Touring in Eastern Europe

CazMac

Hi
I am looking at doing some cycle touring through Eastern Europe next year ( May - Sept). Not to sure how long I am going for but just wanting to get an idea of what some of the countries are like for cycling as I have read mixed things so far !

The countries are Turkey, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Serbia and Bosnia !

What are the road conditions like ? Are there interesting parts to cycle? Is it possible to camp? Can you take your bike on public transport ?

Really appreciate any info

Cheers

Caz

elduderino

Hi,

I not so long ago toured through Eastern Europe via most of the countries you mentioned and found it perfectly safe for cycling. The biggest problem you will face are the amount of trucks on the roads, as Eastern Europe plays catch up to Western, this means lots and lots of trucks, 99% gave plenty of room though and more often than not waved.

I didn't see many campsites once I had left Hungary, I did see a couple though. I wild camped mostly and had no problems finding a spot but I stayed in hostels in the big cities.

The Serbian people were extremely friendly but the Turkish even more so. Expect to get a lot of invitations for chai.
The secondary roads that I used weren't as bad as I had anticipated, just a little bone shaking at times with the odd pot-hole for good measure.

I was nearing the end of my ride in Eastern Europe and in order to make my flight home in Istanbul I had to put in some big distances day after day, so I often took the motorways and therfore passed all things interesting and the ride just turned into a blur of motorways at that point, not ideal touring I know. The mountains of Southern Serbia stood out.

I would recommend paying Slovakia a visit if you are in Hungary, jaw dropping scenery in the North with excellent roads too.

mercsport

Slovenia ; Slovakia ; Hungary ; Croatia ; are the only countries I am familiar with - on the strength of one extended summer trip a few years ago .

They were all very interesting and good to look at . Logistically - finding grub everyday at widely spaced supermarkets was a bit of a problem in Hungary - tins and packets not big on Illustrations coupled with alphabet problems led to not knowing what was what etc. . Wild camped everywhere . Easy .

I imagine things are a lot easier and - I'd suppose - better , globalisation factor . Common brands and so forth .

I recall vividly that the southern Hungarians and Croatians ( ..I know , not on your itinerary ) were a particularly cheerless lot . And , what a joy it was for me to arrive back in Italy from off the ferry . Felt like I'd come home .

CazMac

Cheers for all the info sounds like it should be an adventure.

May be more questions to come

Tourist Tony

Thinking of a ride through Aistria, Bavaria, Slovakia and Hungary this summer.

denmancentral

I'll also be touring in Hungary and Slovakia this summer. Has anyone had experience of wild camping in that country? Anything to look out for?

mercsport

denmancentral wrote:

I'll also be touring in Hungary and Slovakia this summer. Has anyone had experience of wild camping in that country? Anything to look out for?

See the post above from me .

About ten years ago now since I was there so my info' may be dated somewhat . But , plenty of wide open spaces and and woods . Never a prob' . Of course I'm not of the Sam-Brown and flourescent jacket persuasion and my gear ,although not full on camo' , is green and blends in well wherever you pitch up in Europe . Outside of Budapest the Hungarian is , on the whole , a dour breed .

If its a hot summer , it's also easier to nearly expire from thirst also over there , if like me , you rely on cafe / garage stops to top up with water and 'junk' as they're a lot further apart than in most of western Europe .

I say it every time I comment on here about 'over there' , I was glad to get on the ferry at Zadar back to Italy at the end of the trip , which never had an aim really and objectives were changed on a daily basis . But I did find it interesting and easy enough .

Bodhbh

Not a great deal of experience but rode from Bratislava thru Hungary/Slovenia/Croatia earlier this year. Points which spring to mind are:

- brush up on your schoolboy German, it seems to be the second language of choice in that part of the world.
- have fun with dogs on chains as you cycle through the villages, like setting off a friggin pack of werewolves.
- what has been said about the Supermarkets, for some reason in Hungary at least they seem to be very few and far between.
- If you're wild camping in the sticks might want get jabbed against tick-borne encephalitis.
- Hungary was very cheap, I think they had a currency crash recently.

jc4lab

Perhaps simply following the Danube all the way to /from the Black sea is a simple option..

knedlicky

mercsport wrote:

I recall vividly that the southern Hungarians and Croatians ( ..I know , not on your itinerary ) were a particularly cheerless lot .

Not my experience of Croatians, by a long chalk. I found them very friendly and helpful, if in a sort of off-hand casual manner.

