Through the Ardennes and Home

This is my last day I thought this morning, so make it count. No mile munching but just find a quality route home and where better to do it than in the Ardennes. This hilly forested area spans the border between France and Belgium and is a maze of twisty roads which are a magnet for bikers. I set off with no route other than to follow the river Meuse north from Verdun. I passed Sedan and then left the Meuse to follow the Semois at Bouillon and then went for a proper wander along forest roads for about an hour before emerging in a clearing to see this view.

I headed back to the Meuse and followed the gorge to Dinant and Namur. Dinant is a very pretty town and will be the base for future exploring of this whole area in due course. Up till now, I was congratulating myself on a very good last day indeed. I had to use the side of tire more than the middle which is always a good thing.







I kept stopping at the 'friteries' (chips are the belgian national dish I think) and was disappointed time and again. Either the machine was broken, the oil not hot enough or some other excuse. Eventually I had to settle for this as I was starving. He called it 'Boudin Blanc' which should be 'white pudding' which I love. Actually, it was more like a german Bratwurst but without the meat content. It filled the hole but that's the best that can be said for it.


I completely screwed up the return ferry. I stopped in a McDonalds at Calais to buy the ticket online. Job done I headed for the ferryport only to discover I had booked the wrong direction i.e. Dover-Calais....I missed that little detail on my mobile phone screen. Idiot...and would they change the ticket for free? Would they hell. Another 10 quid to get through the barrier. Stingy bastards P&O....Snotty letter of complaint to customer service is in order.

So that's it, 44 days, 21 countries (22 if you count Leichtenstein) and about about 17,000km later, was it worth it? Yes, I will remember this trip forever. The highlight was eastern Turkey and Georgia for sure and the lowlight? I am struggling to think of any to be honest….even when times were a little uncomfortable, it was still a bit of an adventure. The only mechanical problem I had was the final drive seal and one blown headlight bulb. Apart from that, the bike is sweet and a nut. She has done 50,000 miles now and deserves a bit of TLC. Every few days I have a nice warm feeling for her and give her a pat as if it was horse. I am getting sentimental in my old age.

What would I do differently? 1) Bring better maps 2) Bring more 'Rough Guides' (on a kindle) 3) Bring travel wash (shampoo is not that good) 4) Take more days off 5) Say yes more often 6) learn Russian if you are going to the Caucuses.

What Next? I am certainly not going to sit on the bike again for a while, that's for sure. My arse is broken. Though I did have an idea today that the silk road might be a good trip…..some day.
The Route
View Balkan Trip Day 44 Ardennes to Blighty in a larger map

Blackforest and to Verdun

Take a look at this washing machine in the basement of Pat's house….isnt it a beauty? Wood fired and looks like it was built in a shipyard. I bet it still works. I quit Neckartailfingen with the idea to have a go at the Blackforest roads that the rain and time had stopped me doing before. Setting off, I discovered my map of the area was useless and the GPS was flat so I wandered south using a compass. This was obviously not the will of the Gods as they called up a thunderstorm with lightening in my path so I turned round and bought a map.



I headed for Badenbaden (ish) and I hit a section on the Schwartzwaldhochstrasse (the 500) and got in the groove. Unfortunately, I was so in the groove that I didn't take any pictures except this one at a section of roadworks but it gives you the idea, a racetrack over a mountain. Bend after bend which the loaded GS handled just fine. I wished I had the Blackbird under me though. In Badenbaden, I got hopelessly lost in the roadworks and thankfully, the GPS had now enough charge to rescue me and send me over the Rhine to Alsace in France.

After the lovely Blackforest, the low rolling countryside, although pretty was not as much fin to ride around. I seemed to be constantly going through villages and towns. Clearly, the map I bought at 1:600,000 is not good enough to plan a route by. I tried to be clever and get to Luxembourg to fill the tank as it is much cheaper than France or Germany but gave up after I realised that I would spend more getting there than I would save.


