The Balkans, late 2015 on my old XT600E (Arrunya)

[Wayne66]

From there I went back in to the main shopping area for a look around and then instead of getting the bus back I walked back to where I am staying. I had a few Coffee and Slivo stops on the route.

Tomorrow I am going further north and into Hungary

Wayne

 

[Wayne66]

Day 39 Balkans Trip

The route today was from Belgrade in Serbia to Szeged in Hungary.

Day 39 Belgrade to Szeged

It was a good trek today with most of the route being long straight roads and flat farm land. But it was still a good day in the saddle.

 

[Wayne66]

First off from Belgrade was the town of Novi Sad and the Petrovaradin Fortress. The Fortress was ok but not a good as the one in Belgrade. Although it was very bike. You could ride about inside it. But that made me lazy haha and I didn’t get off the bike except to take a couple of photos.

Petrovaradin Fortress - Wikipedia

 

[Wayne66]

From there I drove into the town and parked up and had a coffee. It had a nice town square with some nice old buildings to view.

 

[Wayne66]

Once I left Novi Sad I was on my way to a Manor House on the outskirts of Becej. It was quite an impressive place to see, a very grand old house. I couldn’t make my mind up if it was still lived in. There is a restaurant there if you fancy food and drink but I wanted to push on and get over the border into Hungary, as I was expecting it to be teeming with refugees.

Fantast - Wikipedia

 

[Wayne66]

Thankfully there wasn’t any refugees.
I crossed at a quiet crossing on a back road just through a small town called Djala at N46.15826 E20.11626. It was a breeze crossing both the points. I spent 10 minutes talking to the Hungarian border guard about my travels.

The Border Crossing

From there is was a very short trip in to the centre of Szeged.
I sat in the town square and had a brew before looking for somewhere to sleep for the night.

Szeged - Wikipedia

Hotel was found...Art Hotel Szeged, N46.24962 E20.14810, underground garage for Arrunya. Not cheap though.

 

[Wayne66]

I struck lucky picking this place, the town is very nice and they have a bit of a winter market going on. I went out for some food but saw the Gluwëin first so I had to have one with a double shot of rum in it. Then after some food I had to have 2 more. So all in all a good evening was had after a good few miles in the saddle.

Food

Gluwëin and double rum

My favourite place

Tomorrow off to Lake Balaton

Wayne

 

[Wayne66]

Day 40 Balkans Trip

Didn’t achieve anything today. Very cold and very wet. All I saw for nearly a 100 miles was rain on my visor. Cancelled the trip to the Lake due to the weather as I didn’t much see the point of visiting something like that in the cold rain. So I came straight to the outskirts of Budapest and looked for a room in a hotel.

Book into my Airbnb tomorrow.

Wayne

 

[Wayne66]

Day 41 Balkans Trip

Had a short trip in to Airbnb place today.

I found the place I was going to be staying at and then parked up and had some Glühwein, not too many as I still had to ride to the apartment. But it warmed me up. Just before it was time to go check in it started to rain hard again, but I was only out in it for an hour or so.

Budapest - Wikipedia

Nice place once to get through the door but I am on the 3rd floor and the block of apartment is very old and it reminds me of something out of a good old fashion cold war spy film.

Got most of my gear dry now so thats a bonus. Got the next few days in here and tomorrow I will go for a good look around Budapest.

Wayne

 

[Wayne66]

Day 42 Balkans Trip

Had a great day out in Budapest today. It is a really nice city with lots of sights to see. I walked miles rather than take tour buses or taxi’s as the weather has improved dramatically. Got another day here tomorrow and then the following day i am moving on. But I don’t know where yet, except it will be further north.

I went up to the top of Castle Hill and had a look around there

A great view of the city from the top

 

[Wayne66]

The Matthias Church and surrounding area is nice to see. There were still tourist groups walking around with their guides. In most of the areas I have been to but it was not that busy

Matthias Church - Wikipedia

Out again later to visit the winter market

 

[Wayne66]

I went to the Winter Market for a look around and some Glühwein

Wayne

 

[Wayne66]

Day 43 Balkans Trip

Back out again this morning to look at some more sights.

This (according to a tourist guide I overheard) is the last Soviet monument to be built before they pulled out of the country

 

[Wayne66]

Next up was the Parliament Buildings. Big and spectacular

Hungarian Parliament Building - Wikipedia

Across from the Parliament Building

 

[Wayne66]

Then I went to look at the largest Synagogue in Europe

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dohány_Street_Synagogue

 

[Wayne66]

On my walkabout today I found an Authentic Thai Cuisine Restaurant so I just had to go there as I am missing the food from Thailand.

