. Photo: MTI
Of course, it is not only the MOL Bubi design that will be changed, but users will also be able to enjoy several new developments:
a fleet of 1,200 brand-new bikes that are 3.1 kg lighter than the earlier ones
bikes will have inflatable, puncture-proof tyres, which will ensure much easier and faster riding as opposed to the previously used solid rubber tires
bikes will be equipped with a smart lock as well as a practical mobile phone holder
a new, user-friendly website and mobile app will be available, which will make the process of hiring bikes easy and fast
a new, affordable fare structure will be introduced, and no deposit will be charged in the future
All in all, users will have a more modern and easy-to-use Bubi at their disposal, which supports the vision of a sustainable and liveable Budapest, and at the same time, it is more cost-effective for the city owing to the new operating structure.
The glowing section of the bike path near Esztergom will contain special particles that absorb sunlight during the day.
The two-kilometre-long glowing bike path near Esztergom in northern Hungary will be the first of its kind in the Hungarian section of the Eurovelo6 international cycling route, said László Mosóczi, Secretary of State for Transport Ministry of Innovation and Technology, at the press conference on 21st October.
The paving will contain a fluorescent material (silicate particles embedded in resin) that absorbs sunlight during the day and radiates it all night long. Experiments will be carried out with mixtures that contain different concentrations of the material to find the solution with the best properties (such as brightness).
The Secretary of State added that the glowing bicycle path will “contribute to the safety of nighttime cycling” and that the investment only adds a 4–5 per cent increase to the total cost of the bike path’s construction.
Photo: MTI/Magyar Közút Nonprofit Zrt.
Even though the illuminated bike path is quite a new solution in Hungary, this is not the first example of such an investment here: the first path of this kind was created in Eger; what is more, it was the brainchild of a local entrepreneur.
After the idea came to him, Tibor Farkas started experimenting with mixtures that had different concentrations of the fluorescent material, and he tested them under very diverse weather conditions. He patented his idea in 2011 and will be enjoying the utility model until 2021.
According to Index, the one-kilometre-long glowing bike path connects the settlement of Felnémet with the city centre of Eger, and it was built entirely financed by Tibor’s company.
It is an ancient desire of the Hungarian biking community to connect the Hungarian and the Austrian capital with a bike path because many would like to discover the beauties between these two amazing cities of Central-Europe. Of course, the demand from tourists for such a route was also palpable in the last few years, and it seems now that Hungary can make a further step in the project.
According to index.hu, the Eurovelo 6 bike path is going to be built on the right-hand side of the Danube. The National Infrastructure Developing Private Company Limited (NIF) would like to create a new, 14 kilometres long section now of the bike road. The segment is between Komárom and Gönyű and
the plans include two bridges for the bikers, as well, in Ács and Nagyszentjános.
The National Infrastructure Developing Private Company is now searching for a contractor, which will build the bike path and the bridges – magyarepitok.hu reported. Before, the company announced a tender for building a 7.5 kilometres long segment between Dunaalmás and Neszmély. Still, the website did not say anything about whether that was successful, and they found the construction partner.
The new segment between Komárom and Gönyű will use already existing dirt roads and will build new ones near the Danube.
The duration of the project will be 14 months after the NIF finds the contractor.
One of the bridges will be in Ács and will connect the two banks of the Concó stream. The 12 metres long pon will be of reinforced concrete. The other one will cross the Cuhai-Bakony river with a similar bridge.
According to the poll data released by Budapest’s mayor, most of the residents support the idea of car-free quay.
Since the curfew restrictions introduced this spring, Budapest’s quay has been closed to motorists on weekends; and at the same time, it was opened to pedestrians and cyclists.
„Back in the spring, we decided to open the quay to pedestrians and cyclists during curfew restrictions, and the initiative was very popular, so it remained open even after the restrictions were lifted” – posted Gergely Karácsony on his Facebook page.
The mayor reported that the Median conducted a poll showing that the majority of people support the idea of car-free quay.
Accordingly, 73% agreed and 24% opposed the statement that car traffic should be discontinued periodically on weekends; but even the complete cessation of traffic received a majority – 59% supported and 37% opposed the idea.
