Munich to Budapest: My story

Hey guys, I wanted to write about my trip, but didn't have the time (had the time but was lazy).

Route (Approximately): https://www.komoot.com/tour/2147507865?share_token=aLNIEBdm6mZuoV814alBsXGXaWKV9MDx7TTXMCjKk24bciLpV6&ref=wtd

Strava:

• Bike packing – Day 1 – 7th of June
• Bike packing – Day 2 – To Salzburg – 8th of June
• Bike packing – Day 3 – Wolfgangsee and Camping – 9th of June
• Bike packing – Day 4 – Hallstatt and Traunsee – 10th of June
• Bike packing – Day 5 – Linz – 11th of June
• Bike packing – Day 6 – The greatest Headwind – 12th of June
• Bike packing – Day 7 – Rerouting to Vienna – 13th of June
• Rest day – 14th of June
• Bike packing – Day 8 – Bratislava – 15th of June
• Bike packing – Day 9 – The greatest Tailwind – 16th of June
• Bike packing – Day 10 – Budapest & The final day – 17th of June
• Rest day – 18th of June
• Taking Flixbus back to Munich 🥲 (and arriving safe 😪)

A moment of appreciation:
It was really amazing trip. Like, I can't express how grateful I am that I could do such a trip, and especially I’m really grateful for all the people who built the public water fountains in so many places along the way, so I didn’t need to worry about drinking water and cycle on.

This was my first bike touring trip.
I don’t know where to start, but as I live in Germany, you know the drill.

The weather:
Oh man, the weather was awful and amazing at the same time. There were times when I wanted to cry because of how hard cycling was and how miserable I was, and times when I was mega happy.
One thing I learned was that I’m on vacation, so it’s fine to sometimes take it easy and rest, which I did on my first day because it was raining all day long.
Another thingy I learned was that sometimes it’s better to push and not give up. For example, on my 6th day, there was a stupid headwind. I was really desperate and pissed off, and I really wanted to take the train to the next stop. But today, I’m really happy that I cycled through the wind.

The people:
Maybe one of the best things while traveling is meeting people with different backgrounds, and the crazy ones who can do even more than me with triple the age.
The MVP was a guy I met on the last day, on my way to Budapest. He was 74 years old and was cycling from istanbul to amsterdam. And man, he said that he’s doing 120-140 kms daily. Like whatttt? How is that even possible?

The views:
I mean, come on, the Alps are just, ah, beautiful. I’m happy that I took a detour and visited Salzburg and Hallstatt.

The pain and the learnings:
Before this trip, I used to avoid hills because I’m heavy and it’s a pain in the ass. But now I try to appreciate them more and include them in my rides.
I learned that it doesn’t matter how hard it is, it’s worth it. And now I understand the people who do bikepacking and bike touring. Now I see why they put in so many hours instead of just staying in the city or taking the train.