Anyone Done Hungary, Austria and Slovakia?

[Sussexboy]

Six or seven years ago , a friend and I cycled from Budapest airport ( Ferihegy ) to the Austrian border and back . Yes , I know your enquiry specifically relates to the avoidance of planes , but my thoughts might help . We travelled south-westwards , along the north shore of Lake Balaton ( very attractive ) , then riding north along the border with Austria ( via Kormend , Szombathely and Koszeg ) to Sopron ( NW corner of Hungary ) , then back along the southern bank of the Danube ( via Gyor and Esztergom ) to Budapest . As a German-speaker , I found enough fellow German-speakers in this western part of Hungary to get by . However , I have been told that , east of Budapest , people only speak Hungarian . Be wary of the maps - not only is there a lack of many smaller roads , but we also found that , in many instances , what appeared to be country lanes on our map ( Hallwag 1:500,000 for the entire country and Cartographia 1:200,000 " county " ( " megye " ) maps - try The Map Shop , Upton Upon Severn , Worcestershire ) turned out to be unmade , gravel tracks . The roads in Budapest , at least then , were dreadful : not only were there many tram lines , but there were many potholes and , where setts were used , there might be several missing , leaving a deep pit which , in rain , would be a deadly trap . Another thought , regarding the topography - my impression is that Hungary is either very flat for long stretches , or there are some serious , big hills . Finally , whatever one's thoughts on politics , there seem to be border checks now between Hungary and its western neighbours as a result of people moving in to the EU - will there be long delays at the border when you go ?

[davegtt]

Hopefully shouldnt be too bad at the border controls now, theyve said they are easing the controls at the borders with Austria, Croatia and Slovakia so they can up the controls over at the Serbia side which is the main issue for Hungary. Although I cannot say how strong the Austria checks are at that border.