Pad Thai Gai

Panang Gai

Very tasty indeed.

Tomorrow I am heading towards Brno in the Czech Republic via Bratislava in Slovakia

Wayne

 

[Wayne66]

Day 44 Balkans Trip

I rode over 200 miles today to get to Brno via Bratislava.

Day 44 Budapest to Brno

When I set off this morning there was frost all over and ice in places. So I had to make a decision. The route I had plotted on Basecamp was going to take me 1hr 20 more from Budapest to Bratislava and an hour more from Bratislava to Brno then if I went on the motorway…..Decision time….Take the longer route and go slower using a road less trodden, ice and frost, but don’t get as cold, but still about 0 degrees c with the wind factor….Or take the motorway, go faster, road better, no ice or frost due to more trodden, but get colder due to the speed?
I decided to take the motorway, I have not been this cold on a bike since I rode from Osnabrück to Rotterdam in a blizzard back in 2000 on my R1100s. I was bloody freezing even though the sun eventually pushed through. My hands got that cold I started to loose the feeling in them, I have some Gortex overmitts so I but them on over the top of my gloves and that did the trick, not hot but with the heated grips on they were comfortable.

 

[Wayne66]

The stop at Bratislava was only for about an hour but I wanted to go and see the Castle on the hill and also find a cafe to thaw out a bit.
The Castle is a grand building but not what I would call a Castle, nice all the same.

Bratislava Castle - Wikipedia

 

[Wayne66]

From there I went to Brno, not for any real reason except it is quite a large place on the way to Prague. The town centre is quite nice and once I had booked into my hotel and thawed out again I went for a walk about before it got too dark. I also needed feeding, as I had not had owt since breakfast.

Brno - Wikipedia

My trip is pretty much coming to an end as I make my way north but there are still things I want to see and do.
I am going to Prague tomorrow and I am spending 4 nights there with hopefully a day trip out in the middle, if the weather is ok.
From there it will be Dresden to meet a mate, staying there for a few days and going to the winter markets to drink copious amounts of Glühwein hopefully! Also a trip out to Colditz Castle is planned.

Wayne

 

[Wayne66]

Day 45 Balkans Trip

What a day I had today. The route was going to be a nice steady back road ride to Prague from Brno

Day 45 Brno to Prague

That didn’t materialise. When I came out of my room there were light snow flakes coming down. By the time I had eaten my breakfast and packed Arrunya it was coming down a little harder.
So it was on with the romper suit and the gortex overmitts.
I had to stop and get fuel on the way out of Brno and the snow was coming down even harder and staring to settle.
So I decided to use the motorway which also took over an hour off my journey.
I was to be a wise decision and by thee time I had done about 10 miles I was riding in a blizzard, so much for me mentioning blizzards in my report yesterday….. It stayed like that for about 75 miles, by the time I had wiped the snow from my visor it was thick with it again. But on the plus side it was a bit warmer than it was yesterday, so it true what they say….ever cloud has a silver lining!

 

[Wayne66]

Once I got into Prague I found my Airbnb place and sorted my stuff out.
Then it was out in to the city. I am only 4 stops on the tram to Wenceslas Square.

Wenceslas Square - Wikipedia

So I went and had a walk around and bought some stuff from the supermarket before going back to my room to cook tea and have a look at what I am going to try and visit over the next few days.

Wayne

 

[Wayne66]

Day 46 Balkans Trip

Had a good day out and used the public system, I got a ticket for 3 days of travel and it works on time rather than trips so you can get on and off as many times as you like. You can use it on the Trams, Underground and the Buses. not bad for 310 CZK which is about £8

My modum onerariis for the day

If you like old artictecture then you will like Prague

I wanted to go across the river today and see the stuff on the otherside then I can do my side of the river for the remainder of my time

 

[Wayne66]

First up was the Pražsky Hrad ( Prague Castle). Quite a big place and still busy with the tourists. In fact 3 coaches pulled up as I got off the tram. Worth a look, although I didn’t go inside. For me I prefer looking at the buildings rather than inside them
There was a great view of the city from the Castle walls.

Prague Castle - Wikipedia

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The Church of St Nicholas in the background

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[Wayne66]

Then I went to see the Church of St Nicholas at Malostranké námestí. Nice old church and it is a nice area with lots of other buildings to see. As well as some restaurants and cafe bars.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Nicholas_Church_(Malá_Strana)

 

[Wayne66]

Came across these when walking about