I was in a bit of a quandary as to where to go. This is the second last day of the trip and it was finishing a bit flat and looked like it was petering out into mile munching. Actually, I have felt like that for a few days. Once I have a schedule to keep, I stop wandering and it becomes more about getting someplace by a certain time and so I seem to lose interest in my surroundings. The only thing is the area that I knew of was the battlefields at Verdun to the west so I decided to camp somewhere in the area.

Outside Verdun, I came across a German war cemetery holding the remains of 7880 men. The German cemeteries are much starker than the allied ones with dark slate grey metal crosses rather than the white cement/stone ones used by the allies. It has an altogether more sombre feel for some reason. One of the facts that the Nazis 'forgot' was that Jewish men served in the army too and lie next to their 'arayan' comrades.


Verdun was the site of one of the most murderous battles of WW1. In eleven months, 230,000 men were killed out of 700,000 casualties. I visited the Douamont Ossuary which sits in front of a field of 16,000 white crosse. The Ossuary contains the bones of 130,000 unidentified French and German servicemen. Even today, as farmers find remains, they are added to the piles within. The stupidity of the 'war-of-attrition' of WWI beggars belief. At the moment, the Ossuary and the graveyard are being renovated so it looks a bit of building site.




The Route
View Bakan Trip Day 43 to Verdun in a larger map

Stelvio and other Passes

After the Timmelsjoch, the Stelvio is the other big pass in this area that I couldn't see at the start of this trip because it hadn't opened for the season. Time two remedy that. All along the valley leading to it, there were hordes of bikers either coming from or going to it. And this is a weekday? Apparently at the weekend it completely jammed. On the way up, I called in to see my old mate 'The hand who speaks with the breath of the mountain" who was still there and as happy as larry. He gave me some little red berries that were quite bitter tasting….himmelbeer?

The original road was constructed in 1820-25 and has 48 hairpins on the north side and another 12 on the south side. It is the second highest paved road in the Alps at 2757m (Col de l'Iseran is 30m higher) All the way up, I was passing cyclists in various states of distress. The bottom is fairly steady (as high mountain passes go) but at the top it gets quite steep especially at the switchbacks. The road is narrow in places so you don't want to meet another vehicle at the apex of one of the bends. It is a bonkers road to be honest….the corners are very tight and it is all 1st and 2nd gear once you get anywhere near the switchbacks. All you can hear is the roar of engines accelerating out of corners and then down to 1st to make it round the inside of the curve in case someone is coming the other way.

From the top looking towards the north, the pass looks pretty bloody impressive. And to think they built this with horse and cart technology? Mad. All Ocan say is the bikers of the wold seem to treat this as some sort of mecca. The top was heaving with hairy overweight guys in strange clotting (myself included) everybody somehow pleased to be there.

As I left the top, I saw some guys standing in a puddle taking pictures and thought this looks interesting. It turned out to be some Motorbike journalist and a mate posing for hime. I queued up and got him to take me in the same pose. he has the life….some sort of Ducati sponsorship to wander round and take pictures on a free bike. How do I get that job?






The way down is more of the same only fewer hairpins (though you wouldn't guess it from this pic) and more tunnels. The tunnels have nasty habit of being about the width of a bus and have a right 45 degree bens in them about half way along so you have to take it on trust that there isn't something coming the other way. I went down to Trrano had an ice-cream and a drink and turned right to Switzerland and up the Bernina pass which I can only describe as sublime. Where the Stelvio is all crashing through the gears, this was just roll the bike side to side and on and off the throttle. Bliss…and in fact lots more of that was to come. I got to St Moritz (where she "sips her Napoleon Brandy but doesn't get her lips wet") and turned right for Chur up the Julierpass and did it all over again. I am definitely coming back to Switzerland, crap coffee or not.


