Chris Solo Central Europe
Overview
After the Adriatic Alsace and Black Forest Tour with Kathi, Kathi flew home early, early Tuesday morning
and Chris took off for 16 more days of solo touring around Central Europe on Joe's Multistrada. The adventure was a ride of a lifetime:
- The Czech Republic, Czechia, Česko
- Republic of Slovakia
- Hungary
- Croatia
- Serbia
- Romania
- Hungary
- Slovakia
- Austria
- Slovenia
- Italy
- Austria
- Lichtenstein
- Switzerland
Daily Details and Naration
Note: calendar days are clickable to see each day of the trip
Summary
Some notes about estimating time for planning purposes
When planning these trips, I'm always worrying about getting in really late, getting tired making me ride poorly, etc.
So I try hard to keep the days short enough to be enjoyable and safe and to leave at least a little time to rest and recover, find someplace to eat and maybe even walk around the destination a bit before I collapse into bed before doing it again tomorrow.
On this trip, I managed to catch a GPS track log for every day. Above, I've summarized the daily distance, elapsed time from departure to arrival, the moving time (not taking rest and photo breaks), and the time Google Maps estimated for the moving time. With this data, I can get a pretty good idea of how long a day is really going to take me for future planning purposes.
mean of solo breaks disregarding exceptions is +30%
mean of moving time vs google moving time estimate matches exactly
AMT touring, mean of moving time vs google time is just slightly slower at +3%
so that means I don't really drive much faster than the AMT tour group on average
However, AMT touring, breaks are +86% of moving time rather than +30% when solo,
so the touring group spends a lot more time on breaks even though when in a group
I stop for pictures a lot less.
Overview map
You can click the hilited regions on the map to go directly to that day's ride report.
Some notes about countries
Countries I visited on this trip
EU Shengen Currency
Italy ✓ ✓ €
Germany ✓ ✓ €
France ✓ ✓ €
Austria ✓ ✓ €
Switzerland No ✓ 1 € ≈ 1 CHF
Liechtenstein ✓ ✓ 1 € ≈ 1 CHF
Czechia ✓ ✓ 1 € ≈ 23.5 23.5 Kč or CZK (Czech Koruna)
Croatia ✓ ✓ €
Slovenia ✓ ✓ €
Slovakia ✓ ✓ €
Hungary ✓ ✓ 1 € ≈ 373 Forint or HUF
Romania ✓ No 1 € ≈ 5 Leu or RON (No visa needed)
Serbia No No 1 € ≈ 117 Dinar (No visa needed)
All currencies are covered by my Wise card which worked for every purchase in every country including Serbia.
There were a few places in Romania that wanted payment in cash only, but that's the only place I needed any cash.
That said, having some cash euros and local currency is useful for buying stuff from roadside vendors.
The only border controls were between Serbia and Croatia, Serbia and Romania, and Romania to Hungary.
The only one I had any significant problem with was Romania to Hungary which just took an hour.
I'm not sure if he was waiting for some facilitation money or just legitimately confused by my passport stamps, but eventually the officer was satisfied and let me pass.
I had no problems with the fact that I was riding a bike registered to my Swiss-resident brother.
SCHLOSS EBERSTEIN
Munich Airport Marriott Hotel
Sun, Jun 4 AMT Day 1 (ride) Munich -
Munich - Füssen
Mon, Jun 5 AMT Day 2 (ride) Füssen - Lake Constance
Füssen - Lake Constance
Tue, Jun 6 AMT Day 3 (ride) Lake Constance - Ribeauville
Lake Constance - Ribeauville
Wed, Jun 7 AMT Ribeauville France rest day
Thu, Jun 8 AMT Day 4 (ride) Ribeauville - Black Forest
Ribeauville - Black Forest
Fri, Jun 9 AMT Day 5 (ride) Black Forest - Rothenburg ob der Tauber
Black Forest - Rothenburg ob der Tauber
Sat, Jun 10 AMT Day 6 (ride) Rothenburg ob der Tauber - Munich
Rothenburg ob der Tauber - Munich
Sun, Jun 11 AMT Munich/ Freising departure Deuches Museum ?
Munich finish AMT Sun Jun 11
Mon, Jun 12 Kathi flies home, Chris rides into Czechia (day1)
Kathi's flight is 7:00am out of MUC so she is dropped at the airport
at 6:00am. Chris gets back to the hotel by 6:30am, eats breakfast and
departs by 7:30am. Then the 7hr say 2hrs of
stops for border crossing, gas, food, and pictures, would get me into
the destination at 5:0pm.
