Day 11 - Maribor (SLO) to Ubersee (D)

Tuesday 30th May
------------------------


Woke-up early as I wasn't tired considering the easy day and all the monging by the pool. It was another glorious sunny day and I was looking forward to getting into Austria on the back-roads. At the same time sad to be closing the loop on the former Yugoslavia. 

Such a diverse region - it could never remain as a single nation, I get that now. Slovenia and Croatia are the West. Just an extension of Austria / Italy I think. Croatia will be over-developed on the coast and will resemble Magaluf soon, but it does have everything. Bosnia is kind of interesting - a real mixture of cultures, a bit of a mess but I really enjoyed my time there and regret not going back to Sarajevo on my return leg. Montenegro, trying hard. Spoilt with stunning natural beauty but not really trying too hard. Albania (I know it wasn't Yugoslavia) - needs some tidying-up. Would be better in decent weather but it's very much a developing country. Macedonia - decent, friendly people. Working hard on tourism and so, so cheap food and drink-wise. I liked it. Kosovo, actually on it's way up. The whole country is a building-site but it has some stunning natural beauty and Prishtina is a very calm yet up and coming city. Won't last long I fear before there is another war in the region. Serbia, little Russia. Some great natural beauty, lots of unspoilt areas, but much of the country feels like the rest of Eastern-Europe, 30 years ago. Zastava's (Yugo's) are still the norm here whilst a novelty elsewhere. Fiercely patriatic, pro-Russia, hard as nails, fearless like Vikings - I wouldn't want to fight these guys!

Anyway lovely scenery and riding through rural Slovenia - all picture postcard stuff and not too much traffic. Decided to stop for breakfast/lunch, still in Slovenia, when filling-up the bike. Went for a set meal that all the workers were having. Soup (like Polish Rosół), Salad and chips & mash with two breaded pork-chops (just like Polish Schabowy). Not bad for €5.50 with a posh coffee. Crossed-over into Austria at a little border point, nobody was in the hut so I kept going.

The roads and views in rural Austria just got better and better. Perfect tarmac and very pleasant little villages. Seemed to be quite a few holiday makers so it must be quite a tourist spot. Stopped for a drink of water near a vinyard and set the sat-nav for the quickest route to Lichtenstein. To my horror it was still over 440 miles away and it was already 13:30. Hit the Austrian toll roads and made good progress but it was super-hot at speed and when I hit a massive traffic jam on the German border I seriously started over-heating. Even the tunnels which are normally nice and cool were steaming-hot. Went through a really long one and it was like riding into an oven. I pushed-in as best as I could but it was tight and the traffic jam was about 10 miles long. Stopped for fuel and considered my options. I didn't fancy or need to ride another 6 hours so checked the TomTom which had a campsite 30 miles down the road from Salzburg (but in Germany) so I went for that and am now camped by a massive lake in a place called Übersee. It is pretty Uber.

The Austrian motorways are pretty good view-wise but I still found myself wanting to sleep. My motorway Vignette for Austria runs out tonight and to get to Lichtenstein I should really dip back down into Austria. As I have time though and because the backroads have been fun so far, I plan to quickly check-out Munich as it is nearby and then take the German roads down to Lichtenstein which I reckon can all be done in about 6 hours.

Not bothered cooking again as there is a nice bar and restaurant here (showing some lame Munich vs Regensburg Bundesliga match). When in Germany, I have to have my favoirite Currywurst - it's the best. Camping was under €15 but Internet was an extra €4. Food / beer is about the same as Slovenia.

Suddenly became very overcast after I pitched my tent and washed my socks. With the humidity the massive thunder storm and rain were inevitable. Great thunder and lightening show but it's also very windy so my tent might not be there when I get back from the bar (I didn't pitch it too well)....


Mileage: 3091
Country count: 12 (GB, F, D, A, SLO, HR, BiH, MNE, AL, MK, RKS, SRB)
Beers: 33 + 0.5l of red + Blueberry Schnapps + 3 Raki + 4 Pokojnice shots + 1 bottle of Croatian home-made white.
Fines: 0
Bribes: 0 (but 1 passport switching scam)
Ass pain: 4/10
Mechanical issues: 1 (headlight bulb & fuse)
Accidents: 1 (witnessed) + 1 guy reversing into me + 1 crash in Kosovo petrol station
Coldness: -1/10

Comments

  1. Unknown30 May 2017 at 15:23

    Looking good andy. Hope you make it to Lichtenstein. Take some pics. Always wanted to see what it was like.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Andy30 May 2017 at 22:15

      Yeah, fancy checking it out too, but it hasn't stopped raining since last night's storm...

      Delete

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