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First day in Bulgaria
Getting up this morning in my cheap pension in Edirne started a day full of hurdles. I was keen to get going, looking forward to a nice ride into Bulgaria.
Steppimg out of my pension though I got wet. Rain!!! And a dark grey sky as far as the eye could see! However, I packed up my little Suzuki. To be ready to go as soon as the rain stops. Hopefully soon. When problem number two started. Police cars, lots of them closing all the roads around the pension. Including the one signposted to go to 'Bulgaristan'. Just today there was a bicycle race in town. A bicycle race? The Police guy estimated the roads to be reopened in maybe three hours. Maybe. And there was rain. Non stop. What now? It was no heavy rain. Just that bit too uncomfortable to start riding into it. My riding gear should be up for it. But still. Starting to ride in the rain sucks. And so I waited. And waited. I love waiting. While I waited I could watch the bicycle race. Together with a young friendly Turkish Police officer who was keen to practice his English. Around 40-50 bikers doing their laps through the town. Coming past us every 15min. 15min of empty streets. Then a 10sec highlight as the bikes and support cars race past us. Whooooooosh. Then quite again. I kept looking at my little Suzuki. Packed and keen to go, keen to find a detour around the closed streets. And so was I. Looking at the sky though quickly eliminated my keen-nes and I felt comfortable waiting under the shelter of a shop awning. Whoooooosh. Every 15min. Seeing the race go past us for the 7th time the sky brightened and the rain stopped. Seeing it for the eighth time I was sitting on my bike and took off. Into a grey day. But for now no rain. If you can't use the signposted roads you have to find your own alternative route. Easiest way to do this is to ask people. But people won't let you go unless you drink one tea with them. So it became a long 25km journey to 'Bulgaristan'. And I was pretty hyped up getting there. From tea and sugar. But friendly people all along. Really cool. The border crossing itself was easy as. No luggage check. No paperwork whatsoever for the bike. No Carnet, no TIP, no chassis number check. All I had to do was to buy insurance. Covering all of the EU. Last time to buy insurance for me! And before I knew I was in Bulgaria. Immediate positive observations: fuel here is a lot cheaper than in Turkey. And petrol stations sell road maps! Great start! I bought one straight away. And another one covering Romania as well. Just in case. And right there at the border made a plan of how to get through Bulgaria the most interesting way. I still knew nothing about Bulgaria. Well, the sky was still grey. There was a slight drizzle every now and then. I already wore four layers of clothes. Considering this my conclusion was that beaches must always have sunshine. So my route should take me straight to the Black Sea, another sea I had to show my little Suzuki. Not the shortest way to Germany. But a scenic one. Probably. Riding through Bulgaria was strange. The terrain is mostly flat. There is a very intense green. The smell of the recent rain was still hanging in the air. Sometimes in the shape of dense fog. There were houses. Small villages. Most in a grade of decay. And no people. Sometimes, rarely, there was an old person curiously looking after me. Very rarely there was a car. But mostly I had Bulgaria to myself. As if it was evacuated some years ago. There were some major towns along the way. And there were people. Mostly elderly ones. Standing there watching. There were shops. Closed. Factories. Ruined. Houses. Partly collapsed. The 250km between the border and the Black Sea port of Burgas gave a very sober impression. Bulgaria seemed to be in a poorer state than many African countries we went through. All that changed though when arriving in Burgas. No more decay. High rise buildings. Traffic lights. A big clean city which experienced it's peak during the communist era. And somehow was able to cling on without developing much further since. It feels like a time travel experiment. Soviet made trucks and cars fill the road. Also ancient electric buses using overhead cables. Like trams without rails. There are these monuments, lots of them truly monumental and huge. Picturing figures from the old communist ages. Mostly in a 'Moving Forward' pose. They stand on major town squares. In parks. In front of public buildings. And there is the Black Sea. Beautiful and wide. But cold. Not just the water. On arrival in Burgas I was wearing six layers of clothes. And was still cold. And damp from the constant drizzle along the way. In short, when I stepped off the bike I felt quite miserable. So I booked into the first hotel I could find and spend a long time under a very hot shower. Which brought me back to life. Even a clean city like Burgas looks grey in the drizzle. I spent an hour or so exploring it's sights, had some food and retreated back into the warm dry shelter of my hotel room. Soon after the drizzle turned into rain which hasn't stopped since. My hopes of sunshine on the beaches didn't turn out so well. I almost forgot how depressing a grey rainy day can be after all the sunshine in Africa. The forecast predicts continuation of these conditions for a week. No fun. What I also feel is that, since leaving Africa, my interest in sightseeing and spending time in countries diminished to a degree. Turkey and Bulgaria are just not the same as Africa. Not the same Adventure. The same challenge. The same fun with people. It may sound stupid but it feels for me like spending too much time in touring here will water down the awesomeness of the journey somewhat. That and the weather will see me riding longer distances now. Going a straighter way towards Germany. Soon I should arrive. Driving up the small hill to my mum's and dad's place. Where I will have time to process the journey. I guess I will need that. |