As the Hungarian news portal hvg reports, Gergely Karácsony also added that based on the results mentioned above and the opinion of residents, Budapest’s Municipality would examine the possibility of improving the plans in smaller but key places in order to make the quay even better for pedestrians, cyclists and those who would like to relax in the area.
He also added that the aim is to accelerate the RAK-PARK project (whose licensing plan was completed in 2018) and to coordinate related projects in cooperation with the Government.
In his post, the mayor also shared visual plans for the quay:
The coronavirus epidemic changed many things, including traffic, as the urgent need and desire to travel by bicycle increased in almost every corner of the world. In the previous months, this need caused a lack of bikes at stores, but salespersons added that it was the quality of the bicycles that lacked and not their number.
G7reported that no matter the type of the bicycle, whether it was made for cycling in the city or the mountains, every store in Budapest was able to sell the last piece of them. As the epidemic started in Hungary and the weather became warmer, people started to search for alternative ways of travelling. Being scared of the infection, many chose to ride a bicycle. Companies were in their prime during the spring season as every single vehicle from the cheapest to the most expensive was sold in many stores of Budapest and other parts of the country.
The number of bicycles sold increased by 35% in the spring months. According to the director of the Hungarian Bicycle Association, every single prototype that was manufactured found its owner.
Some stores experienced hardships, though, especially those that sell imported vehicles. When the epidemic’s first wave started, many French, Chinese, and Italian companies closed for weeks or months to keep their workers safe, and trade between the countries stopped. China, for example, was not able to export bicycles to Europe between December 2019 and April 2020. Hungary, on the other hand, is considered to be one of the many countries with the strongest market for bicycles. In 2016, 402,000 bicycles were made in the country, which is 3% of all the bicycles of the European Union.
The bicycle market does not expect an increase in the number of sales as many vehicles were sold during the spring months, and the autumn and winter seasons do not increase the enthusiasm to ride a bike.
According to statistics, 250,000 to 300,000 bicycles can be sold each year in Hungary. Companies expect that those people who bought cheaper prototypes would like to put more effort and energy into this healthy and relaxing sport and soon will come to stores again to buy more advanced and expensive bicycles.
Budapest’s Ring Road linking Petofi Bridge and Margaret Bridge, a main thoroughfare in the city centre, will be revamped to provide a permanent bike lane and two lanes for cars on the most frequented stretch, Budapest Mayor Gergely Karacsony told a press conference on Monday.
In a compromise “designed to give everyone something”, the southern half of the Ring Road will have two lanes for cars and bike lanes on either side, but no parking area on the edge of the road, Karacsony said. From Blaha Lujza Square to northern Margaret Bridge, cars will have one lane in each direction, alongside bike lanes and parking areas, he added.
The municipality set up a
temporary bike lane on Ring Road between Vaci and Ulloi Streets in April,
during the first wave of the coronavirus lockdown. Car traffic was restricted to one lane in that area.
Karacsony said the municipality had conducted widespread consultation on cycle lanes in Budapest, adding that the number of cyclists in the city was larger than ever. The Budapest Mobility Plan, accepted during the mayoralty of Karacsony’s predecessor, Istvan Tarlos, had aimed to raise cycle traffic within the city to ten percent, he said. “We have taken big steps in that direction in recent months,” he said.
Earlier on Monday, Balazs Furjes, the state secretary for the development of Budapest and the suburbs, called on Twitter for similar measures, adding that deliveries for shops and parking for the disabled should be maintained.
Samu Balogh, Karacsony’s cabinet office chief, said the changes will be implemented in the first half of September. The municipality
will start planning extensive developments along the Ring Road
this autumn in terms of its role regarding the city’s trade, culture and image, he said.
Krisztián Lovassy, Olympian, was amongst those who were badly injured in a mass fall while competing in a race between Tótvázsony and Balatonszőlős. The olympian has never seen so much blood at a race.
Around 200 people competed in the race, which is a quite a lot for a mainly amateur race, 50 of the racers fell in an S-curve, going almost 70 km/h, and 19 people, 17 men and 2 women, were injured in the mass fall, reported 444.
Lovassy was held in hospital for two days after the accident, as he needed to be observed due to a head injury. He stated on Monday, that he had never been in such a racing accident before, not in Hungary and not abroad.