(100 years ago, Croatians were often selected as crew for seafaring expeditions into unknown territory like the Artic because they were judged one of the most cheerful races and thus able to best cope psychologically with the harsh and perilous conditions)

mercsport

knedlicky wrote:

mercsport wrote:

I recall vividly that the southern Hungarians and Croatians ( ..I know , not on your itinerary ) were a particularly cheerless lot .

Not my experience of Croatians, by a long chalk. I found them very friendly and helpful, if in a sort of off-hand casual manner.

(100 years ago, Croatians were often selected as crew for seafaring expeditions into unknown territory like the Artic because they were judged one of the most cheerful races and thus able to best cope psychologically with the harsh and perilous conditions)

Interesting to know that about the Croats . I didn't know . I've got a lot of books on the exploration of the arctic and antarctic - and still collecting them - but cannot recall any lines about the cheery disposition of Croatian arctic seafarers in particular. I don't doubt it at all , I hasten to add , just beyond my dodgy powers of recall .

I must also add that I don't find the Croats an exception at all , we Brits are a remorselessly miserable lot also nowadays . For examples of which : see how we've changed ( in my lifetime at least ) from being fairly laid back and tolerant to being in total thrall to the PC and multi-cultural ideologies that , with threat of law-breaking , have been rammed down our throats in recent decades . Also the rise of the flourescent jacket as the marker of authority and rozzers carrying Heckler and Koch's at 'ready' , parking wardens , etc.. Oh dear , 'off-thread' already . :oops:

But , that's another rant , for another thread elsewhere perhaps .

knedlicky

mercsport wrote:

knedlicky wrote:

(100 years ago, Croatians were often selected as crew for seafaring expeditions into unknown territory like the Artic because they were judged one of the most cheerful races and thus able to best cope psychologically with the harsh and perilous conditions)

Interesting to know that about the Croats . I didn't know . I've got a lot of books on the exploration of the arctic and antarctic - and still collecting them - but cannot recall any lines about the cheery disposition of Croatian arctic seafarers in particular. I don't doubt it at all , I hasten to add , just beyond my dodgy powers of recall .

The most famous case is when Croatians formed the bulk of the crew on the 1872-74 expedition under the Austrian Weyprecht. They discovered Franz Josef Land. Then the ship got trapped in the ice and there was the typical tale of eventually abandoning ship and difficult survival across the ice (I think all but one did survive).
A decade later an expedition to the top of Greenland also had many Croatians in its crew.

mercsport

knedlicky wrote:

mercsport wrote:

knedlicky wrote:

(100 years ago, Croatians were often selected as crew for seafaring expeditions into unknown territory like the Artic because they were judged one of the most cheerful races and thus able to best cope psychologically with the harsh and perilous conditions)

Interesting to know that about the Croats . I didn't know . I've got a lot of books on the exploration of the arctic and antarctic - and still collecting them - but cannot recall any lines about the cheery disposition of Croatian arctic seafarers in particular. I don't doubt it at all , I hasten to add , just beyond my dodgy powers of recall .

The most famous case is when Croatians formed the bulk of the crew on the 1872-74 expedition under the Austrian Weyprecht. They discovered Franz Josef Land. Then the ship got trapped in the ice and there was the typical tale of eventually abandoning ship and difficult survival across the ice (I think all but one did survive).
A decade later an expedition to the top of Greenland also had many Croatians in its crew.

Ah , you're quite right . Weyprecht , yes . Other than oblique references to him in all the other books I have I'm almost wholly unaware of his endeavours and ordeals ( polar exploration in those days always seemed to end up as ordeals ).
Thanks for that pointer , it highlights for me another avenue I must follow up for my winter nights reading ahead .

Theresa

Hi Caz,

We organize an annual tour from Paris to Istanbul each year (The Orient Express) which goes through Turkey, Romania, Bulgaria and Hungary. Around 1400 km of it is on the Danube Cycle Path, which is awesome... no vehicles at all... but the trucks and traffic in Romania and Bulgaria are pretty hectic... depending on your route. Anyhow... thought you'd be interested in following our blog on the tour, which is currently underway... http://www.tourdafrique.com/epictours/o ... press/blog

Cheers
Theresa

Bodhbh

Incidentally, I've got a spare Brandt guilde to Hungary if it's any use (for free). My rucksack got nicked and I bought a 2nd copy but the bag later turned up at lost property. Would rather it go to a good home than clutter up the place, PM me if interested.