I passed through Leichtenstein for a laugh. A country which is about 15 miles north to south, had about 35,000 citizens and 73,000 registered companies....Not much to look at except high mountains all around one side, the Rhine and a castle on a rock. The rest looks thoroughly modern imitating old and lacks the charm of switzerland. I seemed to arrive on traffic jam day and that may have influenced my mood as I was in a hurry.


I texted my college mate Pat near Stuttgart and he was in but the footy was on and he was planning to head into town to watch Germany be crowned and progress to the final. I burned rubber to try and get there in time. At the start the GPS suggested I would get there at 8pm. I did 140kph most of the way there and was 45 minutes late. What I wan to know is how fast does Garmin think you can go on an autobahn? Anyhow, in good Irish hospitality style, Pat had cancelled going into town, put the big screen tv on the table in the courtyard, cooked dinner (salad WITH mash potato :-) and put a beer in my hand within 5 minutes of arriving. Thats's a mate. We watched Italy destroy German hopes….too bad.

The Route (Apologies, my phone had a real problem getting a fix in Switzerland)

View Balkan Trip Day 42 Stelvio and other passes in a larger map

Across Austria to the Timmelsjoch

I continued on the 25 this morning and it was more of the same lovely twisty country lane with very little traffic. I felt so good to be flipping the bike from side to side with a nice smooth surface you could rely on (most of the time) The were quite a few road crews out dealing with flood damage and erosion but that didn't really get in the way and there was so little traffic.

Eventually, I started to follow the path of the river Inn which looked to be in flood. The water was very muddy, not the usual azureish you associate with mountain rivers. I guess that have had a lot of rain here recently. I saw a good few rafting vans moving around so I waited for a while beside the river hoping for one to come along but no joy.

I stopped for lunch and ordered the lunch special and E6.50 and nearly exploded trying to eat it. They believe in value for money with their portions here. The side salad seemed to have a couple of spuds in it too. This was the view from the table, not a lot wrong with that. Abandoning half the food supplied in the interest of staying awake, I pressed on west. I had begin to think that Austria was perfect for biking but in the afternoon I was proved wrong. There is so much traffic here on the main roads(the small roads are fine). Nobody breaks the speed limits because there is no point. You will just run into the back of the next articulated truck ahead of the one you are following. The views however range from interesting to downright impressive. There is always something to look at instead of the back of the truck ahead of you.

I passed Kuftstein which has this impressive 12th century fortress and was tempted to go take a look but time was against me after all the traffic so I jumped on the motorway for 100km to get to the Oetz valley, where I went skiing earlier this year in Soelden. The place is as dead as a dodo at this time of year. The titty bar still seemed open though…..




The whole point of coming this was was to go over the Timmelsjoch pass to Italy. I didn't realise it but the Austrians charge E12 to cross. I paid and got my leaflet and souvenir sticker and a bit grumpy, I set off up. Coming from the north, the pass is unremarkable, just another high alpine road. I was beginning to feel a little ripped off.





At the top, looking over to the Italian side, the situation is very much more dramatic. The Italian side is where all the fun and danger is. Near the top, there is a 700 long tunnel and a sharp right hand bend just after the exit. A plaque on the wall commemorates 3 local chaps who didn't make the bend in 1998 because some snow had fallen and the little wall hadn't been built.



The descent down to Merano in Italy is fabulous, with smooth narrow roads, sheer drops and switchbacks. In fact, I don't know why anyone bothers with the Austrian side at all… and the Italian side is free. Apparently the Austrian side was originally built as a tourist road whereas most of the Italian side was constructed as a military road. My advice is do the Italian side twice instead.

 The Route
View Balkan Trip Day 41 to Timmelsjoch in a larger map

Budapest, Bratislava and (nearly) Vienna

I don't know why but today I hardly took any photos so this will be a bit thin on the visuals. The building opposite my 'hotel' was in a pretty poor state but still occupied. The entire front of it is peppered with bullet holes. I thought they might be from WW2 but the receptionist told me they were from the uprising in 1956. Apparently the Russians just drove down the street and blasted away at the windows of all the buildings. Strange that this old building has been left in this state for 67 years….