Lovassy and his team were only able to join the line up around 150-200th places, so they were among the last people to arrive. “I did not hear any good about the track, its layout, designation, and it was pointed out that the slope was almost life-threatening, as it had been re-paved and it is easy to go 80-90 km/h.”
The professional cyclist and his team tried to get as far ahead as possible, as they knew the slope would surely result ina mass fall. They managed to get to around 20-30th place, but Lovassy was behind in his team, and did not manage to escape the fall, despite trying to go down the slope as carefully as possible.
Lovassy also noted that he did not believe many of the amateur racers had gone with such speed before. “Many probably thought that this is a race, they need to give it everything. Even on a slope, where due to the partial close-offs, the arcs of the curves could be cut off, and an even faster speed can be let on. But when someone is not prepared, and has never gone so fast, they will not be able to take the turn.”
Lovassy heard a snap, before seeing people sliding in the S-curve, along with broken off parts of the bicycles. He also added that on one side of the road, there was two meter deep rocky ditch and on the other there were iron bars every 1.5-2 meters with wire mesh stretched onto them.
“I got out of it with almost no scratches, but two of my fingers broke, my wrist bruised, I hit my hip, I pulled my neck, my thigh suffered a bigger hit as well and I got a concussion,” Lovassy detailed his injuries. He still counts himself lucky, as many were taken away by ambulances and choppers.
“I have never seen so many people bleeding at a bicycle race.”
He also added that the mass fall could have been avoided, if the race was the other way around, or if cars led the cyclists to the bottom of the slope and start the race – which was going to consist of five rounds – from there.
“The amateurs would have fallen in the next round, because simply they are not familiar with their abilities, as most of them have surely not gone with such speed, not even at practice.” But Lovassy believes the professionals could have gone ahead this way.
In Europe, air pollution decreased by 40 pc during the coronavirus epidemic. The same happened in Budapest, as well. Furthermore, never have more people used their bikes in the amazing Hungarian capital than now. In contrast, the air is worse than it was before the virus, which is unique in Europe. Greenpeace says that, among others, the reason behind that is free parking which the government allowed during the peak of the epidemic.
The government made parking in the Hungarian capital free on April 6. They said then that they would like people to use their cars instead of buses or trams to avoid unnecessary personal contacts – hvg.hu reported. However, even though the first (and hopefully the last) phase of the virus has been over for weeks, drivers can still park for free in the city. The deadline for that is July 1 and, as a result,
recently, it has been almost impossible to find parking places in the downtown districts.
Many people circulate for even half an hour or more which, of course, has its effects on the air of the city. Greenpeace says that authorities should reduce the number of cars and they support the idea to preserve the temporary bicycle lanes created during the last few months.
The competent deputy mayor of Budapest in the issue, Dávid Dorosz, said that they will decide about the new lanes in September. He added that, like before, the Danube embankment of Pest will remain a carfree zone at the weekends because they would like to show everybody that
the embankment of the river is not a motorway anymore
but a link between locals and the Danube.
Because of the coronavirus epidemic, many cities in Europe introduced measures that resulted in cleaner air. After the reopening, of course, the air quality worsened in almost every city. Still, it is unique in Europe that Budapest produced worse numbers in this respect than it had before the epidemic.
Interestingly, hvg.hu says that the number of bikers broke all previous records in the Hungarian capital. Experts noticed the trend in May, and the number of cyclists keeps rising steadily. They say that there is a good chance that those who started to bike during the quarantine
will keep that new habit in the future.
In case of the quality of the air, it is important to mention that from 2022 on, Hungarian cities having more than 25 thousand inhabitants can only put electric buses into service.
Whether you are an investor or just a resident of Hungary, it always pays off to know what is going on. Not only could knowing this information impact certain investments and business opportunities, but it could save your life. This is especially true when you are travelling in or around areas that you are unfamiliar with. While Hungary, in general, might be fairly safe, every country or region has its shady areas, and Hungary is no different. That aside, there is always so much going on in Hungary that it can be hard to keep up with it all. Luckily, there are sites like this available to bring you the most compelling and eventful stories.
