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Showing posts from May, 2017

Day 12 - Ubersee (D) to Vaduz (FL / CH)

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Wedneday 31st May ------------------------ I dragged my feet this morning due to the rain which continued over night into this morning. Slowly started packing-up and the rain stopped. I decided to put my waterproof under-layers on as it didn't look promising, but after 30 minutes on the road, the sun was back out and it was hot again.... Quickly hit the centre of Munich. Some lovely grand buildings there. Unfortunately there were so many roadworks all over the city that it got annoying after a while so I continued down the road to the nearest petrol station where I binned my thermal layers and had some snacks. I was making good time so chose to do the rest of the route on minor roads. To start with, it was great with spectacular German / Austrian scenery and the sat-nav picking some pretty odd (very minor) roads. Got to what I believe was massive lake Bodensee in Lindau / Bregenz. Lots of people cycling by the lake or swimming from the beaches around it. Very classy. After tha...

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

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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 - de...

Day 10 - Zagreb (HR) to Maribor (SLO)

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Monday 29th May ------------------------ Had a lovely peaceful evening and slept like a log until 08:00. Very slowly packed-up my stuff as I knew that I had all day to cover very little distance. Set the sat-nav to avoid tolls and motorways and got to see some fantastic rural sites and to ride brilliant twisty roads. If only I had time to do the whole journey this way, but then these days there is traffic. Foreign motor travel must have been amazing 50 years ago. Unexpectedly I got to the Slovenian border quicker than I thought but I was waved through after a quick flash of my passport. Decided to treat myself to a breakfast / lunch seeing as I hadn't really eaten for a while so stopped in a small village cafe and ordered a pizza, coffee and cool drink. It has been really hot recently - I reckon 28C today at least. Took a couple of wrong turns, one down a road that appeared to be marked as closed, which indeed I found it was after off-roading 3 miles and then I accidentally wen...

Day 9 - Belgrade (SRB) to Zagreb (HR)

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Sunday 28th May ------------------------ Slept brilliantly in my cosy and warm apartment. Felt good this morning despite last night's drinks. A most memorable day. Left the apartment by 09:30 and hit the motorway to Novi Sad. It's a big town on the equally big Dunav river. There were lots of historical sites to visit, I settled for the old fortress which had a great view of the town and the river below. Looking at my map it became clear that it's a very long way to Zagreb. My Sat-Nav only knows the main routes in these parts and what with my main phone (better Sat-Nav) out of action I had to rely on my old map and ask for directions as I can't always figure-out cyrillic. Had a great ride through the Fruska national park/mountain before having to return to the highway. Tourism isn't really high on the agenda in Serbia which is a shame as it does have some lovely sights. Made superb progress and got to the Croatian border quickly. Filled-up with cheap Serbian pet...

Day 8 - Skopje (MK) to Belgrade (SRB)

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Saturday 27th May ------------------------ Turns-out my bungalow was right next to the motorway so didn't sleep brilliantly. After the massive dinner yesterday, I decided to skip breakfast and head for Kosovo and beyond - asap. Got through the border as usual, just had to run back from the border and buy the normal 10€ insurance. All seemed very calm. Kosovo seemed fine, not the lawless mess that I expected. The scenery was nice but it is very much a country under construction. Prishtina was very chilled as capital cities go. There is a fake statue of liberty on top of one of the buildings as you enter the city and there is even a street named after Bill Clinton. The Americans are obviously a big influence on the region. People were very keen to talk when they knew I was from the UK. It was typically, "why are you leaving the EU?" or "do you know Jesse-J, can you introduce me?" All good. Stopped for a coffee in the centre or Prishtina and discussed options ...

Day 7 - Ohrid (MK) to Skopke (MK)

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Friday 26th May ------------------------ Fell asleep trying to re-animate my waterproof but waterlogged phone. Luckily I still have my work phone but looks like navigation may now need to be done using my 1985 map of Yugoslavia. It kept raining all night / morning. None of my gear had dried. The boots were especially bad so I had to put my feet into plastic bags before putting my boots on this morning! My clothes also smell of cigarette smoke which is something I am no longer used to. Had a very slow start as after checking the weather I decided that I wouldn't bother trying to rush into Kosovo as I'd get soaked and struggle to find accommodation in the wet. Instead I had a decent breakfast, checked-out the lake, looked at my map and drank coffee. Headed for Mavrovo National park via a back-road that my Sat-Nav didn't know about yet my 1985 map did. It was a great biking road, little traffic, nice bends and decent tarmac. Made really good progress and quickly made it ...

Day 6 - Kotor (MNE) to Ohrid (MK)

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Thursday 25th May ------------------------ Watched Manchester United thrash Ajax before turning-in. Some guys were partying nearby but it didn't bother me and I soon dozed-off. Warmest night so far despite a bit more rain falling overnight. Now realise that the ferry next to where I camped just goes across the bay, hence that other campsite way before Kotor was just a short ferry-ride away.... Left early as I knew that today had the potential to be a tough one. I was not wrong. My route should have typically taken me through what was Titograd, now Podgornica, but my phone SatNav contradicted the TomTom. With Phone Nav being pretty handy of late I chose to go where the phone suggested. It was a wild single-track road through the mountains, hugging the coast. No safety barriers and it went on and on. After about 5 miles I thought about turning back as I had no clue where I was going and didn't have much fuel. Checking the map, my concern was will I find fuel and will there act...

Day 5 - Mostar (BiH) to Kotor (MNE)

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Wednesay 24th May ------------------------ Woken by the call to prayer somewhere up the river. Probably the Dervish house I saw yesterday. Amazing voice, no dodgy over-amplification, I'd be happy with that as an alarm bell. Enchanting. Well someone operating what sounds like a saw-mill may have actually woken me. Peace in the countryside - not a reality. The BBQ trout last night was amazing. The best I have ever eaten (and I've had a lot of trout). All that food and beer came to less than €20 which is pretty good going. In fact this morning I realised that it was 22 Bosnian Marks (about €11) but I told the guy to keep the change as I didn't do the Math. No wonder he was so pleased. Having to replace a bulb and a fuse last night reminded me that I don't have breakdown cover outside of the EU so hope the bike hangs together. So far so good..... Followed the advice of the guy at the campsite and took the mountain road to Dubrovnik, thus avoiding having to go through N...