Part 1 Freising to the border 3h22m 229km
Part 2 border to Hotel v Podradi in Borska 3h36m 187km
Total: 6h58m 416 km
Hotel Email sent to Hotel v Podhradi
| Time | Minutes | km | kph avg | Comment |
|---|
| 7:47am | 2.9 | getting ready to leave |
| 7:50am | 69.4 | 91 km | 79 | out of Freising an onto the highway |
| 8:59am | 2.8 | german farms pano stop |
| 9:02am | 21.0 | 26 km | 75 | |
| 9:23am | 2.1 | unknown stop, traffic light? |
| 9:25am | 13.3 | 17 km | 78 | |
| 9:38am | 4.2 | forest road photo stop and photosphere |
| 9:42am | 14.0 | 13 km | 56 | |
| 9:56am | 6.5 | gas stop in Germany |
| 10:03am | 79.3 | 84 km | 64 | |
| 11:22am | 4.9 | chat with Kathi, selfie |
| 11:27am | 27.4 | 28 km | 62 | |
| 11:54am | 4.5 | photos on the bride in Sumava park |
| 11:59am | 32.3 | 30 km | 56 | |
| 12:31pm | 27.8 | lunch break in Kvilda |
| 12:59pm | 28.9 | 26 km | 53 | |
| 1:28pm | 4.1 | river stop and river video |
| 1:32pm | 24.2 | 28 km | 69 | |
| 1:56pm | 8.7 | gas and pee stop in Czechia |
| 2:05pm | 49.0 | 51 km | 63 | |
| 2:54pm | 8.2 | hardware store isn't a food store |
| 3:02pm | 2.6 | 1 km | 32 | |
| 3:05pm | 13.2 | COOP food store stop |
| 3:18pm | 25.4 | 17 km | 41 | |
| 3:43pm | 7.7 | stop in the woods on the dirt road/path |
| 3:51pm | 43.0 | 37 km | 52 | |
| 4:34pm | 3.0 | another woods stop |
| 4:37pm | 5.8 | 6 km | 63 | |
| 4:43pm | 1.9 | arriving at the hotel |
| |
| 9h07m | 7h10m moving | 453 km | 63.2 kph | 79% moving, 117 minutes of breaks |
Tue, Jun 13 to Prague Czechia (day2)
into Prague 3h46m, 225km
then wander Prague for the afternoon/evening
while the Ducati gets new tires at Moto Mechanik map
Hotel: Arkada Hotel Prague €65 online booking
| Time | Minutes | km | kph avg | Comment |
|---|
| 7:56am | 66.5 | breakfast and talking to Kathi |
| 9:02am | 27.2 | 29 km | 63 | |
| 9:30am | 2.5 | |
| 9:32am | 6.3 | 4 km | 42 | |
| 9:38am | 5.2 | |
| 9:44am | 8.4 | 6 km | 41 | |
| 9:52am | 1.6 | |
| 9:54am | 37.4 | 32 km | 52 | |
| 10:31am | 5.3 | |
| 10:36am | 15.1 | 13 km | 53 | |
| 10:52am | 2.5 | |
| 10:54am | 47.2 | 46 km | 59 | |
| 11:41am | 3.0 | |
| 11:44am | 15.4 | 13 km | 49 | |
| 12:00pm | 1.8 | photos in trees |
| 12:01pm | 7.4 | 6 km | 47 | |
| 12:09pm | 16.8 | lunch break with skinny dipping swimmers |
| 12:26pm | 17.8 | 17 km | 56 | |
| 12:43pm | 2.3 | |
| 12:46pm | 4.2 | 4 km | 58 | |
| 12:50pm | 3.0 | |
| 12:53pm | 15.8 | 12 km | 45 | |
| 1:09pm | 1.5 | |
| 1:10pm | 36.7 | 30 km | 48 | |
| 1:47pm | 101.5 | new tires at MotoMechanik |
| 3:28pm | 8.7 | 6 km | 39 | |
| 3:37pm | 1.6 | |
| 3:41pm | 26.0 | 6 km | ~3 | traffic + 6km ride averaging only 3 kph |
| |
| 8h10m | 4h10m moving | 213 km | 51.2 kph | 51% moving, 240 minutes of breaks |
Wed, Jun 14, Prague to Ostrava Czechia (day3)
Prague to Ostrava 6h2m 351km avoid highways
Hotel: Penzion Start Ostrava Guesthouse
Slavíkova 6055/14, Ostrava, 708 00, Czech Republic
| Time | Minutes | km | kph avg | Comment |
|---|
| 8:08am | 66.5 | 74 km | 66 | |
| 9:14am | 3.8 | |
| 9:18am | 19.8 | 20 km | 61 | |