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Human Trafficking: Growing To Be More Of A Problem
Human trafficking became a real problem and concern for the Hungarian people back in 2001. This was when the area established the first of what is now known as the TIP report (Trafficking in Persons Report). This is an annual report issued by the US State Department’s Office to help monitor and combat human trafficking. This report can be considered one of the world’s most comprehensive resources of global anti-trafficking efforts. Each country is ranked in tiers based on the extent and effectiveness of government efforts to eliminate human trafficking.
There are currently four tier rankings available, with the fourth tier being the most severe.
Tier two and three rankings would mean that the country’s government isn’t meeting the minimum standards in all respects, but is making efforts to do so compared to the previous reports. Unfortunately, it looks like Hungary has been upgraded from tier two to tier three. Last year, there were 81 different cases of human trafficking that were registered by the Hungarian government. This was considered a significant increase at the time, given that there were only 30 victims reports in 2018. The US State Department has said that Hungary is making efforts to combat this growing concern, but there are plenty of inadequacies that can be identified in certain areas. Most of these areas would include areas with high numbers of asylum-seekers and areas where there are lots of children in state-run institutions.
COVID-19 Makes Poor Regions Even Poorer
There is simply no denying that there are a lot of hard-working poor people in Hungary. People that slave away every day and still can’t make ends meet. Unfortunately, most of these people are now without a job, thanks to the COVID-19 virus. It has been reported that even in the poorest of regions of Hungary, the most hard-working employees have lost their jobs because of the pandemic. Unemployment rates are causing severe problems amongst members of the local communities. In Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County alone, seventy towns and villages have already asked for financial backing, as they’ve never felt such pressure as they are feeling now.
Currently, the average salary in Hungary is right around 1,046 EUR, but nearly half or more of the population earn below 680 EUR each month.
In the poorest of regions, they even earn less. Regardless of the monthly income, these individuals truly live in unfortunate and tragic conditions. This is mostly in the northern regions where children, young people, one-parent families, and most Romani people have a hard time getting by.
Unfortunately, the unemployment rates are at the highest that they’ve ever been and it just doesn’t look like there are going to be any more opening for opportunities soon.
Perhaps, some individuals could consider taking advantage of online gambling sites like Joker123 to increase their income. At the very least, it would undoubtedly take their mind off the horror that is currently surrounding them.
Budapest To Host Giro d’Italia ‘Grand Start’ Next May?
On a more positive note, it looks like Budapest has been selected and offered the chance to host the coveted Giro d’Italia bicycle race next May. The event was called off for the year 2020 due to the pandemic, but it looks like it is set to resume in May of next year. And, it might just resume in Budapest, should they choose to accept the hosting responsibility. The plans to host the competition in October have been dropped due to the second potential wave of the epidemic. This and the country’s financial abilities will have to be considered before passing a final decision.
We reported before about Viktor Zichó who decided to do the journey of Sándor Kőrösi Csoma, a Hungarian philologist and Orientalist, author of the first Tibetan–English dictionary and grammar book who lived in the 19th century and died in Darjeeling, India. However, the coronavirus epidemic came, so he was stuck in an Indian hospital for weeks. That is where we left his story last time. Now, we continue because a lot more happened to him in the last few weeks. Details below.
According to Index, Mr Zichó started his journey in Komárom, Hungary, last summer. He made it to India after many crazy and dangerous adventures, for example, in Iran, people treated him like a celebrity, but Pakistani police put him in prison for a month where he played board games with a drug lord. Nobody could stop him except for the coronavirus epidemic and the strict rules Indian authorities implemented. As a result, police forbade him from leaving the hospital in Chapra and held him there for seven weeks.
Instagram
The officers did not tell him why they would not like to let him free. He was allowed to visit the town, but only in a police car, and the officer responsible for that was never available. He visited a local judge, but he could not show him the paragraph that did not allow him to move in the country. He also wrote to the Indian Ministry for Foreign Affairs, but he never received an answer.
Instagram
Therefore, he escaped from the hospital, and police caught him only 130 kilometres away from Chapra.
By then, strict rules were lifted in India, but the different states could accept strict regulations. Thus, Mr Zichó asked for permission from the Ministry of Interior of Bihar state to travel, so finally, he could legally continue his long journey. However, authorities stopped him at the border of another Indian state, West Bengal.
He left his bicycle by a Baptist preacher and disguised himself to do the last 100 kilometres of his journey on foot. Police officers checked him many times but allowed him to continue his journey even though they probably did not believe his false stories about why exactly he was there.
