To the Black sea and back ..
Discussion
I always enjoy reading travel stories on here and have just returned from a trip to the Black sea and back so thought I'd add my own ...
Just a little back ground, I've wanted to do something like this for years and as the years go by I decided I need to do this sooner rather than later as I'm not getting any younger ..
I decided on the Black sea as it's a trip that will help me leave my comfort zone, I travelled to France and Belgium on my bike before but never done a proper touring holiday .. so the Black sea seemed as good a place as any to head for .. I had a month to complete the trip which was plenty of time .. I'm doing the trip on my Honda Africa Twin DCT ..
I decided I'd do camping with Hotel if the weather was a bit dodgy .. I decided to plan my route the evening before by putting in my destination and adding towns for particular roads I wanted to use.. I also decided to get to the Eastern part of Europe sooner and spend more time in the countries further away ..
This was the rough route I decided on taking ..
So with the bike all packed with more stuff than I needed I set of on the 2nd Sept ..
The first day involved catching the train and riding through France, Belgium, Luxembourg, into Germany for my first nights camping .. I stopped off in Ypres for a coffee and the day went uneventfully ..
I set up camp which took a couple of hours due to a very chatty Polish guy but manage to get it done before it was Dark .. in a place called Trier just over the border in Germany
The next day I set off across Germany heading for Austria, the weather forecast was for heavy rain that night so I decided to get a hotel for the night and stay dry ..
The day went well I passed the Porsche and Mercedes Benz buildings and arrived at the Ibis in Augsburg, the following morning whilst loading the bike it toppled over, with the help of 2 germans we lifted it up, the camber in the car park was enough for it to tip over .. the crash bars and pannier prevented any damage and the only visible evidence of damage was to the hand guard .. although somehow I managed to do something to one of my fingers.. luckily it was the clutch hand so there was no problem for me as I didn't have one ..
The predicted over night rain waited for me to leave in the morning before it arrived so the day was seen through a water covered visor .. In spite of the German farmers covering the nice twisty roads with a slimy film of mud mixed with rain I reached a campsite in Linz in Austria
The next day was dry and I had decided to go along Slovakia and dip down into Hungary then into Romania .. Whist crossing Austria I passed the koenigsegg factory which looked as ugly as their cars ...
I entered Slovakia straight into Bratislava and had to quickly learn the driving rules I made it across in one piece and spent my first night in Slovakia in the Comfort hotel in Nitra .. Slovakia was beautiful but the roads were very bumpy but the AT soaked them up with no problem ..
More to follow ... I hope a few of you find this of interest ..
Just a little back ground, I've wanted to do something like this for years and as the years go by I decided I need to do this sooner rather than later as I'm not getting any younger ..
I decided on the Black sea as it's a trip that will help me leave my comfort zone, I travelled to France and Belgium on my bike before but never done a proper touring holiday .. so the Black sea seemed as good a place as any to head for .. I had a month to complete the trip which was plenty of time .. I'm doing the trip on my Honda Africa Twin DCT ..
I decided I'd do camping with Hotel if the weather was a bit dodgy .. I decided to plan my route the evening before by putting in my destination and adding towns for particular roads I wanted to use.. I also decided to get to the Eastern part of Europe sooner and spend more time in the countries further away ..
This was the rough route I decided on taking ..
So with the bike all packed with more stuff than I needed I set of on the 2nd Sept ..
The first day involved catching the train and riding through France, Belgium, Luxembourg, into Germany for my first nights camping .. I stopped off in Ypres for a coffee and the day went uneventfully ..
I set up camp which took a couple of hours due to a very chatty Polish guy but manage to get it done before it was Dark .. in a place called Trier just over the border in Germany
The next day I set off across Germany heading for Austria, the weather forecast was for heavy rain that night so I decided to get a hotel for the night and stay dry ..
The day went well I passed the Porsche and Mercedes Benz buildings and arrived at the Ibis in Augsburg, the following morning whilst loading the bike it toppled over, with the help of 2 germans we lifted it up, the camber in the car park was enough for it to tip over .. the crash bars and pannier prevented any damage and the only visible evidence of damage was to the hand guard .. although somehow I managed to do something to one of my fingers.. luckily it was the clutch hand so there was no problem for me as I didn't have one ..
The predicted over night rain waited for me to leave in the morning before it arrived so the day was seen through a water covered visor .. In spite of the German farmers covering the nice twisty roads with a slimy film of mud mixed with rain I reached a campsite in Linz in Austria
The next day was dry and I had decided to go along Slovakia and dip down into Hungary then into Romania .. Whist crossing Austria I passed the koenigsegg factory which looked as ugly as their cars ...
I entered Slovakia straight into Bratislava and had to quickly learn the driving rules I made it across in one piece and spent my first night in Slovakia in the Comfort hotel in Nitra .. Slovakia was beautiful but the roads were very bumpy but the AT soaked them up with no problem ..
More to follow ... I hope a few of you find this of interest ..
AJB88 said:
Cant wait for the rest, where was your final destination? I travel to Constanta a lot, by plane mind you.
I had a night in Mamaia, and had a paddle in the Black sea .. as it was the end of the season the place was very quiet, I then moved on to Bulgaria and stayed in a Hotel in Obzor ... then across Bulgaria to Serbia ..Benni said:
Wow, 218 months and a TVR, from the days when it were all fields, one of the first PH bikers ?