Hi Marco ....I like your story about Africa and I am in preparation for RTW on DR650 like your`s...... so next stop is Bulgaria and then, are you going to Greece or Macedonia as I live in Serbia name of the city is Cacak which is on route from Skopje Macedonia to Kosovo-Prishtina.You can stop by my place and take a break and if you bike needs any work ....no problemoooo:thumbup1:
Drive safely |
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An RTW is a big thing and I'm sure you will experience adventures even more than me. Take good care of your DR650, she will be your perfect partner! Go for it, mate! |
Bulgaria
Two nights is all I spent in Bulgaria. One in Burgas on the Black Sea. The other one in Ruse at the Romanian border. Bulgaria is really beautiful. Why did I race through it so fast then?
The weather! I thought my ride to Burgas was already a ride in bad weather. But the next day I got up to quite heavy rain. And a dark grey sky all around. It was so depressing - I was so close to a beautiful Black Sea beach, a beautiful town full of beautiful girls (top marks for Bulgaria here). But I couldn't move three steps out of the hotel without getting soaked. Most frustratingly the lady at the reception confirmed the weather forecast: no change in conditions for the rest of the week. Too long to sit and wait it out. Waiting is no longer one of my strength. So at first chance, when the sky cleared up just that little bit and the rain stopped for a moment, I packed up and happily took off. Considering the weather forecast my route headed straight towards the Romanian border. The weather up North is apparently much sunnier. Hopefully. It didn't take long, just a few minutes out of Burgas and the rain resumed. And never stopped again that day. I was riding through deep green landscapes. Everything looked fresh and alive. But the sky was grey. Mist covered everything. The road was wet. And so was I. Wet through all my rain gear. Water just penetrated through any tiny openings, flowing down my neck. Being pushed up my sleeves from my wrists. The road was full of water, you couldn't make out the potholes any more. One or two hours into the ride I felt just miserable and cold. Sorry Bulgaria, but I had to get out of this. As quickly as possible. So I rode all the way to the Romanian border. With only one stop along the way. To have a coffee and some sweet bisquits to recharge my energy. The poor girl in the coffee shop literally had to mop after me, every step I made left behind a puddle on the floor. But she was a nice girl and didn't complain. With that smile on her face that said "poor guy, how did you end up in this misery" she served me coffee. Then bisquits. Then another hot tea. That moment I really loved that girl for saving my life and I'm sure her coffee was all that stood between me and Hypothermia. Unfortunately language put a huge barrier between us. What I saw of Bulgaria through the grey mist and my wet visor was indeed beautiful. Rural Bulgaria seems to be abandoned, there are ruined houses, potholed streets and almost no people. So nature took over. In bigger towns though it's a different picture. There are shops. Restaurants. Petrol stations. Banks. People. It is clean. Although everything appears a bit old school. But you can travel along very efficiently. No hassle, clean transactions. No conversations. No invitations for tea. Reasons for this in my opinion is really just the language. It is hard to find anyone speaking at least broken English. And I do not speak any Bulgarian. That surely doesn't help conversation. So tomorrow I will cross the mighty Danube river into Romania, heading North till I find the sunshine as promised by the weather forecast. Cross fingers the forecast is right. |
Bulgaria pics
http://www.mhes.com.au/foreverfree/p...400-border.jpg
First pic in Bulgaria, straight after the border crossing from Turkey. The landscape here is flat, green and empty. The sky is grey. It should become a typical picture for most of my ride in this country. http://www.mhes.com.au/foreverfree/p...1-concrete.jpg The bigger towns are less empty. But feel a few years back in time. http://www.mhes.com.au/foreverfree/p...402-statue.jpg Statues are all over the towns. http://www.mhes.com.au/foreverfree/p...403-statue.jpg Bulgarians really love their statues. http://www.mhes.com.au/foreverfree/p...bb/404-bus.jpg And I love their electric overhead cable buses. |
Romania
When I crossed from Bulgaria to Romania - it was just fantastic! Sunshine on the first day! What a difference that makes.
