Austria, Sankt Lorenzen, 11 – 13 September 2019

Posted on Friday, 13-September-2019 by Chris Desmond

Arta Terme to Sankt Lorenzen – another short ride deeper into the Austrian Alps. The road took me over the Plocken Pass and it deteriorated markedly in Austria. I travelled this route but in the other direction last year. Hundreds of bikes all going in the other direction as well.

Sankt Lorenzen – 1,120 metres altitude, a farming village where I can relax for a few days  and catch up on my blog. It has a supermarket and a restaurant that is open Thu-Sun hahaha perfect.

 

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Italy, Arta Terme, 09 – 10 September 2019

Posted on Tuesday, 10-September-2019 by Chris Desmond

Trieste to Arta Terme – a short ride to the foothills of the Alps as I only slept an hour on the flights back from Iceland.

Butterfly House of Bordano – not far from Arta Terme is a town called Bordano where they have a Butterfly Park so I decided to investigate. It has a number of climate controlled enclosure simulating the different continents, an informative video on the butterflies life cycle and a museum of dead butterflies. There were not many live ones in the enclosures.

I passed through the village of Tarnep and almost every house had a painting on one of it walls.

 

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Iceland, Reykjavik, 02 – 09 September 2019

Posted on Monday, 9-September-2019 by Chris Desmond

Trieste to Reykjavik – Well I got tired of the heat and humidity of the southern latitudes and decided to go somewhere to cool off, like Iceland hahaha. Good connecting flights from Trieste to Reykjavik via Frankfurt and September is off-peak made up my mind. There are busses every 30 minutes from Trieste to the airport cost 4.15 euro and the journey takes an hour.

Reykjavik – the capital of Iceland, being an island everything has to be imported and therefore it is a very expensive place to live. Iceland is known for its Hot springs and Geysers, Glaciers and Waterfalls and the Northern Lights or Aurora Borealis. The whole island is volcanic with some volcanoes under the glaciers and if one of them erupts, its fun and games for air traffic in Europe as happened in the 2010 eruptions of Eyjafjallajökull.

The best way to get around is by bus, install the Strætó app on your phone, link it to your credit or debit card and you will be free to roam the island. My EE UK sim card continues to work here using my UK Data/SMS/Call allowances at no extra cost. You don’t need cash either as cards are accepted everywhere for even the smallest purchases. This is a useful local map of Iceland, it’s more up to date than Google maps.

There are numerous tours available and they are all well organised. Tourism is the 2nd largest income earner for Iceland after Fishing. Third is the processing of Bauxite into Aluminium which requires prodigious amounts of electricity and Iceland has a surplus of electricity.

My first day in Iceland was the best day, sunshine and blue skies, not bad I thought hahaha. The next 5 days were overcast with the occasional drizzle and the temperature varied between 8 and 10c. Though on the last day it was starting to clear up in the evening.

Another interesting fact is that Iceland is one of few countries that does not have an army, only the Police and a Coast Guard.

Natural History Museum of Kópavogur – This is a tiny museum meant for the local school children I think, there are no English translations and its free.

Golden Circle Tour – This is one of the most popular tours. On the way back into the city we got held up because the Vice-president of the USA was visiting and the roads were closed while he went past. The roads around his hotel were also closed causing busses to be diverted etc, etc.

South Coast Tour, another mandatory tour.

Northern Lights Tour – This is one of those tours used to suck in the tourists because it requires clear skies and darkness which in Iceland is an Oxymoron. Clear skies occur in Summer when it never gets dark and in winter it is dark but overcast. I booked this tour and it was cancelled due the weather. They then booked me on the following day free of charge and so on and so forth finally having to refund my money hahaha.

The National Museum and Craft Beer, you can only buy alcohol from Government owned shops called Vinbudin.

Perlan – Wonders of Iceland, interesting place, they have a Planetarium as well.

Blue Lagoon – I spent a few hours here waiting for my flight. It is close to the airport and you can buy a bus ticket that allows you to stop here and continue on to the airport later.

