Tom's travel blog
Nun ist auch die Radreisemesse “Rad + Freizeit” Corona zum Opfer gefallen und damit natürlich auch mein für den 22. März dort geplanter Vortrag. Das ist schade, aber in der aktuellen Situation vollkommen verständlich. Da ich mit meinem 94jährigen Vater und meinem “Schützling” Christian aber auch zwei Personen im direkten Umfeld habe, für die eine . . .
Auf der alljährlich vom Bonner ADFC veranstalteten Radreisemesse Rad + Freizeit gibt es immer auch ein Vortragsprogramm; in diesem Jahr auch mit mir. Am 22. März um 15:30 werde ich mal wieder über meine Radreise auf dem EuroVelo9 von Danzig an Polens Ostseeküste nach Pula an der istrischen Adriaküste berichten, wobei ich mich auf die . . .
On January 9, I will hold a presentation about my journey on the EuroVelo 9 at the ADFC in Bonn. Place and time will be announced on the ADFC homepage (and here of course). To whet your appetite, here’s a teaser:
The countries What remains after such a journey? Sorting the impressions in such a way that they don’t appear here like herbs and turnips is not so easy. I’ll start with the countries. First of all: all of them were worth it, none of them disappointed me. At most, it is difficult to find the . . .
The Istrian coastal road, which I tried to avoid by taking a detour via Parenzana, finally got me under control. But there is simply no other reasonable connection from Rovinj to Pula. Unless you drive at least one and a half times the distance and over ” whiteroads ” – a euphemism for the gravel . . .
On the cycle path 171 I ride on firm gravel first past olive groves, later through shady and cool oak forests. Only at the beginning there is a view to the Limski Canal, a 10 km long estuary, which the river Pazinčica created on its way to the Adriatic in a few million years. After . . .
In the morning mist lies over the valleys, while Grožnjan is still dozing in the sun. Yesterday’s article I already mentioned Parenzana, I can hardly repeat that today. Thereby I continue on the old railway line, the way requires permanent attention because of the surface – more or less hard gravel – but because it . . .
In the night there is a thunderstorm. Above the karst the lightning flashes and thunder comes from Portoroz – about 120 per second. Luckily I am an experienced Ohropax sleeper by now! 🙂 After a few kilometres along the sea I am at the border. But what is that? Border controls! Both when leaving Slovenia . . .
Actually it is not far anymore. I probably overestimated the rest of the way and my plane doesn’t leave Pula until Thursday. So I still have a lot of time. And I take it in the morning so that the sun has a chance to take the wet night from the tent before I pack . . .
What? Even more caves? A clear “yes!”. But more about that later. I am always enthusiastic about the amazing people I get to know. Itzok and his family also welcomed me warmly again and gave me the best possible hospitality, and we had a variety of topics for which an evening was simply too short. . . .
Thanks to Andrej’s tip I leave the first mountains on the left and drive on small asphalted roads exactly in the angle between plain and upswing. Behind Vrhnica there is a dry valley, similar to the Moravian Karst, but this time the road is not asphalted. It is idyllic here. You can only hear the . . .
Public transport is not suitable for tourists: First you have to buy a ticket for € 2,-, which entitles you to take part in public transport in the first place. This card has to be loaded with a further amount of money, from which the individual bus trips are deducted. If you have charged too . . .
When I fill up my drinking bottles at the cemetery in the morning, an old woman speaks to me, of course in Slovenian. Unfortunately I don’t understand her, but she doesn’t understand me either, neither German nor English. Thereupon she simply presses my arm with a friendly smile, greets and walks away. Sometimes it’s the . . .
Different from what I thought yesterday, the high mountains, above all the Boč with its striking pyramid shape and the unmissable transmission mast on its summit not to the right but to the left of me. That means I have to go through somewhere. But fortunately the landscape widens the closer I get to the . . .
Why did I want to go to Mureck yesterday? There is another ship mill here. Or better said: again. It was built in 1997, true to the original and functional. It is therefore advertised as “the only floating and functioning mill in Central Europe in traditional construction”. What is so special about it? Ship mills . . .
After a foggy morning, cornfields accompany me to the river Raab, where I first follow the Raab valley cycle path. But of course I have to get out of the Raab valley again, because I want to go further south. And that means: to the heights. But my legs still hurt from the last days. . . .
After breakfast I walk again to the spa area. But this is actually the wrong expression. Hundertwasser has created an entire area here in which people live at least architecturally in harmony with nature. In addition to the thermal spa, there are hotels, conference rooms and apartments. There are also some “eye slit houses” on . . .
Why do you think the Wechsel (english: change) is called the Wechsel? Maybe because I’m changing from Lower Austria to Styria? Or because I have to change from about 400 to 980 meters? As a racing cyclist you’ll probably just get an appetite for breakfast. My goal for the day, on the other hand, is . . .
Warmshowers is a great invention! You get to know nice people, can of course talk about cycling and are confronted with other ideas and hobbies. So this time Lili and Konrad. Again a warm welcome from people you don’t know at all, full board and the best coffee of the tour – Konrad is a . . .
I was driving a few kilometres when I remembered we didn’t take a picture. I felt so comfortable with you, Leni and Bernhard, that I would have liked to preserve the memory. But your hospitality will remain so unforgettable! It’s not particularly warm this morning, but after another heavy thunderstorm last night and I’m glad . . .