The border crossing was easy. Pretty much just crossing the bridge across the Danube river. They checked my passport for a few seconds on either side and I was ready to go. Praise to the European Union! Romania is famous for three things: Gypsies, Dracula and the Carpathian Mountains. Those apparently having the highest population of Brown Bears anywhere in Europe. Do these three things sound like a god place to spend some time in? Well... I picked a route to cross Romania within two days, a route travelling through as much of the Carpathians and the Transylvania region as possible. Sleeping one cold night in the town of Voineasa, right in the mountains and one night in Oradea near the border to Hungary. Lots must have changed in Romania lately. There are no more Gypsies. I could not find any vampires either. And even the Brown Bears hid from me. Instead I found a country completely covered in saturated green. The lowlands green from wheat and sunflower fields. But much more impressive the Carpathian Mountains. Up to 2500m high they are cold. But awesome. The mountain range seems to be entirely covered in extremely dense pine forest. Even the steepest mountain slopes. The ground plays host to all sorts of green stuff: grass, moss, small bushes. Everything in the healthiest shades of green imaginable. A big Brown Bear would just fit perfectly into the wildness of this picture. The mountains were by far the most impressive part of my journey through Romania. Mostly the road follows a river as it cuts it's way through the ranges in deep shady gorges. One side of the road is a sher rock wall. The other side a fast flowing clear mountain river. On the other side a steep rock wall many hundred meters high. And so you wind your way through the mountains, side by side with your new mate the river. Sometimes the gorge gets to narrow and the road has to climb up to a mountain pass. Which then offers you wide views into the wilderness and you see the huge scale of the landscape. The climate as you can imagine in this sort of area is cold and wet. I had to ride through two thunderstorms today. Once you are in the mountains, there is no shelter. You have to ride through. However, they were not intense enough to penetrate through my rain gear. Which is good. Because it was so cold. Being wet in these temperatures would be a nightmare. Once through the storm the sun came up and the mist rose out of the forest like big white clouds. The air smelled fresh and crisp. And my little Suzuki and me, we were just riding along the winding road in awe. She seems to like this style of environment and is running as if she was brand new. Her decent age of 44000km still does not show. Compared to Bulgaria the roads in Romania feature less potholes. But more construction sites. Where the asphalt has been removed. And the surface is often turned into deep mud by the rain. But nothing my brave little Suzuki and her Africa trained rider could not manage. Romania seems to be a lot better off compared to it's South Eastern neighbour. The houses are in top shape. There is a lot of tourist infrastructure. Starting from Tourist Information Centres, lots and lots of Pensions, Hostels, Hotels, Motels, Campgrounds. And souvenir shops. There are also a lot more people. Apart from the mountains the roads are usually flanked by small villages. All side by side to each other with only short gaps in between. The speed limit in settlements is 50km/h and is enforced by quite a few radar equiped Police cars. Which makes travelling off the freeways a very slow affair. But a scenic one. You see a lot of people. But not many young ones. There is this stereotypical image how an old grandma with her headscarf sits right next to the old grandpa with his hat. Just on a bench outside the fence of their home. Watching the world go past on the road in front of them. This picture is so common, any given time, any given place. When you stop to ask for the way people are very eager to help. They talk and talk and talk. In Romanian language. Which is quite similar to Italian. No one speaks English. They dont seem to care and keep talking to you. And somehow you get the idea of which direction they send you. Very popular is also to draw little sketches for you. I've got quite a few to keep as nice souvenirs. Along the road kids often greet you, waiving their hands. And young guys often shout something and give you a military style greeting. Mostly as a visitor you will feel very welcome in Romania. There are only a few days left in this journey. Traversing the rather small countries of Hungary, Slowakia and Czek Republic into Germany. This really comes down heavily on me. The last few nights I did lie mostly awake thinking. Thinking about the journey. Thinking about the people along the way. And what happens after. How to go on from here. How to get the most out of the experience of the trip. It's strange how a journey of this nature has an effect on you. The journey has been my life. All day every day. For ten months. And more counting in the preparation phase. Finishing it feels like breaking up with your girlfriend. Deep sadness about the end of the 'relationship', the great times past. And just a bit of excitement about the new life ahead. Two or three more days is all that's left. Hard to believe... |