| 9:38am | 18.4 | Coop fiasco buying milk with a card! |
| 9:56am | 14.1 | 11 km | 49 | |
| 10:10am | 12.2 | |
| 10:22am | 64.0 | 62 km | 58 | |
| 11:26am | 6.1 | Gas? |
| 11:32am | 56.7 | 60 km | 64 | |
| 12:29pm | 37.5 | lunch break under bridge |
| 1:07pm | 52.1 | 53 km | 61 | |
| 1:59pm | 1.8 | |
| 2:01pm | 66.6 | 67 km | 60 | |
| 3:07pm | 7.0 | check out Cirkus Humberto |
| 3:14pm | 5.1 | 3 km | 39 | |
| 3:19pm | 3.0 | arrive at Penzion Start Ostrava |
| |
| 7h42m | 5h59m moving | 351 km | 58.7 kph | 78% moving, 103 minutes of breaks |
Thu, Jun 15, Ostrava to Kosice Slavakia (day4)
Ostrava to Kosice 7h33m 469km
Hotel: Camp Košice - Route E58
| Time | Minutes | km | kph avg | Comment |
|---|
| 7:02am | 4.2 | Getting started |
| 7:07am | 1.5 | 1 km | 36 | |
| 7:08am | 1.9 | looking for coffee shop |
| 7:10am | 1.5 | 1 km | 34 | |
| 7:11am | 13.7 | get food from Lidl, milk, OJ, bread |
| 7:25am | 37.0 | 33 km | 53 | |
| 8:02am | 1.6 | |
| 8:04am | 42.9 | 46 km | 65 | |
| 8:47am | 8.1 | |
| 8:55am | 0.6 | 0 km | 21 | |
| 8:55am | 1.5 | |
| 8:57am | 18.3 | 18 km | 60 | |
| 9:15am | 2.8 | |
| 9:18am | 25.5 | 24 km | 57 | |
| 9:43am | 11.4 | |
| 9:55am | 26.9 | 22 km | 49 | |
| 10:22am | 1.6 | |
| 10:23am | 40.7 | 42 km | 62 | |
| 11:04am | 5.3 | |
| 11:09am | 0.9 | 0 km | 17 | |
| 11:10am | 12.8 | |
| 11:23am | 17.1 | 13 km | 47 | |
| 11:40am | 1.5 | |
| 11:42am | 7.1 | 5 km | 45 | |
| 11:49am | 2.3 | |
| 11:51am | 59.8 | 60 km | 61 | |
| 12:51pm | 4.0 | |
| 12:55pm | 14.7 | 18 km | 75 | |
| 1:09pm | 33.4 | |
| 1:43pm | 35.3 | 38 km | 65 | |
| 2:18pm | 2.0 | |
| 2:20pm | 75.7 | 78 km | 62 | |
| 3:36pm | 2.9 | construction pause |
| 3:39pm | 30.9 | 31 km | 60 | |
| 4:10pm | 1.5 | construction pause |
| 4:11pm | 20.6 | 22 km | 64 | |
| 4:32pm | 8.9 | arrived |
| 4:41pm | 0.2 | 0 km | 14 | parking the bike |
| 4:41pm | 8.9 | arrived |
| |
| 9h47m | 7h19m moving | 443 km | 60.6 kph | 75% moving, 148 minutes of breaks |
Fri Jun 16 Kosice to Budapest Hungary (day5)
Kosice to Budapest 5h46m 303km
Hotel: Maverick Hostel & Ensuites Budapest
| Time | Minutes | km | kph avg | Comment |
|---|
| 7:30am | 3.1 | |
| 7:33am | 19.0 | 18 km | 56 | |
| 7:52am | 11.8 | |
| 8:04am | 18.0 | 18 km | 61 | |
| 8:22am | 2.0 | |
| 8:24am | 65.9 | 57 km | 52 | |
| 9:30am | 25.3 | |
| 9:55am | 29.5 | 25 km | 51 | |
| 10:24am | 9.3 | |
| 10:34am | 28.9 | 20 km | 42 | |
| 11:03am | 5.7 | |
| 11:08am | 9.9 | 9 km | 51 | |
| 11:18am | 2.5 | |
| 11:21am | 2.5 | 2 km | 51 | |
| 11:23am | 4.4 | |
| 11:28am | 14.8 | 15 km | 59 | |
| 11:43am | 9.7 | |
| 11:52am | 18.5 | 14 km | 45 | |
| 12:11pm | 8.3 | |
| 12:19pm | 30.6 | 32 km | 62 | |
| 12:50pm | 26.3 | |
| 1:16pm | 119.8 | 111 km | 56 | |
| 3:16pm | 25.4 | |
| |
| 8h12m | 5h46m moving | 314 km | 54.4 kph | 70% moving, 145 minutes of breaks |
Sat Jun 17 Budapest to Pécs Hungary (day6)
Budapest to Pécs 5h58m 418km
Hotel: Centrum Apartmanház Pécs
Up early, wrote for a while. very flat pillows and no blackout, but I was tired enough to sleep anyway.
