Foot note
As my foot still hurt, we headed to Sibiu to the hospital. I got it checked out and it was broken in 2 places. So I needed an operation. I was admitted overnight and had an operation next morning. Hopefully all will be fine, but I think that's the end of this trip! I will fly back in a few days time...
Transfagarasan
Next day, it was time to ride over Transfagarasan, said by Top Gear to be the best road in the world. But as we were moving the bikes out of the accommodation, I missed my footing, and the bike and I fell over. The bike landed on me, and my foot was rather painful. We righted the bike, and after I'd...
Transalpina
Next morning, we continued our journey up the hill, through some villages and onto Transalpina pass. This wound its way up the mountain with some dramatic twists, turns and hairpins. Eventually we reached the top with dramatic views in all directions. We continued on to another summit, with many vis...
Into Romania
Next morning we headed off in the rain, and headed through the mountains and onto the motorway and got to the river/lake that marks the border between Bosnia and Romania. We had some lunch at a riverside restaurant, then headed along the river where there was a castle, Golubac, to see, but unfortuna...
Monastery
Next morning, we checked the bikes over and I found a couple of bolts were missing holding the panniers together, so I called a mechanic to have a look. They were quite busy, so took a while to arrive, but were able to find some new bolts and make it more stable again. Then we headed off. We stopped...
Into Serbia with Vultures
Next morning we headed to the border and in to Serbia. A few miles in was the Uvac National Park which we wanted to explore, so we found a hotel near Nova Varos, and asked about a trip. Communication was difficult, due to minimal English speakers, but we manage to book a boat trip up the river for l...
Jajce to Visegrad
Next morning, we did a tour of the old town. Normally, the old town is the hub of the touristy area, but since it wasn't touristy, the old part of town was quite run down, with lots of collapsed buildings. But at the top was a well preserved castle / fortress, and there were amazing views from there...
Across Bosnia
After breakfast we took a quick trip to see a waterfall, but it had been hidden by a hotel so it was difficult to see without going in. Then we headed on to a more impressive waterfall. As we got close I seemed a bit low on fuel, and there wasn't a gas station for a while, so we headed back and got...
Into Bosnia
Croatia was too hot, so we thought we'd better escape to Bosnia. We headed off, then stopped in a cafe for breakfast. We had nice views of the sea, then the mountains. Eventually we hit the border, which was very hot waiting for our turn. Over the border, we needed to get green card insurance, as de...
Into Croatia
We went down to the lake for photos and to consider a swim, but swimming was only allowed in a special paid area, so we didn't. We then took the road down to Bohinje, another beautiful lake. Here we decided to give stand up paddle boarding a go. It turned out to be straightforward enough and we padd...
Into Slovenia
We left the Weissensee, and headed down the mountain pass to Hermagor, then up and over the mountain pass that took us from Austria to Italy. Then a bit further along the road was another mountain pass. It didn't go anywhere, but was supposed to be worth seeing. We had to the windy road to the top....
Off to Weisensee
Next day, I packed up, which was tricky, as it was the first time I'd fully loaded the bike in a fair while. Then I headed down the motorway into Italy. It was a bit busy, as it was Saturday and August. Eventually, I stopped for lunch, which of course meant pizza. It was one of the best pizzas I'd h...
Grossglockner
Next day we headed up over the Grossglockner pass, which goes through the Grossglockner mountain range, which are Austria's highest mountains. The views were amazing, as were the roads. It was an expensive toll, but lucky we got it free with a pass we received from the hotel we stayed at. The rumour...
Back in the saddle again
Next morning, early, I went to the hospital, where they removed my cast, x-rayed the wrist and said all was good to go and ride again. So I headed to the bike shop to pick up my bike, and after sorting everything out, I headed off. I then tried to catch up with Davie, who was in the mountains. I sta...
Back to Innsbruck via Salzburg
I took a train to Salzburg. I didn't need to rush back to Innsbruck, so I wandered into the town centre and had a look round at the old city, Mozart's birthplace, etc. Then I took the train back to Innsbruck. In Innsbruck I was staying with a friend, and we went out for a quick drink and dinner.
Ljubljana
Next morning I did the walking tour. There were a ridiculous number of people, so it was split into 5 groups, but we still had 35 in our group. Ljubljana seemed like a really nice town, and we learnt about the history. At the end of the tour, my motorbiker friend, Davie arrived, and we grabbed some...
Zagreb and Ljubljana
In the morning I did a walking tour around Zagreb. This gave us some insight into the history of the town and took us to some interesting places. Afterwards, I had a quick lunch at the brewery, before taking a bus to Ljubljana. I went to the accommodation, and once it had cooled down a little, I we...
On to Zagreb
Next day, I took a bus to Zagreb. First thing to do was a little tour of town. In the central square, they'd set up a stage. I assumed for a gig, but then discovered it was to welcome the water polo team, as Croatia had just won the World water polo championships. The old town seemed very nice and h...