Budapest is actually two cities, Buda and Pest separated by the Danube. I had spent all my time in Pest and so I thought it only fair to leave via Buda so I spent an hour wandering through it on the way north. I decided that I would follow the Danube for as long as it went in roughly the right direction. At the start it was very slow going as the hungarians pretty much observe the speed limits and they are 50kph through towns…..which meant a long slow drag to reach the end of the city. I was aiming first for Bratislava the capital of Slovakia which meant crossing the Danube again.

Slovakia does not appear to be doing as well as Hungary from my little survey from the roadside. It is not scientific I know but there was definitely a marked change once I crossed the border. Everything had a little less shine on it and petrol is a lot more expensive. I passed another aircraft in a strange location….I guess it is the eye-catching element that makes people do it.



Bratislava is a much smaller deal than Budapest. Their logo on the trams is 'Little Big City' and I would drop the 'Big' bit. I had had hopes of breakfast in Budapest, lunch in Bratislava and Tea in Vienna but there was very little doing in Bratislava so I popped over the border to Austria for a coffee and the obligatory 'Apfelstrudel mit Sahne'. Still following the Danube, I headed for Vienna to do the tea bit but took a couple of wrong turns on the outskirts and ended up on a motorway going south west. It was 530pm and I had only covered 130 miles all day so I took this as a sign to keep going despite it being against my religion to use a bike on a motorway. Many of the motorways in this part of the world are pay-to-use, most via a Vignette system. For 10 days (the minimum period), it costs E4.60 for a bike so I bought one rather than risk those efficient traffic cops and the nasty fine.

I took a left off the A1 motorway after about 100km and found what I consider to be one of the finest stretches of biking road I have ever seen (the 25). It was 730pm, well past my stop time and I couldn't help myself, I just kept going it was so good. Clarkson, May & Hammond need to revise their list.

I am camping tonight for the first time in a month and I had nearly forgotten how to put the tent up. It looks like being cold enough to actually have to get into the sleeping bag…that's a novelty. (note to self……stop drinking beer or you will be getting out of the tent in the middle of the night) Tomorrow the Timmelsjoch and I have unfinished business to attend to.

The Route
View balkan Trip Day 40 Back to Austria in a larger map

To Hungary and Budapest

I woke up this morning rested and starving. No breakfast available in the Pension so I headed off towards the next big town in the hope of finding something. In the back of mind, I was scanning the roadside to see if I could have gone on last night and stayed somewhere better but in truth I had made the best choice as I would have missed the the lovely terrain I passed for the first 50km. A long winding road which rolled over some very pretty countryside.

Tourism has not really hit this part of the world yet but some people are making an effort to make their place stand out. This old airplane was sitting in front of a cafe being used as a sort of sunshade. How he got it there, I don't know as there was no airstrip anywhere to be seen. I headed on and had the idea to find a McDonalds as they have free wifi so I went into the centre of Timishoara which has a well preserved fine old town centre and the usual concrete monstrosities on the outskirts. I plead guilty to breakfasting on the crap fare on offer as I was uploading yesterdays blog effort.

Across another sea of sunflowers, I crossed into Hungary. The terrain here is very flat and to be honest, not much fun to ride through…but hey, you have to take the rough with the smooth. About 120km from Budapest, the first few rain drops started which then became a proper drenching. Rain gear on, I followed the line of cars and trucks avoiding the motorway tolls all the way to the city centre by which time, it had cleared up again.

First impressions of Budapest were that it is a beautiful old city and well worth the trip here and the second was it is very difficult to park. Eventually, I got myself to a student accommodation block which becomes a 'hotel' during the summer which had underground parking. For 5000 florin, I got a whole 2 person little apartment to myself. The only drawback was the stench coming out of the fridge, whichever student had just vacated had not done a good job there.