| Time | Minutes | km | kph avg | Comment |
|---|
| 7:23am | 4.0 | |
| 7:27am | 28.5 | 22 km | 47 | |
| 7:55am | 14.2 | |
| 8:09am | 91.4 | 114 km | 75 | |
| 9:41am | 1.6 | |
| 9:42am | 59.8 | 55 km | 56 | |
| 10:42am | 14.3 | |
| 10:57am | 22.0 | 25 km | 67 | |
| 11:18am | 34.4 | |
| 11:53am | 40.1 | 50 km | 75 | |
| 12:33pm | 4.7 | |
| 12:38pm | 65.6 | 72 km | 66 | |
| 1:43pm | 7.4 | |
| |
| 7h45m | 6h18m moving | 414 km | 65.8 kph | 81% moving, 87 minutes of breaks |
414 km (65.8 kph 131 max) moving of the time 6h18m out of 7h45m total elapsed time
------------------ segments ---------------------
stop: 0- 29 3m05s at 2023-06-16 07:29 getting ready to go, rode off at 7:32am
ride: 29- 234 19m02s 18 km 56.2 kph
stop: 234- 360 11m45s at 2023-06-16 07:51 gas stop before the border
ride: 360- 554 18m01s 18 km 61.0 kph
stop: 554- 576 2m02s at 2023-06-16 08:21 border pics
ride: 576-1282 1h05m53s 57 km 51.7 kph
stop: 1282-1553 25m20s at 2023-06-16 09:29 beautiful Latte coffee break in xxx, helpful waitress speaks English, old money, card works
ride: 1553-1870 29m30s 25 km 50.6 kph
stop: 1870-1972 9m21s at 2023-06-16 10:24 buy vingette at Shell Station $12.66 for 10 days, just paper
ride: 1972-2284 28m55s 20 km 41.6 kph
stop: 2284-2345 5m41s at 2023-06-16 11:02 roadside pics
ride: 2345-2452 9m57s 9 km 51.4 kph
stop: 2452-2479 2m31s at 2023-06-16 11:18 roadside pano
ride: 2479-2506 2m33s 2 km 51.3 kph
stop: 2506-2553 4m26s at 2023-06-16 11:23 observatory break
ride: 2553-2711 14m51s 15 km 59.3 kph
stop: 2711-2816 9m44s at 2023-06-16 11:42 photosphere
ride: 2816-3015 18m32s 14 km 44.8 kph
stop: 3015-3103 8m19s at 2023-06-16 12:10 gas stop before turning onto 24
ride: 3103-3431 30m39s 32 km 62.4 kph
stop: 3431-3713 26m18s at 2023-06-16 12:49 lunch break
ride: 3713-4997 1h59m46s 111 km 55.9 kph long hot ride in traffic
stop: 4997-5270 25m25s at 2023-06-16 15:16 arrived 3:16pm
------------------ total movement ---------------------
314 km (54.4 kph 138 max) moving 70% of the time 5h46m out of 8h12m total elapsed time
My room had a great view over the main street right in the center of Budapest.
The hostel is a really big building with a huge entry way. You type a code to get in from the street, go up some stairs, go through another door
then up some more stairs, then code again, up some more stairs and you are at reception. Tibor (Hungarian guy at the desk) check me in and was helpful drawing what to see and where to eat on a map.
The border crossing was no-op. Boris says "shengen".
Day after tomorrow when I go into Romania and then Serbia will be the days with potential for problems.
Dogs on the road, one a puppy, shepard mix.
Pavement is a patchwork of bumps. Sudden change from Slovakia. Poor farming area. Lots of broken down houses. Very little traffic, like ~5 cars per hr.
Lots and lots of dogs and some horses in the road. Lots of puppies. Cute!
Into towns, some much richer.
The riding is as beautiful as Slovakia, but with worse pavement.
Almost no speed cameras, so less stressful managing speed in the towns. Can do 55 kph without worrying if you are over 50.
In Eger I was paced by a police car for about 5 km. He just rode right next to me making sure I knew he was there. We did 48 kph +/- 1.
Some of the Hungarian money from Nicole is "old" and no good anymore. I have 500 old Forints and 4000 new ones. But card is working in gas stations and the one coffee shop.
The Maveric Hostel is very nice and well located but $103 a night for private room. Used up my Forint converted from Czech crowns.
Again saw men carrying babies on the street.
Cranes, landing, nest of 4, one in field, how do they avoid getting electrocuted?
