It’s amazing but we didn’t see any border control although we passed at least 15 times a border so far (Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia).

Yesterday we had a very nice evening with Austrian hunters. We were looking for a camping spot for quite some time, prepared to go wild camping, until we heard a group of  singing men. It appeared that they were part of a group of hunters (and opera singers…).

We were welcomed warmly and enjoyed home grown food, local beer and slivovitz.

We enjoyed the beauty of Slovenia and saw two deer running away from us. It’s really true that the border of the former iron curtain is green and uncultivated nature due to the absence of mankind…

…and The Schnitzel, gorgeous cakes, a huge variety of coffee preparations, beautiful parks, nice shops, the Donau channel, amazing buildings and so much more. With a two-day rest we had plenty of time to enjoy and experience this beautiful city together with Bettina.

However, before we reached Vienna we had some difficulties to find our way out of Linz and lost a lot of time. Thankfully, a group of Austrian guys on Mountain bikes (Stammtisch Gäste), provided us with a 25 km long slip stream with an average speed of 35 km/h.

The road from Emmersdorf to Vienna was characterized by a number of picturesque villages and numerous vineyards. With a high tempo we reached the city of Tulln were we regained our energy with ‘the Kaiserschmarrn’ (a typical Austrian dish) in order to bike the remaining 40km to Vienna!

Tomorrow we will resume our trip along the river Donau to Bratislava. From there we will follow the Iron curtain bike track who will guide us to Istanbul.

Now that our holiday is coming to an end, our real adventure is about to start…Exciting!!!

 

 

 

Today we crossed the border to Austria!

After we left Munich we took the chance to visit the birth place of the Erdinger Weissbier in Erding of course.

We ended up in a small Bavarian village called Velden where we experienced

 

local food served from an old train wagon: ‘Pressack Rot/Weiß’ and ‘Zwoa Kugeln Obatz’da’!

Next morning before leaving the camp site Ronald got tangled up in a conversation with some local people while Maurice was filling up the bottles with water. You won’t believe it but again we were captured on a photo which will appear in the local newspaper as well as on Facebook.

After a flying start we then couldn’t resist the  invitation of Kadja and Schröder for lunch (Brotzeit). Thank you both for having us and the plums were delicious by the way ?.

The day ended in Vilshofen next to the river Donau.

At this moment we are sitting in Ottensheim after managing to escape a heavy storm with lots of thunder and lightning. We kept the tent dry and are looking forward to a good nights sleep!

With only two days we managed to reach Munich. The road was challenging as we climbed and descended constantly (A perfect interval training).

In a small Bavarian village called Kutzenhausen we met the Biergarten society of Kuztenhausen. They provided us with beer (non alcoholic of course) and “Brezeln und Weißwürste” (pretzels and Bavarian sausages). Thank you!  ??

In Munich we met our friend Rudi who welcomed us with a nice shower and Greek food! We had a great evening with good conversations and a delicious Rose! Thank you Rudi for the perfect hospitality ??

Now we are off to Austria where we will meet Bettina in Vienna.

 

Via Wörth am Main and Neckarsulm we reached Stuttgart. There we stayed for three days where we attended the wedding party of Dieter and Gabi (great party, well organized and lots of fun! Thank you!!!)

We used the time to buy a few things for our bikes, prepared ourselves for the next track, both got a massage and did some maintenance and cleaning for our bikes. Ready to hit the raod again!

 

After a very delicious lunch at our friend Bettina’s house, her husband Ralf took the chance to bike 1,5 hour with us and brought us immediatly into the right direction towards the river Main. Thank you Bettina and Ralf for your kind hospitality! That’s what friends are for. 😉

On our second day we crossed the Veluwe (a national park) and reached Arnhem where we met a guy who was interested in bringing our story into the local newspaper.

We then crossed the border to Germany where we decided, over dinner, that the first three weeks of our trip (roughly up until Vienna) will be considered a holiday and the rest of the journey as hard work!

On day 3 the weather gods were against us, as we got absolutely soaked three times during the day. However, the day ended on a positive note with great hospitality in Düsseldorf, courtesy of the family Grobler (warm shower, great food, nice beer, fresh laundry, a real bed and lots of chatting).

On day 4, with great weather and a high pace, we managed to reach a camping spot in Koblenz (160km)  where we met a lot of co-bikers. Together with another father/son duo (from Cologne) we enjoyed a couple of beers during dinner.

Day 5 was marked by the crossing of three rivers: the Moselle, the Rhine and the Main. On top of that, a old chap took advantage of our slip stream for about 25km. He told us that he bikes his track (140km) once a week: Respect!

In the late afternoon we tried to check-in, with our tent, at ‘Kloster Erbach’ (a monastery) but the nuns were too celibate to welcome us. As a result, we ended up at a camping spot in Mainz a couple of kilometers further…