I wandered the city for a couple of hours just gawping at it. There is a lovely old feel to the place and how it has survived for so long without being 'improved' is puzzling. Maybe it didn't supper so much in WW2 and being behind the Iron Curtain, preserved it in some way? The sunset was just magnificent. That often seems to be the way after a rain from passes and leaves clear skies behind it.

I wandered the city trying to get cash from every ATM in town but for some reason, they wouldn't play ball. with the equivalent of 10 euro in my pocket, I began to despair that I was going to have to repeat last night's dining performance. I decided to treat myself to a meal courtesy of Mastercard which meant paying tourist prices but it was definitely worth it. Filet steak with Foie Gras and a fine red wind to help it down……mmmmm.

The Hungarians seem to be a bit preoccupied with sex if the number of sex shops, peep shows and hookers on the streets are any measure. On my way home, I was propositioned 3 times.







I added this only because it looks pretty...rain on a pane of glass ...thought it might make a good screen background. The Route
View Balkan Trip Day 40 to Budapest in a larger map

Brasov and the Transfagarasan

I breakfasted to the sound of a thunderstorm and falling rain. I first headed for Poiana Brasov, the little ski resort I went to the year after the revolution. Back then, it was an adventure to be going behind the 'Iron Curtain', to be wiping your bum with wood chip wallpaper and we could afford to buy local 'champagne' just to duel with the corks. It is different now, just like any modern ski resort. In Brasov town itself, the bullet holes in the walls are gone and now they have Carrefour hypermarkets, Ramada Hotels and McDonalds just like everywhere else. The old town is still a little crumbly but it has great charm.

By midday the rain had stopped but the cloud was still low but I decided to have a look at the Transfagarasan anyhow. According to Top Gear, this is the best driving road in the world…..That's a lot of hyperbolae to live up to. Crap conditions or not, I had to have a go. From the north side, the road snakes along a notch cut into the cliff and rock falls must be a very regular occurrence because there was a lot of rubble on the road. This visibility wasn't good as I climbed through the low clouds but eventually, it improved a little as I got to the plateau and looked up. I saw glimpses of the road in gaps between the clouds.



If spectacle is what makes a good driving road then this one certainly has a lot going for it. But the best driving road in the world? Maybe it is good for cars but the surface is very bumpy so I can't agree with Mr Clarkson and friends on my bike. At the top, you pass through a tunnel which delivers you to the top of a long series of switchbacks which are fun but nothing extraordinary. The road then winds along a valley for about 35 miles passing a very large lake and dam. The would be excellent if the surface wasn't often chewed to buggery and covered in sand. I think the sand and rocks on the road was probably caused by recent heavy rains as there are a lot of muddy swollen rivers round here at the moment. Many of the villagers were out digging out the grit from their drainage ditches.

It took a long time to cover the 60 miles from start to finish of the pass so I bailed on doing the other road that people come here to play on (Transalpina) reasoning that at 180km in 4 hours of daylight with all that water and sand on the road, was not a sensible option. There evening was beautiful in contrast to the morning and the temperature had risen 15 degrees.  I took the main road north along a very picturesque valley had a bit of fun tailing a Romanian sports bike. I don't think he liked the fact that my 'tractor' could keep up with him.

I screwed up on the accommodation front tonight. I only had 100 Lei in my wallet and though that would be plenty as that much got me a room, dinner and 3 beers last night. First place I tried was asking 80 for just the room which would mean no dinner. I rode on passing a couple of likely places but they either wouldn't take a credit card, had no room, was a knocking shop, didn't have internet or were even more expensive…2 hours later, I was in a pickle. I had ridden on so far that it was dark and there didn't seem to be any accommodation anywhere. I bit the bullet and turned back to the last sign I saw for a Pension. She saw me coming and the price was 100 Lei, shared bathroom and no internet. Dinner tonight is a pack of biscuits I keep for emergencies. The moral of the story is…stop earlier and don't be so f'ing picky.

The Route


View Balkan Trip Day 39 Transfagasan in a larger map