| Time | Minutes | Km | avg speed kph | Comment |
|---|
| 7:33am | 19m02s | 18 km | 56 kph | |
| 7:52am | 11m45s | gas stop before the border |
| 8:04am | 18m01s | 18 km | 61 kph | |
| 8:22am | 2m02s | border pics |
| 8:24am | 1h05m53s | 57 km | 52 kph | |
| 9:30am | 25m20s | beautiful Latte coffee break in xxx, helpful waitress speaks English, old money, card works |
| 9:55am | 29m30s | 25 km | 51 kph | |
| 10:24am | 9m21s | |
| 10:34am | 28m55s | 20 km | 42 kph | |
| 11:03am | 5m41s | |
| 11:08am | 9m57s | 9 km | 51 kph | |
| 11:18am | 2m31s | |
| 11:21am | 2m33s | 2 km | 51 kph | |
| 11:23am | 4m26s | |
| 11:28am | 14m51s | 15 km | 59 kph | |
| 11:43am | 9m44s | |
| 11:52am | 18m32s | 14 km | 45 kph | |
| 12:11pm | 8m19s | |
| 12:19pm | 30m39s | 32 km | 62 kph | |
| 12:50pm | 26m18s | |
| 1:16pm | 1h59m46s | 111 km | 56 kph | |
| 3:16pm | arrived | |
| |
| 8h12m elapsed | 5h46m moving (70%) 2h26m stopped | 314 km54.4 kph avg |
| Time | Minutes | km | kph avg | Comment |
|---|
| 7:23am | 4.0 | |
| 7:27am | 28.5 | 22 km | 47 kph | |
| 7:55am | 14.2 | |
| 8:09am | 91.4 | 114 km | 75 kph | |
| 9:41am | 1.6 | |
| 9:42am | 59.8 | 55 km | 56 kph | |
| 10:42am | 14.3 | |
| 10:57am | 22.0 | 25 km | 67 kph | |
| 11:18am | 34.4 | |
| 11:53am | 40.1 | 50 km | 75 kph | |
| 12:33pm | 4.7 | |
| 12:38pm | 65.6 | 72 km | 66 kph | |
| 1:43pm | 7.4 | |
| |
| 7h45m | 6h18m moving | 414 km | 65.8 kph | 81% moving, 87 minutes of breaks |
Sun Jun 18 Pécs Hungary to Belgrade Serbia via Croatia (day7)
Pécs to Belgrade, 7h10m 419km
Hotel: Good People Design Hostel
| Time | Minutes | km | kph avg | Comment |
|---|
| 8:00am | 72.0 | 82 km | 68 | |
| 9:12am | 9.2 | |
| 9:21am | 3.6 | 3 km | 48 | |
| 9:25am | 3.2 | |
| 9:28am | 48.0 | 37 km | 47 | |
| 10:16am | 4.1 | |
| 10:20am | 85.8 | 101 km | 71 | |
| 11:46am | 20.3 | Lunch under a bridge |
| 12:06pm | 26.0 | 31 km | 72 | |
| 12:32pm | 1.6 | |
| 12:34pm | 1.8 | 2 km | 58 | |
| 12:36pm | 2.6 | |
| 12:38pm | 0.6 | 0 km | 34 | |
| 12:39pm | 2.4 | |
| 12:41pm | 30.8 | 31 km | 61 | |
| 1:12pm | 2.2 | |
| 1:14pm | 9.6 | 10 km | 61 | |
| 1:24pm | 9.1 | |
| 1:33pm | 9.3 | 9 km | 58 | |
| 1:42pm | 3.0 | |
| 1:45pm | 9.8 | 9 km | 53 | |
| 1:55pm | 2.2 | |
| 1:57pm | 8.4 | 7 km | 52 | |
| 2:05pm | 3.3 | |
| 2:09pm | 1.1 | 0 km | 22 | |
| 2:10pm | 1.7 | |
| 2:12pm | 6.3 | 4 km | 34 | |
| 2:18pm | 5.5 | Tried to stop for a picnic, but the mosquitos! |
| 2:23pm | 23.1 | 26 km | 67 | Riding down out of the mountains |
| 2:46pm | 8.8 | Gas stop, payment success |
| 2:55pm | 43.8 | 53 km | 73 | Freeway into Belgrade |
| 3:39pm | 10.3 | Stopped at the wrong Hostel, Belgrade Soul |
| 3:49pm | 7.3 | 2 km | 13 | Rode to Good People Design Hostel |
| |
| 8h31m | 6h29m moving | 410 km | 63.2 kph | 76% moving, 122 minutes of breaks |
410 km (63.3 kph 126 max) moving of the time 6h28m out of 9h11m total elapsed time
Mon Jun 19 Belgrade Serbia to Severin Romania (day8)
Belgrade to Severin 4h57m 285km
Hotel: Casa Budulan hotel +40744632233 and on priceline. Also, Booking.com has several hotels here. Hotel/Homestay requires cash payment. There's an ATM at Banca Transilvania [44.62730301085157, 22.651786576590272]
| Time | Minutes | km | kph avg | Comment |
|---|
| 7:51am | 2.8 |
map |
| 7:54am | 10.7 | 4 km | 21 | |
| 8:05am | 1.9 |
map |
| 8:07am | 0.4 | 0 km | 21 | |
| 8:07am | 4.5 |
map |
| 8:12am | 35.9 | 37 km | 63 | |
| 8:47am | 26.9 |
map |
| 9:14am | 2.0 | 2 km | 68 | |
| 9:16am | 1.6 |
map |
| 9:18am | 21.9 | 18 km | 49 | |
| 9:40am | 1.5 |
map |
| 9:41am | 66.2 | 75 km | 68 | |
| 10:47am | 2.0 |
map |
| 10:49am | 8.6 | 9 km | 65 | |
| 10:58am | 6.3 |
map |
| 11:04am | 40.7 | 47 km | 70 | |
| 11:45am | 2.4 |
map |
| 11:47am | 0.8 | 1 km | 46 | |
| 11:48am | 2.6 |
map |
| 11:51am | 34.6 | 22 km | 38 | |
| 12:25pm | 2.7 |
map |
| 12:28pm | 2.8 | 2 km | 42 | |
| 12:31pm | 1.8 |
map |
| 12:33pm | 8.4 | 7 km | 52 | |
| 12:41pm | 13.7 |
map |
| 12:55pm | 20.1 | 19 km | 57 | |
| 1:15pm | 1.7 |