 

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Italy, Trieste, 17 August – 01 September 2019

Posted on Sunday, 1-September-2019 by Chris Desmond

Rijeka to Trieste a short ride that passes through Slovenia. When I was a few kilometres from the Slovenian border traffic was at a standstill, I thought it was either roadworks or an accident, wrong. After a few minutes 4 bikes came past me overtaking the standing traffic, so I followed. This is a narrow road through the mountains and we were riding on the wrong side of the road ducking between cars when there was oncoming traffic hahaha. Anyway it turned out that there was no accident but this was the queue waiting to cross the border from Croatia into Slovenia which is part of the Schengen area. I crossed at the same point in May last year travelling in the other direction and there was no traffic at all. Apparently the increase in cross border traffic is related to the religious holiday on August 15 with families on both sides visiting relatives. I was later told by someone that they had once waited 8 hours to cross at this border. The other bikes 3 Italian and 1 Austrian slowed down, did not take their helmets off, just flashed their passports and were gone. I had to get my passport stamped to ensure my entry into Schengen was recorded so I stopped and took my helmet off, no questions asked, off again in 2 minutes. After that the border between Slovenia and Italy was unattended, just keep going. Distance 73km in 1:33hrs.

Trieste – an interesting city that was once part of the Austrian Empire, with many Piazza’s and its own unique approach to coffee. It is also home to the Barcolana Regatta, the biggest sailing event in the world attracting 2,689 boats last year. Bus is the best way to get around and Moovit is the App to have, a single ride costs 1.35 euro or you can buy passes for longer periods.

Castello di San Giusto – the highest point in the city, I took the bus to get here.

Udine – day trip, I took the bus there and the train back.

Muggia – day trip, I took the ferry there and the bus back.

I decided to exercise my bike and went for a ride to ……

Palmanova – a very interesting town when looked at from above, click on the link to see what I mean.

Aquileia – the whole floor of the church is covered in intricate mosaics dating back to the 4th century AD.

Grado – a seaside resort town

Sanctuary Montegrisa – this place is on top of the hills overlooking Trieste and can be seen from miles around but apparently it is not on the tour bus itineraries.

 

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Croatia, Rijeka, 13 – 16 August 2019

Posted on Friday, 16-August-2019 by Chris Desmond

Apatin to Rijeka, Croatia – Short ride to the Croatian border over the back roads, this is not a busy crossing either, only a few cars waiting at the Serbian end and being on a bike I rode to the front of the queue, this is an accepted practice, handed in the Hotel Registration and got my passport stamped. Next ride across the Danube river which is the border, same procedure at Croatian Immigration, did not have to open panniers. More back roads and then a Toll Plaza and onto a freeway, speed limit 130 kph, stopped for petrol short of Zagreb and put my jacket on, colder and a few spots of rain, the toll for this section was 11 euro. Continued on the freeway past Zagreb to Rijeka, this bit was through the mountains colder and more interesting with many tunnels, another stop for petrol and then paid the toll 6 euro. Total distance 499 km in 5:30 hours.

Rijeka – third largest city in Croatia has an interesting past. They call themselves Fiumans and even have their own Fiuman language. This is peak season and the whole coastline is crowded with people on holiday.

Day trip to the Opatija Riveria, I took bus 32, you will need a Zone 3 return ticket cost 26 Kuna. The day was August 15, Assumption Day, a major public holiday in this area.

 

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Serbia, Apatin, 11 – 12 August 2019

Posted on Monday, 12-August-2019 by Chris Desmond

Timisoara to Apatin, Serbia – Once again a remote border crossing and I was the only one crossing. Handed in my Passport and Bike Registration, stamp in passport and rode 100m to Serbian Immigration, another stamp and I was told that because I would be in the country for 2 nights I must register at a Police Station. Total time take 10 minutes, could not get any faster. Two lane roads a bit rough at times, small villages and towns along the way, quite warm over 30c, at one point Garmin took me down a road that ended in a dirt track hahaha, turned around and found another way. This happens periodically, the last time was in Siberia and I kept going cross country until I got to a road. This time I could see I had a choice of other roads so turned around. Stopped in a town and looked for a Police Station but the closest one was 18 km out of my route so decided to carry on and ask at the hotel. A peaceful ride 238 km in 3:50 hours. The guy at the hotel told me not to worry about going to the Police Station as hotels normally take care of the registration, dopey at the border should have known this. He gave me the Registration document the following day.

Apatin – the only reason I stopped here was to relax by the river Danube for a couple of days and that’s what I did. I had an air-conditioned room at the Marina which was very nice in the 35c temperatures and there was a restaurant next door. The Blue Danube is not blue, its green hahaha. Croatia is on the other side of the river, not exactly sure how they secure this border as the river meanders along, I could not see any fences.

 

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Romania, Timisoara, 09 – 10 August 2019

Posted on Saturday, 10-August-2019 by Chris Desmond

Cluj-Napoca to Timisoara – Another slow ride over rough roads through the mountains with traffic in both directions. Finally got to a freeway 90 km from Timisoara but I was low on fuel and there are no petrol stations on the freeway so I had to go very slowly until I used the Garmin to find a primitive one just off the freeway. After that 120 kph until I took the exit for the city straight into a traffic jam. This freeway goes on to Budapest and the rest of the EU. Distance covered 324 km in 4:50 hours.

