Broken but still going strong

Getting out of Budapest was not as easy as getting in. On my way in I followed the river on bicycle paths but on my way west there were no good bicycle roads so I had so cycle on roads with more traffic than what I like. But I got out and continued on towards Lake Balaton. The second day back on the road was not a very pleasant one. I had to cycle 15km to where I could by some breakfast and the weather was cold, rainy and windy. I sat down on a bench and ate my breakfast. The first thing I did was to cut my finger on the knife when slicing the bread and when I dug out a bandage from the bad I notices that one of the back panniers had broken. Earlier I cycled on a very bad road and went a little too fast when I hit a couple of holes in the road. The plastic on the back where the attachment for the bag is had broken. I went around the town I was in looking for someone that sold bicycle bag without any luck. So I did my best to fix it and luckily the weight from the bag isn’t in the part that broke so I moved the attachment a little bit and it has been holding up so far.

 The two days riding along the lake was not very nice. The weather continued to be bad and I wasn’t feeling good about anything at the time. I thought I would treat myself to a night at a camping site to get some rest and a warm shower. But after cycling past more campsites than I could count without any of them being open I ended up in the forest once again. It felt kind of strange passing through this area at this time of the year and seeing all the big hotels and campsites being empty.

After another night in the forest I was close to the border to Slovenia and It felt good to get to another country after my time in Hungary. And everything felt better after a nice day cycling in Slovenia. I actually was in three different countries this day when the road I felt was the best one went into Croatia for about 10km. So after showing my passport four time within an hour an getting my first stamps in my brand new passport I was back in Slovenia and quickly found a nice place to camp next to a river.

 The next day I continued on west and came closer to the mountains. It was beautiful scenery and even if it was a little tricky at times finding a good road a felt like I was back on track after a few days feeling a little down. After lunch that day the hills became higher and I followed a river in a deep valley on my way to Ljubljana. But It got dark earlier than normal because of some clouds and the fact that I was in a deep valley. So after searching for a campsite for a while I got tired and found a flat area just by the side of the road. When I was about to fall asleep there were some lighting in the sky, but I was in the comfort of my tent and wasn’t worried about rain.

But at midnight I woke up in a waterbed. It was raining hard and even if I thought I had put my tent in a flat area a puddle had formed right where I was sleeping. So I was lying there in the tent thinking about my options. Either I would get out of the tent, put on my rain gear and wait out the rain or stay in the tent as long as I was warm and dry. I went with the second option and waited in the tent until five a clock when I was starting to get wet and cold. So I got out in the dark and started packing up all my wet gear. And an hour later when I had gotten everything on the bike I had to get moving because I was cold. Even though the road I was cycling on was narrow there was a lot of traffic. So I didn’t feel great about cycling on the road in the dark. But I didn’t have much of a choice since I had to get moving. So I put on a reflective vest, a light on the back of the bike and a headlamp on my forehead.

After cycling for only 4 km I found cover from the rain and ate a couple of muesli bars and continued on. After that I got on a smaller road that would take my all the way to Ljubljana. And when I got to the city the rain stopped after twelve hours of constant raining and the suns warmth was a great feeling.

Once in Ljubljana I checked in to a hostel and could dry up all the wet gear I had. The plan was to get to bed early because I had only gotten a few hours of sleep the night in the rain. But Sweden was playing Germany in the qualifying for the world cup and even though I was about to go to bed when we were down by four I stayed awake and witnessed an amazing comeback.

Budapest by night

 

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Ljubljana or Zagreb

I'm leaving Budapest tomorrow and will be cycling to Slovenia. But after that I haven’t really decided where to go. Either I go to Ljubljana and down to the Mediterranean or skip Ljubljana and turn south earlier and head for Zagreb. Any advice?

Travelling here in low season has its advantages. I’m staying at a hostel in a room with five beds, but I’m the only one in this room. So I got a private room for 9 EUR per night=) 

Cycling along Donau

After leaving Bratislava I set my sight on Budapest and planned to follow the river Donau all the way there. I still haven’t gotten rid of the cold so the first day I didn’t cycle for very long and found a nice place for the tent. And the weather was warm and the tent was surprisingly dry the next morning. I continued along the bicycle road next to the river which was very good until the asphalt turned into gravel and the road was like that for a long time. But I made good distance and crossed over the border to Hungary after a late lunch. I found a good place to stay for the night next to the river and took a cold dip in it to clean up. I had looked at the weather forecast and was expecting some rain this day. And at four a clock the dark clouds came. I hoped it would pass by so I put on my rain gear and got ready for the storm. And there was a lot of rain and even more wind. So when it hadn’t stopped around six a had to set up my tent and make dinner protected from the weather.

But a managed to get a good night sleep anyway and woke up to a damp and cold morning. It seems like the fall has come to these parts as well. The next day the plan was to get close enough to Budapest so that I could have some time to get in to the big city. There was a cold wind today also, but I had it in the back witch was very nice. And after another cold and damp morning a cycled into Budapest and after a little tour around the city I found a hostel where I’ll be staying for two nights.

A quickie in Austria

After two days spent mostly in bed it felt great to get on the bike and to be on the move again. I didn’t feel 100%, but I was bored of being still in that place and I felt I could keep going if I took it a little slow. And I was lucky with warm weather and the wind was also on my favor this day. So later that day I had gotten down to the river Donau, just 20 km from Vienna. And after a early start the day after that I was quickly in the city center. But the cold was still hanging over me and I didn’t have the energy I would have wanted to have to take on a big city like Vienna.

But I managed and what a beautiful city. I have never seen so many old beautiful buildings in one place. And after having spent a day in the city I decided not to check in to a hostel, but to instead continue cycle along the river towards Bratislava. Maybe I should have stayed in Vienna because spending a day in the city had taken a lot of energy and on top of that a had a head wind on my way east. But after a while I found a bench next to Donau and forest behind me to set up my tent in. 

Today I cycled the 40 km I had left to Bratislava. I feel better today even though I still have a runny nose and a cough. But I’m in a warm bed at a hostel tonight so hopefully I’m full of energy tomorrow. From here I’m following Donau down to Budapest. It’s great that many of these nice cities are so close. And after I’ve been to Budapest I’m very close to the mediterranean=)

Back on two wheels again

After two days spent mostly in bed I feel better today and it feels great to get on the bike again. I will take it a little slow to begin with and see how my body feels after a couple of kilometers. And most likely I will be in Vienna tomorrow.