map |
| 1:17pm | 23.0 | 17 km | 44 | |
| 1:40pm | 1.6 |
map |
| 1:41pm | 6.8 | 9 km | 76 | |
| 1:48pm | 29.9 |
map |
| 2:18pm | 17.0 | 23 km | 80 | |
| 2:35pm | 8.5 |
map |
| 2:44pm | 2.2 | 1 km | 34 | |
| 2:46pm | 3.8 |
map |
| 2:50pm | 9.7 | 12 km | 73 | |
| 2:59pm | 8.6 |
map |
| 3:08pm | 4.2 | 2 km | 25 | |
| 3:12pm | 2.1 |
map |
| 7h23m | 4h57m moving | 295 km | 59.5 kph | 67% moving, 146 minutes of breaks |
Got lost getting out of Belgrade. Google maps wasn't routing, seems like something to do with the floods warning or maybe the route didn't start with "my position". Later I got it corrected by adding a new starting point, but it still caused a lot of confusion leaving the city. I took a toll road for a while. Worked out OK because paying by card worked. Some nice folks at the highway rest stop gas station said it would probably work and that reduced my worries.
Tue Jun 20 Severin to Sibiu via Transalpina Pass (day9)
Severin to Sibiu via Transalpina 9h19m, 428km
T House Conf#2536067277
Time change, now GMT+3
Coffee at the hotel, they made me a Latte Machiato
Got gas on my way out of town, quick stop, paid cash.
Chased by dogs several times. Most dogs are calm, but some bark and give chase.
Saw carts pulled by horses.
Crusifix with skull and crossbones, seen that several times, took a picture once.
Nice road, wide, smooth, fast. Great views. Looks a lot like California
Google maps turns me off onto a dirt road. Looks like the paved road ends.
The dirt road isn't too bad at first. Looks like it goes up and across the dam to bypass a closed section of the paved road. Cool.
But no, the dam top is gated off. Maybe up to the end of the lake.
Two big trucks coming the other way make me think this is a brief bypass.
Drive to the end, big puddles, but the road goes into the lake. Shit!
Keep going or go back. Surely this rejoins the paved road soon. Keep going.
Meet some logging guys. They want to drink alcohol with me. I show them my phone and get help. He tells me which way to go and it seems like I should see pavement soon.
Road gets worse and worse. Looks like maybe 50+ km still to go. How far have I come so far? Seems like a lot.
Walked around town and had dinner with Daniel.
This is the unpaved section I did, about 43km
Wed Jun 21 Sibiu to Brașov Romania via Transfăgărășan (day10)
Sibiu to Brașov 6h41m, 353km
Hotel: Casa Postăvarului
Expected to ride with Daniel, but something came up and he couldn't leave early.
But then he left later and just went highway, over the top, and found me buying cheese at a roadside stand.
We rode together well, took lots of pictures at the top, and had lunch at Abo... trout farm/resort/restaurant. Very good.
Looking forward to another trip to Romania, perhaps with Romania Motorcycle Tours.
"Non stop" = "open 24x7"
Met a large Albanian gypsie family on 4 large carts each drawn by two horses and loaded with random stuff heading to a flea market down the road.
At the flea market, there was a lot of random crap and a LOT of old bicycles.
I stopped and got a picture of one of the carts and the kids swarmed me saying "ban, ban, ban". They had maybe 2 words of English and the kid said ban, food, ban, food.
So I opened my tailpack and gave them a liter of yoghurt. Then I tried talking to the driver of the next cart. He said Albania family and money for food. I gave them 100 Lei which is about $20.
They didn't stop bugging me, so I gave the woman with the yoghurt 50 Lei, then put my helmet back on and rode off. They seemed pretty happy.
Up the south side of Transfagarasan, the view got really intersting with very steep streams coming from the last of the snowpack.
Daniel said he was up there Fri, Sat, and Sun and the road wasn't open yet. Today is Wednesday. They just opened it Monday morning. What incredible luck I've been having on this trip.
At the top, the lake freezes and they build an ice hotel on the lake.
Lot of dirt on the road, traffic hasn't swept it away yet.