Great trip and a good write-up so far, keep it up.
What type of tent were you using ? Looks decent with floored apsis, and side entrance.
Yes .. from fields to concrete and skyscrapers ..Great trip and a good write-up so far, keep it up.
What type of tent were you using ? Looks decent with floored apsis, and side entrance.
The tent is an avon deluxe 3 man tent, the thinking behind it was if I stay a few days anywhere it was big enough for me to move around in with all my stuff inside and was not much bigger in size than a 2 man tent when packed up .. What I did not realise was how cheap the hotels would be in Eastern Europe, the cheapest was 15 EU including breakfast with most being around 20 eu ... although they were basic they was more comfortable than the tent .. esp as the nights were getting chilly ..
Cool trip! I've been down through Germany/Austria often enough and always wanted to keep going.
2OOM said:
The next day was dry and I had decided to go along Slovakia and dip down into Hungary then into Romania .. Whist crossing Austria I passed the koenigsegg factory which looked as ugly as their cars ...
Not Koenigsegg, they're in Angelholm in Sweden...
2OOM said:
I had a night in Mamaia, and had a paddle in the Black sea .. as it was the end of the season the place was very quiet, I then moved on to Bulgaria and stayed in a Hotel in Obzor ... then across Bulgaria to Serbia ..
Mamaia is madness in summer, been round there drinking at 5-6-7am still.You should of gone into Constanta old town at night, some night bars there.
From Nitra I continued across Slovakia, the countryside was amazing, the roads were as well but not in a good way, they suffered from subsidence along the edges and were very bumpy with pot holes and broken tarmac .. The drivers apparently had the best reaction times and braking systems judging by the way they felt they could drive within inches of back of my bike .. And when they over took, they never felt the need to completely cross the white line and always made sure that as much of their car was still on the correct side of the road .. I headed for a campsite near Stara lensa, which was in a beautiful area .. however I did notice evidence of skiing, facilities when I was getting near... After setting up camp .. I noticed the temperature starting to drop as the sun went down .. By the time I crawled into my sleeping bag I was wearing most of my clothes including my woolly hat .. The temp dropped to 6c by morning ...
The next morning after warming I up I set off .. the Plan was to cross Hungary into Romania .. and that was what happened, I had a giggle when I filled up with petrol and it came to 5500 forints .. I arrived at the border, I got there about 4.30pm and wasn't sure what time they closed and there was quite a Q of cars ... It took an hour or so to get through .. I thanked the border guard in Romanian and he informed me what thank you is in Hungarian and what I has just said was Romanian ... I wasn't sure which country the border was for .. but he did think it was funny ..
I arrived in Satu Mare and the Hotel I had booked and went into town to get some currency .. The ATM offered different amounts so I picked 300 Lei which seemed like a lot, when I checked my Revolut card I withdrawn £38 ... But everything was very cheap so it went much further than I first thought ..
The next day I headed for a campsite in Blajel, I had an app that listed campsites and had the odd review and it was proving very useful .. I found the site and it was owned by a Dutch couple, I was hoping to rent a Chalet but they were taken, The dutch guy said a tent was no problem and would I like a beer before I put the tent up or after ...
I decided to stay there for 2 nights and do a bit of washing and check the bike over etc .. It was a nice chilled place not busy and the weather was in the mid 20's ...
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So far I had enjoyed Romania, the drivers had the same reaction times and braking systems as the Slovakians and the roads were less bumpy but had more pot holes and broken tarmac, there was also the added obstacles of horses, cows, goats and stray dogs the were often waiting for me around blind bends ...
After spending a day chilling I had planned my route for the next 2 days which was the Transalpina tomorrow and the Transfargarsan the day after which I was really looking forward to ..
The next morning after warming I up I set off .. the Plan was to cross Hungary into Romania .. and that was what happened, I had a giggle when I filled up with petrol and it came to 5500 forints .. I arrived at the border, I got there about 4.30pm and wasn't sure what time they closed and there was quite a Q of cars ... It took an hour or so to get through .. I thanked the border guard in Romanian and he informed me what thank you is in Hungarian and what I has just said was Romanian ... I wasn't sure which country the border was for .. but he did think it was funny ..
I arrived in Satu Mare and the Hotel I had booked and went into town to get some currency .. The ATM offered different amounts so I picked 300 Lei which seemed like a lot, when I checked my Revolut card I withdrawn £38 ... But everything was very cheap so it went much further than I first thought ..
The next day I headed for a campsite in Blajel, I had an app that listed campsites and had the odd review and it was proving very useful .. I found the site and it was owned by a Dutch couple, I was hoping to rent a Chalet but they were taken, The dutch guy said a tent was no problem and would I like a beer before I put the tent up or after ...
I decided to stay there for 2 nights and do a bit of washing and check the bike over etc .. It was a nice chilled place not busy and the weather was in the mid 20's ...
[url]So far I had enjoyed Romania, the drivers had the same reaction times and braking systems as the Slovakians and the roads were less bumpy but had more pot holes and broken tarmac, there was also the added obstacles of horses, cows, goats and stray dogs the were often waiting for me around blind bends ...
After spending a day chilling I had planned my route for the next 2 days which was the Transalpina tomorrow and the Transfargarsan the day after which I was really looking forward to ..
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