Several years ago I rode from my backyard in the Netherlands to Vienna. This year I figured "why not start where I left off and go further East?"
So I started in Vienna and followed the Danube to Bratislava, into Slovakia for two monotonous sun-scorched days alongside the river; hopped into Hungary at Esztergom and spent a day sightseeing in majestic Budapest; then four days crossing the great Alföld through endless fields of grass, corn and sunflowers, which taxed my patience and self-love; into Romania at Oradea, over busy motorways across the Transylvanian plateau, chased by stray dogs all the way to Cluj; down the rocky Apuseni mountains to Alba Iulia, and in the shade of the Făgăraș mountains to Sibiu; climbed the (in)famous Transfăgărașan Pass, said hi to the bears, then back North over rural and far-too-hilly roads; past Bran Castle and Râșnov Castle and Peleș Castle, to Brașov and the Bucegi National Park; then finally into flat and empty Muntenia, by way of old Târgoviște, into Bucharest at the end of the three weeks.
It was quite the trip.
I have only ever cycled in Western Europe, and Hungary and Romania definitely have their own challenges: freight trucks with no concept of personal space, language barriers, a complete lack of bicycle-suitable infrastructure, and so, so, so many angry stray dogs…
But in return I got mountains and rivers and vast blue skies, old and (to me) unfamiliar cities, and a benevolent sort of indifference.
Of all my trips, this one made me ask myself "Why am I doing this?" the most. But now that I am back I can't help but love it.
Some practical information for the nerds:
- Stats: 20 cycling days, about 1650 kilometer, almost 10,000 meter of elevation.
- Accommodation: Slept on campings where possible, because I'm a sucker for hot showers. I wildcamped a few nights, which is a grey legal area in Romania and illegal but widely tolerated in Hungary.
- Bicycle: A Riverside 520 from the Decathlon (nice and cheap). It's slow and quickly loses momentum. Certainly not easy cycling. But it's also sturdy: in ten thousand kilometers I haven't had a single issue with it.
- Luggage: I have my tent (MSC Elixir 2) on the handlebars, and four panniers: one with camping gear, one with clothes and toiletries, one purely for food and drinks, one with electronics, tools and miscellaneous.
- Navigation: I mainly used Komoot, which had a hard time in Romania. I don't think it's the best option here. Google Maps is even worse because it doesn't know bicycles exist.
I kept a travel diary. Feel free to read or look at more pictures.
by Kippetmurk