Daniel said "You are pretty fast and a very good rider". I was staying with him on the descent and after a while he waved me past. He dropped back a few 100m. I was pushing just a little bit but still being very careful with the road surface.
| Time | Minutes | km | kph avg | Comment |
|---|
| 8:25am | 1.9 |
map |
| 8:27am | 33.0 | 38 km | 69 | |
| 9:00am | 11.3 |
map |
| 9:12am | 34.3 | 42 km | 74 | |
| 9:46am | 13.8 |
map |
| 9:60am | 53.4 | 51 km | 58 | |
| 10:53am | 3.4 |
map |
| 10:57am | 7.9 | 5 km | 38 | |
| 11:04am | 21.2 |
map |
| 11:26am | 6.3 | 3 km | 31 | |
| 11:32am | 2.1 |
map |
| 11:34am | 22.5 | 23 km | 61 | |
| 11:57am | 7.7 |
map |
| 12:04pm | 4.6 | 3 km | 40 | |
| 12:09pm | 4.4 |
map |
| 12:13pm | 41.4 | 36 km | 52 | |
| 12:55pm | 3.3 |
map |
| 12:58pm | 12.8 | 12 km | 54 | |
| 1:11pm | 3.9 |
map |
| 1:15pm | 2.9 | 2 km | 32 | |
| 1:18pm | 15.6 |
map |
| 1:33pm | 9.0 | 7 km | 47 | |
| 1:42pm | 16.3 |
map |
| 1:59pm | 9.7 | 7 km | 44 | |
| 2:08pm | 1.8 |
map |
| 2:10pm | 19.6 | 22 km | 68 | |
| 2:30pm | 85.2 |
map |
| 9h17m | 5h50m moving | 348 km | 59.6 kph | 63% moving, 207 minutes of breaks |
Google said 6h41m actual was 5h50m, so I was 12.7% faster
Thu Jun 22 Brașov to Satu Mare Romania (Transilvania) (day11)
Brașov to Satu Mare 6h46m 422km
Hotel: Casa Transilvania in Satu Mare
| Time | Minutes | km | kph avg | Comment |
|---|
| 7:35am | 11.8 |
map |
| 7:47am | 10.8 | 6 km | 31 | |
| 7:58am | 10.7 |
map |
| 8:09am | 114.7 | 142 km | 74 | |
| 10:03am | 21.9 |
map |
| 10:25am | 89.9 | 87 km | 58 | |
| 11:55am | 2.5 |
map |
| 11:58am | 41.4 | 44 km | 64 | |
| 12:39pm | 4.2 |
map |
| 12:43pm | 93.4 | 108 km | 69 | |
| 2:17pm | 20.8 |
buy milk, remove suit, talk to Victor |
| 7h33m | 6h15m moving | 414 km | 66.2 kph | 83% moving, 78 minutes of breaks |
Got out early, no parking ticket.
Gas and gas station coffee.
Restaraunt for a nice latte machiatto.
Rolling hills and beautiful farms.
Lots of Stork nests, one with three maybe four babies. Most have one baby. But some have two or more.
Parking is on the opposite side as USA, facing traffic. You can tell the difference between a parked car and one that is simply stopped for some other reason by which way they are facing.
Military convoy heading towards Ukraine. Looks like instant bridge parts.
Had a nice conversation with a kid (Victor) who was very interested in motorcycles. Keen on the differences between BMW, Ducati, and Honda.
Took his picture sitting on the bike, got his email address, sent him a link to FUZ-moto.com
Victor's English is really good, excellent vocabulary and perfect grammar, just a bit slow and careful speaking.
Very hot going into Satu Mari, 29+ and the last 50km are flat and boring.
Much of the ride today was fast with very good roads and not too many slow town crossings. But there were more towns near the end as it was getting hot and quite humid.
Didn't stop for many pictures. My right fore-arm is hurting. Started on the dirt 2 days ago. Getting worse. Too many days without rest.
Google said 6h46m actual was 6h15m, so I was 7.6% faster
Fri Jun 23 Satu Mare Romania to Bratislava Slovakia (day12)
Satu Mare to Bratislava 7h6m 515km
47.797602861676985, 22.887997492099093, Casa Transvania
47.50873786849323, 22.102396333012127, DN19C
47.57746573631566, 20.996590937126623, Hwy33
47.79295505393412, 18.740451288846906, Border Esztergom
48.14409803152652, 17.113193567162458, City Center Best Place Bratislava
Satu Mare to Bratislava 6h16m 512km
47.797602861676985, 22.887997492099093, Casa Transvania
47.720386918831935, 18.85147374560381, Duna Ipoly Park
48.14409803152652, 17.113193567162458, City Center Best Place Bratislava
Hotel City Center Best Place Bratislava is prepaid but 1.7 euros tax due at the property
Conf #3473002404
Got out early after Casa Transilvania served me a cup of coffee and I paid the bill.
Bought gas with the last of my Lei at the border inside of Romania, then got in the "all passports" line, not the EU, EAA, ?? line.
The line was moving extremely slowly. Only 5 cars in front of me, but it still took 50 minutes. The first booth was leaving Romania, and that went quickly.
But the second booth was entering Hungary and they couldn't fathom how I started in Vienna, had a motorcycle from Switzerland, was leaving Romania without them being able to find the stamp in my passport for entering Romania.
And I had no stamps for entering Shengen because Vienna didn't stamp it either. With lots of walking around and consulting everyone under the sun, they finally let me in.