Romania pics
http://www.mhes.com.au/foreverfree/p...05-village.jpg
A typical village in the Carpathian Mountains. There is a river. There are houses, very nicley looked after. And a lot of mountains either side. http://www.mhes.com.au/foreverfree/p...406-church.jpg Churches of this kind of architecture can be found in most towns and villages. Mostly two or more church towers. And often a colourful painting over the front entrance. http://www.mhes.com.au/foreverfree/p...bb/407-fog.jpg Riding into the clouds. As the moisture of the recent rain lifts as thick mist from the forest. http://www.mhes.com.au/foreverfree/p...408-speedo.jpg 'Four' seemed to be my little Suzuki's lucky number today. Kilometrewise it's more than once around the world. But she is still in perfect shape. Lovely bike! http://www.mhes.com.au/foreverfree/p...bb/409-fog.jpg When I took this picture the temperature was around 10 degrees Celsius. I was completely wet from the thunderstorm I just had to ride through. As the wet road still shows. I was cold. But the air now was perfectly clean. It smelled of a mix of wet pine trees and the typical wet smell of a landscape after rainfall. I love this sort of conditions. Pure crisp nature. |
Hi mate!
I just found your thread looking for some answers about flights and stuff. I am going for a long trip as well soon. Alaska-Argentinia. So cool what you are doing. Will read more later. Welcome home soon. And stay safe! Toby-a German living in Sweden, working in Norway : ) |
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Thank you for all of your hard work. bier |
Great to hear
Great to hear Little Suzuki is coming home with you! :D
Awesome history lesson and tour of Gallipoli :) |
Done
It's done! On the 01/06/2012 at 9:15pm my little Suzuki and me, we arrived at my Mum's and Dad's house in Germany. Some 35000km after leaving Sydney nearly exactly 10 months ago. Sydney to Germany - the African way - is now complete.
After leaving Romania I very much just kept riding. As the countries got more developed, roads became faster and busier riding became the most fun part to do in these countries, no longer sightseeing. There was this strong urge to keep going, finish the journey. First there was Hungary. My route led me through only 180km of this country. Not enough to even bother changing money. Or bying a map. The Eastern part of Hungary, where I passed through is an all flat landscape with huge farms everywhere. The road became a perfect freeway, perfect bitumen, perfectly signposted. Perfectly clean cars came rushing past us as my little Suzuki travelled along at her favourite speed of 90-100km/h. No, freeways are not her favourite terrain. By now, all the rain in recent days started having an effect on the chain. The rain just kept washing the chain lube away and the dry chain started making a strange noise. After all, this chain has been running for more than 30000km! So in the sunny conditions of Hungary I kept spraying lube on it, from a spray can I bought long time ago in South Africa. It made the strange sound disappear straight away. But now I sprayed the last bit on, the can finally was finished. No more rain please! In the town of Debrecen a big 'Suzuki' sign sprang into my view. My little Suzuki still had one problem. Her front tyre was still original as fitted some 30000km ago in Perth/Australia. The old Pirelli Scorpion still had some thread left on it. But not enough to make it 'road legal' in Europe. Hungary would be probably the cheapest place to change it. At the Suzuki dealer they could help me. It was a professional Suzuki dealer, something I had not seen since South Africa. And as so often in this journey people surprised me. The guys from the workshop liked my Aussie bike. We took photos of each other with the bike. We chatted. They changed the tyre. They did not accept any money for their work. Just pay for the tyre, nothing else. Instead, without me telling them my chain story, they gave me a big can of chain lube as present. How cool is that? Right on the day when I finished my own some friendly strangers give me a new one! Including the tyre change I was through Hungary in just over three hours. It was the country with the sunniest weather I had seen and should see in Europe, the only country where I never got wet. After Hungary it was Slovakia. Slovakia surprised me as that their currency was already the Euro. It was a quite modern country, again with good roads, perfectly signposted. Plenty of petrol, there was a choice between four or five different kinds of petrol on the stations. Cheap ones, ecological ones, performance ones... I got a really good map covering Slovakia and the Czech Republic which made travelling more pleasant. As I could now navigate along smaller roads and avoid the freeways. Both my little Suzuki and me, we don't like freeways. We are just not made for that way of travelling. That night I slept in Trencin, a