Friday, May 6, 2022

Wine and Food of the Giro 2022 Stage 1: Budapest to Visegrád

Where are we? Hungary! Heading from Budapest to Visegrád. 

Budapest: Hungary’s capital, bisected by the Danube, which we would get lovely glimpses of during the stage. There are so many things to say about the city, so I'll opt for some trivia from the local tourist site.
Number of bridges: 11 (9 for road traffic: Árpád híd – Margit híd – Széchenyi lánchíd – Erzsébet híd – Szabadság híd – Petőfi híd – Lágymányosi híd – Deák Ferenc híd - the two latter connecting the M0 ring around the city and 2 railway bridges) 

There are 3 islands on the Danube within Budapest. The Csepel Island, whose northern tip protrudes into the capital, the historical Margaret Island, and the Óbudai Island in the North. The Szentendre Island, which is to the North from the capital, reaches all the way up to the Danube Bend.
Budapest's total territory is 525 km². It is surrounded by the administrative county of Pest, 81 settlements of which belong to Budapest's agglomeration. The city is 25 kilometres long in the north-south direction and 29 kilometres wide in the east-west direction. Its deepest point is the level of the Danube, which at normal levels is about 90 metres above sea level, and its highest point is 529 metres (Janos-Hill).

The food:Well, it is day one, so I will be remiss to not mention that Goulash is Hungary's national dish. Sarah Copeland has a great piece here.  

Visegrád is a small town in Pest County, north of Budapest on the right bank of the Danube. It is famous for the remains of the Early Renaissance summer palace of King Matthias Corvinus of Hungary and the medieval citadel.
The Giro site tells me that: between May and October, scheduled cruise boats travel to the site from Budapest Vigadó Square, also visiting other important historical towns besides the wonderful Visegrád. . .  While in Visegrád, in addition to the old royal palace in the Lower Castle, the Salomon Tower and the nearby King Mathias Historical Playground, you should also visit the Court of Trades. Adrenaline-hunters should definitely go up the winding road to the 700-metre summer and alpine bobsled track next to the Zsitvay viewpoint on the tip of the Nagyvillám mountain. Speed lovers can even enjoy the sight of the Citadel when racing down the bobsled track and if you’re after more adventure, try the nearby adventure park, canopy or go-kart tracks.

The food: Visit Hungary has a great piece on Chicken Paprikash. They say "We dare say that this is the most commonly prepared dish in Hungarian households. It features all the typical ingredients of Hungarian cuisine: paprika powder, onions, garlic, green peppers, tomatoes, pepper, sour cream and meat. All this, accompanied by the uncrowned king of absorbing gravy: nokedli."

The stage: Here we go! Each year I say maybe it is time for a new hobby, yet here I am again. And in Hungary for a few days. Off we go with 176 riders on a fairly flat road stage, 195 kilometers with an uphill finish. Our initial break of the race consisted of Mattia Bias and Filippo Tagliani, who we may see again in future breaks. The pack seemed happy to let them dangle for many kilometers. They gave them a lot of road to start out with, but brought in down to just a few minutes and kept it there. One could say that it was a dull stage, but the scenery and the enthusiasm of the crowd more than made up for it. Plus, the ending looked to hold some excitement.
Fifty kilometers to go and the gap was around 1:27 and it was starting to come down quickly. 
I laughed. Twenty kilometers to go and the gap was down to just above twenty seconds. Not that much further down the road and they were all together. Hanging at the back of the bunch, Cavenidsh, having clearly decided the upcoming grade was too much for him to contest the sprint. As they closed in, a few small crashes before an attack by Kamna. One kilometer to go and they were closing on him.  Making it up the hill, Ewan! Ugly crash for him with the favorite for the stage coming through for the win: Mathieu Van der Poel.






The wine: 2020 Sziegl "Babel" Hajos-Baja
From the importer: Notes & Pairings: 2 grape varieties, 5 different vintage dates and different processing technologies. Between a light red and a rosé, this is a style of wines that the Hungarian called Shiller. The 5 different must fermented spontaneously together in a tank. After fermentation, the wine was on fine lees for 6 months. Bottled unfiltered with some sulfites added before bottling. The wine is dry, tart, spicy, grippy, and super refreshing.

The food: Goulash! See the recipe link above. 

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