Blasted along the M3 at 125--135 kph for 3 hours with one break to buy gas using my Hungarian Forint. I also got a cold latte and a crunchy chocolate + cinnamon bun.
After eating and drinking my coffee, a truck driver was looking at my bike. His only word was "Ducati".
His motorcycle is an older GSX-R 1100.
I had him sit on the bike and took his picture with his phone. He was delighted.
The xxx forest was a nice break from freeway blasting.
Temperature was up to 33C, so I took off my suit in the forest and kept it off for the rest of the afternoon. Hot. 29C in the forest was a relief, but it was back up to 31 for most of the ride into Bratislava.
Again topped up gas using all my Forint change 2440ft.
Parked outside the apartments (creatively) mimicing what other motorcycles seem to be doing.
Tried to buy parking from a lot across the street, but the attendant is an ass-hole. I think it's 1.5 euro per hour or 42 euro for 24 hours (1.5*24 = 36 so that's a shitty deal). I'd like to buy 14 hours for 21 but he doesn't want to deal with me. And his handwriting is unintelligible. Maybe it's 12 euro for 24 hours. But he won't attempt to understand the question. He won't read a translation from my phone. OK fuck him, I'll park for free. Hope it's OK.
Sat Jun 24 Bratislava to Klagenfurt am Wörthersee Austria (day13)
Let's do this is 2 parts:
1) Avoid highways
2) A1 to Klagenfurt am Wörthersee
5h52m 339km
40m 59km via A2
for a total of 6h32m and 398km
*** CANCELLED by the host *** to AirBnb Alter Pl. 31, 9020 Klagenfurt am Wörthersee, Österreich
10-day vignette: 5,80 Euro buy at gas station in Austria
or if avoid highways all the way, 6h58m 401km (24 minutes and 3km longer)
Pension Wachau
Wilfriedgasse 19, 9020 Klagenfurt, Austria
Google said 7h4m actual was 6h28m, so I was 8.5% faster
Budapest to Graz Austria 7h36m, 431km
Got out pretty early. Was hoping to get coffee in the break room, but it didn't open until 8:00am. Got bread and ham&cheese croissant at the Lidl next door and ate that while talking with Kathi.
The border was really soon and I was worried about getting gas in Austria. I shouldn't have worried. Austria has more gas stations than anywhere!
Huge wind farm. Great roads in the forests. Austria is really made for motorcycles. A really fine day.
Discussion about bears with Joe while eating from the tail pack on an isolated road in the forest.
Cemetary
Hotel with a really nice view.
Drove pretty fast and took an extra break near the end. I'm getting tired. Mixed feelings about approaching the end of this epic adventure.
Sun Jun 25 Klagenfurt Austria to Ampezzo Italy (day14)
Klagenfurt to Ampezzo Italy 4h32m, 235km
Albergo Garni Barancio
Via Corte 17, 32041 Auronzo di Cadore, Italy
Conf #2573075841
Mon Jun 26 Italy to Strengen Austria (day15)
Ampezzo Italy to Strengen Austria ~6h45m 325km
Tue Jun 27 Strengen to Zug Switzerland (day16)
Strengen to Zug 3h30m 183km
visit with Joe & Bridget then to airport hotel in Zug
ibis budget Zurich Airport
Train from Zug
9:01pm EC to Zurich, then tram 23 stops to Hotel.
4 min tram or 26 min Walk to departures
Original plan
Total distance and time (14 riding days)
Mon Jun 12 Freising to Straziste Czechia 8h51m 519 km with option to cut back 1 hr
Tue Jun 13 To Prague, then wander Prague for the afternoon/evening 4h13m 221 km
Wed Jun 14 Prague to Ostrava 6h02m 351 km
Thu Jun 15 Ostrava to Kosice Slavakia 7h33m 469 km
Fri Jun 16 Kosice to Budapest Hungary 5h46m 303 km
Sat Jun 17 Budapest to Pécs 6h 418 km
Sun Jun 18 Pécs to Belgrade Serbia 7h10m 419 km
Mon Jun 19 Belgrade to Severin Romania 5h 285 km
Tue Jun 20 Severin to Ponoarele 6h37m 354 km
Wed Jun 21 Ponoarele to Brașov 9h 436 km **LONG**
Thu Jun 22 Brașov to Casi Mare Romania 6h31m 446 km
Fri Jun 23 Casi Mare to Budapest 6h 356 km
Sat Jun 24 Budapest to Graz Austria 7h36m 431 km
Sun Jun 25 Graz to Ampezzo Italy 7h6m 375 km
Mon Jun 26 Italy to Strengen Austria ~6h ~360 km
Tue Jun 27 Strengen to Zug, visit, train to ZUR 3h42m 192 km
totals: 103 hrs ~5935 km (3710 miles) 370 km/day avg,
max 519 km in one day, seven days exceed 400 km
six days exceed seven hours of google time
Italy_2022 was 290km/day avg and a very long day was 405km