town near the border to the Czech Republic. As usual it had rained and was pretty cold. So the luxury of a nice pension was extremely welcome. The next night I thought would be my last night on the trip which I would like to spend camping. One more time. The next day I entered the Czech Republic. There is no longer a border from Slovakia. Just a sign announcing you're there. Riding along small roads the route lead us through hilly terrain. It was really beautyful, green, often forested with pine trees. The roads mostly small, just big enough for two cars to pass each other. And some lovely clean towns along the way. And some huge shopping malls and supermarkets and even 'Hypermarkets'. Halfway through the Czech Republic, near the famous town of Plzen (where Pilsen style beer has it's origin) it started to rain again. And kept raining. The temperature was displayed somewhere as 9 degrees Celsius. It was cold. Bloody Europe! The weather here has a lot of potential for improvement! At around 7pm I arrived at the city of Karlovy Vary. Wet and cold. And still raining. No, I did not feel like camping today. Riding through town the hotels and pensions all looked extremely expensive. It's after all a town of many famous hot springs and baths, a destination for wealthy German people to cure their little aches. Looking at my map I realised how close I was to my Mum's and Dad's place. Only 70km! I decided there and then to finish it, to go all the way, no to spend another night on the road. So I stopped at a petrol station, spent my last Czech money on petrol and muesli bars and energy drinks in it's heated shop. It was so nice and warm in there! And now both, my little Suzuki and me, had the energy to go. And as we went along and the km rushed past it felt like we gained even more energy. This epic trip would come to an end soon... At this time in the evening the roads were mostly empty, all our's to cruise along. Again, there is no border crossing between Czech Republic and Germany, just a sign. When I reached that sign I had to stop, to take it all in. This is GERMANY! From here to my parent's house it's only 30km. I knew this road from long times back when I was still living in Germany. Not much has changed here. It felt weird to ride along here now. All the way from Sydney! The rain had stopped now and a bright half moon illuminated the sky. My little Suzuki just flew along, that Czech fuel must have been rocket fuel. Her little single cylinder the only sign of life along this road. Within these 30km strange things went through my head. I felt happy and sad, had tears in my eyes. For some reason the Tanzania national anthem came back from memories long ago and I shouted it from my helmet into the empty German sky along this empty road. No one could hear me. Or my little Suzuki's single cylinder happily cruising along. Finally arriving at my parent's house at 9:15pm. The big moment when I turned the ignition key to 'off'. Remembering the feeling of when I pushed the starter button for the first time in this trip, 10 months ago just outside my appartment building in Sydney. But now, there was no time for nostalgia. My mum and dad came running towards me. And my brother, his wife, my nephew. There was not even time to take the helmet off, no, there was hugging, laughing, happiness. So yeah, here I am. The journey complete. Sydney to Germany - the African way. Give me a day or two and I'll give you a wrap up of what's happening now. And some statistics. As for now - a big thanks to you guys for joining me on this journey on your computers! It's been great!!! |
More pics
http://www.mhes.com.au/foreverfree/p...b/410-shop.jpg
In Debrecen, Hungary. The friendly guys from the Suzuki workshop after fitting the new front tyre on my little Suzuki. http://www.mhes.com.au/foreverfree/p...411-forest.jpg Riding through dense pine forest in the Czech Republic... http://www.mhes.com.au/foreverfree/p.../412-green.jpg ...and through green fields of canola, wheat and rye. http://www.mhes.com.au/foreverfree/p...413-border.jpg The final crossing - this sign announcing that I was now entering Germany. That's all there is to constitute an international border. http://www.mhes.com.au/foreverfree/p...4-complete.jpg DONE! Me, my dad, mum, nephew, brother and his wife at my parent's house on my arrival. And in the foreground of course the star of this trip, my little Suzuki! |
Good that you made it home safe. Congratulations on finishing a great trip.
I enjoyed reading your travel stories. |
Wow! Congratulations, mate, you did it. What a wonderful adventure, and equally wonderful writing and photography. I really appreciate that you took the time to share it with us. Cheers.
Chris |
Hey Marco
Its 8am and pouring rain here on the Central Coast of Australia. I have read your closing lines and felt happy and teary. Glad your all safe, family look thrilled, little Suzuki looks proud. I throughly enjoyed reading your adventures and looking at the pics of your journey. A journey well shared with other caring and interested people. :D Cheers |
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