Zadar
Next day we'd decided to visit an island. We got to the ferry port, but figured that with the ferry times, we wouldn't get long on the island we wanted, so instead we took a ferry to the nearest island. We strolled along the coast, and when we found a sandy area, stopped to swim/wade and sunbathe. U...
On to Zadar
Next day, it was time to move on, so I took a bus to Zadar. I checked into my accommodation and went to do an initial sortie of the town. I walked along the coast past a number of beaches full of sunbathers. The old town was, like many others, very nice, but busy. It originally had a Roman market s...
Split
Next day I saw the emperor's address in the old palace, where lots of people dressed as Roman soldiers appear, then the emperor appeared and gave a short speech in Latin to welcome everyone to the city. I then climbed up the bell tower for a good view of the city. I then met my friend and we went t...
On to Split
Next day, I took the bus to Split. It was, like the train journey from Mostar, very scenic, which is just as well as it took all day to get to Split. The journey was divided between amazing mountains in Bosnia and amazing coasts in Croatia. In Split, I met a local who was keen to show me around. We...
More Sarajevo exploration
Next morning, there was another tour, this time to visit some non-touristy parts of town and see the scars of war on the buildings. Most, if not all buildings showed some bullet holes and mortar and rocket marks. Some were nearly completely destroyed and many had been destroyed and been replaced ent...
Sarajevo
We headed down to the train station before 6 to catch the train to Sarajevo, as it says supposed to be amazing views on the way. The route was indeed dramatic, as it got very mountainous with big rocky mountains and deep valleys, and the train went through many tunnels. It reminded me of a cross bet...
More Mostar exploration
Whilst we had seen a lot the previous day, some of it was a little rushed, so we wanted to see it again at a more leisurely pace. Firstly, we went back to the area of the Dervish house. Above this was a big fortress, so we climbed up to check out the inside and the impressive views. Then we went dow...
Mostar crazy tour
The best way to see Mostar and around and learn about Bosnia and Herzegovina seemed to be to do a tour. This involved getting a local guy's history lesson before he took us to a number of important sites around town, mostly relating to the war. Later, we went on to see some impressive waterfalls at...
To Mostar
Next day, having concluded that many of the fun activities weren't ideal with my arm - swimming, driving a beach buggy, any number of water sports, I decided I wouldn't stay long. After a bit more exploring the old town, I took the ferry to Split. I had time for a quick wander round Split before cat...
Dubrovnik and Korcula
After a little breakfast and wandering round the city, I took the cable car with a friend to the top of the mountain to admire the view and see some friendly horses and see the fortress that was an important resource to protect Dubrovnik during the Balkans war and had a war museum. From there, we wa...
Dubrovnik
After a little wandering round Dubrovnik, I decided it would be useful to get a Dubrovnik card for the day. This enabled me to visit a number of museums, and then later do the essential tourist activity that is the city walls walk. This involves walking all the way round the city on the wall that gu...
Perast and on to Dubrovnik
The next place to see after Kotor was Perast. I looked at options to get a bus there, then on to Dubrovnik, but this didn't seem to be an option. So I got a bus to Perast anyway. From the bus stop, it was a short, steep walk down to the sea front. From here I took a 10 minute boat ride took to a chu...
Kotor
On arrival in Kotor, I walked into town. It was immediately impressive with steep walls for so the way to the mountain and walls in town and an impressive city gate. I find my accommodation and went for an explore. Later I met my friend for lunch, then we did the fortress climb. This involved walkin...
A final day in Budva
My final day in Budva was fairly uneventful, until I went to the bus station to buy a ticket for the next day. But weirdly it seems you can't buy bus tickets in advance, so I'll just have to buy them on the day. In the evening, I ended round the old town with a friend, and we went into the citadella...
Sea Dance Festival - day 3
After heading into town to get some food, I was just pondering my plans for the day, when my friend suggested a boat trip. This sounded like a good plan, so we went and booked it. I was a 2 hour cruise around a number of the places I wanted to see. Later we got some tasty mussels for dinner at the m...
Sea Dance Festival - day 2
After a lateish start, I met some people and we went into the old town to explore and get some food and drinks. Then we took a drive to Jaz beach, where the festival was, and chilled there for a while. Later, back in town, I met another group for dinner, and then we headed to the festival. Annoyingl...
Sea Dance Festival - day 1
I arrived early in the morning. I arrived at the accommodation and relaxed for a while, before heading out. One reason for coming here is that Exit Festival had a sister festival - Sea Dance Festival, which I thought I would go to. I went in search of tickets and couldn't find anywhere officially se...
Final day in Novi Sad and on to Montenegro
After one more day in Novi Sad visiting the beach, it was time to head off. I went to the bus station and took an overnight bus to Montenegro. Of course, the bus stopped often and reached the border in the middle of the night and hence it was difficult to get much sleep, but I managed some before ge...
