Starting in April 2009, I will be travelling round Europe on a 650 Transalp for around 4 months. The first month will be spent in France researching and writing for Rough Guides, then I head east towards Ukraine and the Balkans. During this time, my other half Tim will be seeking work clearing landmines, so it's all change for both of us! Hopefully this trip will be the first of many!
After a wonderful couple of days at my friends Chris and Natalie's wedding, I've ridden hundreds of miles of motorway to my parents' house near Paris. It's only a brief stop though, and today I carry on down to the Lot, where I start my Rough Guide work. More motorways...
I wasn't going to add another entry this quickly, so don't get used to it. But I thought you might be amused to hear about my first 24 hours of actual independent motorbike travel. Plus my hotel is being renovated and the building down the road is being sandblasted, so the library is infinitely more peaceful!
I'm afraid I can't figure out how to get photos small enough for the blog on the eee, so they're on facebook for the time being: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=89744&id=646461975&l=68d01cdff2
Rather a lot has happened after the last post, which is part of why I haven't written anything in a while (the other part being that rural France doesn't have much wifi kicking around, and I've been a bit busy to go looking for internet cafés, which are also few and far between).
After two weeks at my parents', it's time to head off on the trip proper.There's a stage in packing when you know you've forgotten something. You know, because everything fits, and you're really tempted to throw your hands in the air and shout Yes! I packed. It all fitted. I looked around, and couldn't see anything else. I took my topbox downstairs, and stashed the random bits of toolage under the seat.
You know you've got a whole load of maps through in the living room, don't you? said Mum.
Bugger.
A long-ago promiseI promised my friend Sean that if he sent me a photo of his house, I would put it in my blog. So, here is the house I stayed in in London:
It's a very nice house, and I'm very grateful to Sean and Lisa for letting me stay there!
I've made it as far as Austria, via France and Germany, with some great scenery and lots of rain!It's been a few days since I set off. My plan is to write blog entries in my own time, and then simply type them up when I find an internet cafe. So this is being written on a campsite in the German Alps, near Berchtesgarden. It's not the best campsite I've ever stayed on, seeing as it's right next to a main road, and basically sited on rock - great for campervans, not so good for tents!
More rain, and big city excitement in Vienna.After leaving Melk, I rode along the Danube, which is predictably wide and impressive, though very definitely not blue! I was surprised to see occasional rocky outcrops and hills between the vineyards, for some reason I expected the landscape to be completely flat.
I've made it into my first completely unknown country, and met lots of people.I left Vienna under blue skies and brilliant sunshine. Hallelujah! The night before had involved much late-night drinking and talking, so I left late after a leisurely breakfast. I'd also found a Guide du Routard for Slovakia in the hostel, so marked the highlights on my map, and talked bikes with a Mexican guy who's planning a trip through South America on his V-Strom.
I've made it to Ukraine! The biggest country on my trip, my most northerly point, and one where I can't even read...So here I am in Ukraine - the biggest, most daunting and most foreign of all the countries on my route, the one everyone warned me against, where I can't even read anything.
Crossing from Ukraine to Moldova, a brief stay and into Romania.After typing up my last blog entry, I returned to the old part of Kamyanets-Podilsky and attempted a walk round the "island" it sits on between two rivers. As I climbed back up after failing to find a routs, I noticed a thick pall of smoke over the town. No-one seemed unduly concerned, but closer to I could see flames leaping out of an old building. A quick bit of local geography and I realised the building in question was round the back of my hotel!
Links to all the photos so farApologies for constantly forgetting to add these!
Austria and Germany are here: Austria and Germany
Slovakia, Ukraine and Moldova are here: Slovakia, Ukraine and Moldova
Romania is here: Romania
You can view these even if you're not on Facebook.
I've finally left Romania, after having holed up to avoid more bad weather, and am now in Serbia with sunshine!I ended up staying in Romania longer than intended because of - you've guessed it! - rain. After leaving Deva I headed to Sibiu, which is a very pleasant town, more Austrian than Romanian in style. Their art museum also houses some real masterpieces, so I felt very cultured as I wandered round. Just outside the town is an open-air museum with examples of all the traditional styles of Romanian house.
Last couple of days in Serbia, and my time in MacedoniaAfter writing my last entry I headed for yet another monastery. This one also had accommodation in the form of a run-down hotel with great views and, most importantly, a balcony where I could hang my washing! In the morning as I left I was given a thumbs-up and "bravo!" from a tiny old cleaning lady - the best reactions I've had throughout the trip have been from women, who display none of the incredulity the men show.
I head into what I expect to be the hardest country of my trip, at least from a riding point of view!I deliberatly told Rino & Gime that I would be leaving earlier than I actually planned to, in order to allow for the predictably lenghty goodbyes. The hospitality I'd enjoyed there was wonderful, but after four days in the same place it did feel good to be on the road again, heading to pastures new.
I leave Albania, and the rain catches up with me yet again in Montenegro.I left Berat in a bad mood after the hotel tried to charge me an extra 5 euros or so for paying in the local currency - especially annoying as I'd specifically got extra cash out to do just that!
My travels in Bosnia, and first days in CroatiaOnce the morning rain had stopped pouring down, I ventured out of the hostel and into Sarajevo's old town. It's a lovely city: a maze of tiny streets lined with shops and craft workshops leads into a newer area of wide avenues and grand Austro-Hungarian edifices. The suburbs climb up wooded slopes to look down on the centre. And then you start to notice. A facade stippled with bullet-holes. The old library, half destroyed and shored up by scaffolding. You realise that the pleasant hills were once hiding places for deadly fire.
Carrying on up the coast of Croatia, with a few forays inland to national parks. Lots of relaxing by the sea...Once the weather finally cooled down, I set about exploring Split. It is very similar to Dubrovnik, Kotor, and all the other old towns along the coast - a pedestrianised city centre with tiny winding alleys and cobbles slippery as the fish sold in every restaurant. Split does have a bell-tower as well though, so you can peer down on the muddle from above.