Instagram
He even spent one night in the wilderness, without getting any sleep because it was so cold. When he finally saw the beautiful tomb of the Hungarian philologist and traveller, Sándor Kőrösi Csoma, he was shocked. That is not surprising since Mr Zichó did more than 13 thousand kilometres in 11 months.
Finally, he came back by plane and is now planning to write a book about his exceptional experiences.
Thanks to the last, recently inaugurated 67 kilometres of the bike path around the lake, everybody can pedal around the magnificent Lake Tisza. Furthermore, the investor built four additional bridges for the path, so if you were wondering where to go during your summer holiday, now you probably have your answer.
Photo: MTI
László Palkovics, Minister of Innovation and Technology, inaugurated the last 67 kilometres of the bike path around the lake on June 20. He added that finishing the project was an old promise of the government, which spent 3.1 billion HUF (almost 9 million EUR) on the last 6.5-kilometre-long phase running between Poroszló and Tiszafüred. The path is 2.5 metres wide, and they separated it from Main Road nr 33 so people can cycle there safely, Szeretlek Magyarorszag reported.
Photo: MTI
Mr Palkovics said that, as part of the project, they built four additional bridges on the lake. The development serves touristic goals, but it also
preserves natural beauties since the bike path fits its environment well,
According to tiszataviokocentrum.hu, the bikeway offers great views of the landscape – you can overlook the islands, the floodplain forests, and the beautiful water surfaces while riding a bike. There is only a difference of 1 metre in altitude, so you can take a short trip without training for it. Ferries cross the lake at several points, or you can take combined boat-bicycle trips using a rented boat available at the ports. Moreover, the Bike Centre in Tiszafüred provides cyclists with a variety of services.
Photo: MTI
Lake Tisza (in Hungarian: Tisza-tó) is the largest artificial lake in Hungary. Located at the southeastern edge of Heves County, it was born in 1973 thanks to the Tisza River flood control project. Its filling finished in the 1990s, resulting in a 127 km² surface area of water. There is an eco-centre in Poroszló erected to collect and display the nature and wildlife of the Tisza River Valley and Lake Tisza, and it opened to the public in 2012. Visit the eco-centre’s webpage HERE.
More than 4,000 people registered to use Mol Bubi in April, after the monthly usage fee for the capital’s bike sharing system was reduced to a token 100 forints (EUR 0.3), the Budapest Public Transport Centre (BKK) said on Thursday.
More than 100,000 people are now registered to ride Mol Bubi bikes, BKK said. Around 7,000-8,000 people use the system regularly, it added.
Since the system was launched in the autumn of 2014, Mol Bubi riders have taken more than 3,000,000 trips and travelled some 6,000,000 kilometres.
Magyar Kerékpárosklub created a very unique map of Budapest that shows all the bike routes you can take, and these can lead you to all kinds of hidden natural, architectural, or cultural gems located all over the city.
If you love cycling, you should save this map right now. This is probably the most complex bike route map of Budapest ever, made by Magyar Kerékpárosklub. These routes really are for everyone and can be used by any type of bicycle, Forbesreports.
Magyar Kerékpárosklub (Hungarian Cyclists’ Club) is the most significant civil organisation in the Hungarian cycling society and affiliated organisation of the European Cyclists’ Federation (ECF).
Photo: www.kerekparosklub.hu
The routes are drawn from East-Pest to Normafa and from the Northern M0 Danube bridge to the Southern M0 Danube bridge. On the map, different colours indicate the various difficulty levels and natures of the routes. On this map, you can find bike lanes, dedicated bike routes, and even streets with very light traffic.
Most bike routes on the map overlap or can be connected. In addition, several routes go by buildings included in the Budapest100 program of the Hungarian Contemporary Architecture Centre. Budapest100 is a civil festival celebrating the 100-year-old buildings of Budapest. It is organised by volunteers, local patriots, and townsmen, and it aims to “start a tradition and draw attention to the buildings surrounding us and the human values that are around us every day.”
You can apply all kinds of filters if you are interested in specific routes. There is, for example, a route designed for tourists, a classic Budapest route, and one that goes along the Danube. You can also choose between downtown routes and routes on the outskirts of town.