Post Exit
Next day we tried to distract ourselves from the festival having ended by going to the beach and the gym and then having a big barbecue dinner and meeting a friend for drinks, and luckily using his contacts was able to source me a new phone for a good price (unfortunately, my unusual phone being dif...
Exit festival
After a fine night of Festival warm up fun, it was time for the full on festival, but first time for some exercise, so we headed to the gym. Obviously I couldn't do the full range of exercises with my plaster cast, but did what I could. Later after a brief post-gym refreshment, we headed to the fest...
To Novi Sad
Early next morning, I took a train on from there to the Serbian border town Vrsac, and then changed trains on to Belgrade. From here, I took a bus to Novi Sad, and met my friend. We dumped my stuff off and went out, having a tasty meatfest for dinner and met a few of his friends, and then later went...
Hunedoara
Next day, I took a bus from Cluj to Hunedoara. From there, I walked up the hill to Corvin's Castle, a very impressive castle and had a wander around. I then headed back, and took another bus on to Timisoara.
Cluj
Next day I met up with my friend, we did a tour of the city and had a tasty, meaty breakfast and she helped me find a good route to Serbia. After I left her, I met a guy to explore more of the city including back up the hill, the park and the botanic gardens. In the evening, I met my friend again, a...
To Cluj
Next morning was an early start to get a train to Cluj-Napoca in Romania. It wasn't the fastest train, and many times paused a fair while, especially at the Romanian border. Eventually the train arrived and I found some accommodation. At the accommodation, they have a meet up in the early evening to...
Budapest
Next day, I was planning on just having a quick wander, then leave the city, but there was something happening. Initially, I saw a plane playing about low in the sky. When I looked the other way, I saw that it was the Red Bull Air Race! I couldn't miss that, so headed down to watch it. Later, my fri...
To Budapest
Next day, I took the train on to Budapest. After checking in, I headed out and met some people at a bar. We enjoyed the sun, until it rained, then sheltered, and later headed on for dinner and another bar.
On to Vienna
I got up early as I had an appointment to get my plaster cast closed. This was pretty quick, so I went back to bed briefly. Then it was time for the real escape plan. I took the train to Vienna. As I wouldn't be in Vienna long, I checked into a place near the station, and took the metro into the cen...
Mountain climbing
After a not that early start, we met in town and started walking up the mountain. It was a big mountain, and not many climbing it. When we left it was raining slightly, but the sun soon came out. Eventually we met some cows. The climbing got steeper and steeper. After many hours we reached the stati...
Baroque, bars and rock
I was determined not to let this stop the fun, only the riding. I did a walking tour of Innsbruck, and learnt a lot and saw lots of historic buildings. I needed some kind of escape plan. So I bought a ticket for Dillinger's Escape Plan - an American band who were playing in Innsbruck that night. I m...
Disaster!
I rested the wrist, but by morning it was quite swollen, so I needed to get to a hospital. Innsbruck seemed the nearest place likely to have a good hospital, so headed there. I went to the hospital, and after an X-Ray and CT scan, it was confirmed I'd got a scaphoid fracture. This meant no riding fo...
5 countries and an incident
Next day, it was time to head into the Alps. I left France and headed by motorway into Germany. As soon as the hills got close, I headed onto the back roads and into Switzerland. There were nice, twisty roads and great views asI'd expected, but what I wasn't expecting were the vast quantities of bir...
Vosges and on to Mulhouse
After a great time in Luxembourg, it was time to move on. I started on the motorway to make some progress, and headed down to Saint Die des Vosges. I had lunch here, then headed into the Parc Natural Regional des Ballons des Vosges. This includes an amazing road - the Route des Cretes, which has lot...
Luxembourg National Day
Next day, we re-grouped and headed out to see what we could find. The town was dead, but then we got in position on the bridge to hear the 21 cannon salute - very loud! We explored more, and got some lunch, then it was time for the bands to start. On the actual National Day, there was only one area...
Luxembourg National Day Eve
The next day was the eve of National Day, a day commemorating Luxembourg, bizarrely based on the official birthday (i.e. 5 months after her real birthday, as she didn't want it in Winter), of a former duchess of Luxembourg. For some reason the eve of this arbitrary date, rather than the actual date...
Bruges to Luxembourg
So, I packed up and left Bruges. I headed down the back roads towards Ghent, where I'd heard rumours of great waffles, and having had none in Bruges, this seemed like a plan. Unfortunately, when I got to Ghent, I got caught up in a mass of one way systems and when checking if the waffletorium was op...
The trip begins - Redhill to Bruges
So, the adventure begins! After a slow start, struggling to fit everything in, I hit the road, and headed for the Channel Tunnel. In the queue, on the way, I got talking to some other bikers. Some Dutch bikers were on their way home from an amazing trip round Ireland, and an English guy who was work...