Timisoara also known as Little Vienna, my favourite city in Romania.

 

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Romania, Cluj-Napoca, 07 – 08 August 2019

Posted on Thursday, 8-August-2019 by Chris Desmond

Suceava to Cluj-Napoca – I was expecting this to be an enjoyable ride on winding roads through the mountains, not so. Good 2 lane road but for the most part crowded with slow moving traffic in both directions and a speed limit of 50 kph with many small villages, 315 km took 5:30 hours to get through.

Cluj-Napoca – Worth visiting and where I discovered one of the best beers in the World “Silva Pale Ale”.

 

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Romania, Suceava, 05 – 06 August 2019

Posted on Tuesday, 6-August-2019 by Chris Desmond

Chisinau to Suceava in Romania another border crossing and an accident. Bumpy 2 lane road to this remote border crossing, not much traffic, easy 100 kph, 2 hour ride to the border. First I had to pay a Causeway Toll of MDL 20, so remember to keep that much money on you. Next through the gate to Moldova Immigration, handed in my Passport and Bike Registration, I was the only one there hahaha, the girl asked me to open my panniers and close them, 5 min later on my way. Rode across the causeway and then Romanian Immigration, once again I was the only one there, surly guy gave him my Passport and Bike Registration, he gave them back to me in 5 min and then I moved 5 meters to Customs who asked me to open one pannier and waved me on. Saw a sign about Road tax so rode to the booth next to the sign with a closed window and a woman opened the window and said no Vignette for motorcycles rode on at 1145, total time taken 25 minutes, rougher winding roads now and hilly got to Botosani a fairly big town at 1240. I was in the middle lane behind several cars at a standstill at traffic lights and I realised that I had to turn left at the lights and went to change into the left lane and a car in the left lane coming up from behind me did not stop or give way and scraped my bikes pannier and this pushed me into the car on the other side which received a scratch as well. No damage to myself or the bike. All this happened at a walking pace and probably would not have happened in a country where drivers are less aggressive. Having said that, I knew where I was and it was a lapse of concentration on my part. Police attended and did breathalyser tests on all 3 of us and we went to the station where we filled in the necessary forms and exchanged insurance details and 2 hours later I continued on my journey. The horse and cart is the pickup truck/utility vehicle of this region and they are commonplace.

Suceava – a stop on the way to somewhere else though it does have a 15th century fortress that has been restored and is worth visiting. I made the mistake of taking a short cut to the Fortress which is on a hill and you know how that turns out hahaha. I also bought a SIM card here from Vodafone for 7 euro. I discovered later that I did not need it as Romania is one of the countries included in my EE, UK SIM card plan and it does not cost any more to use my UK allowances here.

 

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Moldova, Chisinau, 01 – 04 August 2019

Posted on Sunday, 4-August-2019 by Chris Desmond

Odessa to Chisinau – A border crossing from Ukraine to Moldova. I planned my route via Palanca, Tudora and Stefan Voda to avoid Transnistria the breakaway region from Moldova. Passing through Tranistria adds another border crossing and possibly corrupt officials, also you don’t get an Entry stamp after you pass through and enter Moldova and have to go to an office in Chisinau to get an Entry stamp or you will not be able to leave the country. I did not want any of these complications so avoided the place altogether. The border is 60 km down a 2 lane road, first stop was a soldier in the middle of the road handing out a small slip of paper with the date and time on it, ride on a bit and arrive at a red light where I was held until it was my turn to continue on to Moldovan Immigration and Customs, there is no Ukraine border post so I never got an Exit stamp from Ukraine. I handed in my Passport, Ukraine visa, Bike registration and insurance and the slip of paper. While waiting another Immigration officer who spoke good English came and chatted to me about his and my travels, very friendly and polite, my papers came back and I was on my way in 30 minutes, a very pleasant border crossing. The road deteriorates a little after this but this makes it more interesting, maintained a comfortable if a little bumpy 100 kph hahaha. Arrived in Chisinau after 198 km and 3:36 hrs.

Chisinau – capital of Moldova, not a bad place to visit, clean, cheap with some good restaurants but definitely not a Tourist hot spot. I bought a Moldcell SIM card for about 5 euro with 10 GB data, 4G, etc, only needed it for 4 days, no ID required and it started working immediately. The Yandex taxi app works here and you can get to most places for under 3 euro.

 

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