One of the gladdest moments of human life, methinks, is the departure upon a distant journey into unknown lands. Shaking off with one mighty effort the fetters of habit, the leaden weight of routine, the cloak of many cares and the slavery of home, man feels once more happy.
Sir Richard Burton

Home » Archives » October 2006

driving in hungary and romania

October 30, 2006

In Austria, the general rule in traffic is to lok for the weaker participant, to watch out for him. Here, it's "If you can't stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen".

Posted by gaston at 18:47:00 | permalink | Add comment

update

Hello my dears,
just to give you a short update. After crossing the Carpathian Mountains by bike ( I felt I still had enough energy and the weather was still fine) I'm now in Bucuresti, where I wait for my tent and some letters from my bank to arrive (tomorrow I hope). Up to now, everything is still fine and I'm looking forward to reach Asia soon.
More informations will come soon,
wish you all the best.

Posted by gaston at 18:37:00 | permalink | Add comment

Short update on my whereabouts

October 23, 2006

Yesterday, I arrived in Cluj Napoca (or Cluj as the people here simply say. Or Klausenburg, the old german name), entering Siebenbuergen. As its a beautiful town, I decided to stay another day and will only drive further tomorrow at noon. As its getting closer and closer to winter, I'ver decided  not to do the Carpate Mountains by bike and instead take the train from Brasov to Bucuresti. Not as planed, but I'm on this trip to have a good and interesting time, not to fulfill a duty.

Posted by gaston at 2:35:00 | permalink | Add comment

Cycling in Hungary

 After about 900km of cycling in Hungary I think I should say some words about the experience of cycling in Hungary. Fierst of all - it is possible. But, it's differnt from what you're used to in Austria or Western Europe. Above all, the unwritten rules are different.
The good thing about cycling in Hungary is that it is flat. The bad thing about cycling in Hungary is that Hungary is flat. Sounds absurd? No. It isn't. Let me explain it. Flat means no hills (or not that much) or mountains to climb. You're rolling peacefully in the plain, the sun is shining and everything's easy. Sounds cool. Relaxing. A nice littel tour. And now, just add some wind. Winds in the plains tend to be strong. And permanent. That they're always heading in the wrong direction, I don't think I need to mention that, that's obvious. Have you ever noticed that plains also means few trees? If not, now you will. So much about nature.
The other thing concerns the bicycle paths. Hungary is trying hard to improve its network. So whenever they construct or renovate a road, they add a bicycle path. Again, sounds cool. But very often this means that you have 20m of bicycle path, then you're back on the road for 200m, back on the bicycle path for 500m, back on the street and so on.  And everytime a path starts or ends, there's a sign indicating it. If you cross a street the path ends. After crossing the street it starts again….
Aparently, the association of bicycle repair shops is responsible for the construction of the bicycle paths. Because every 10m, there's a little  ditch across the path. Or a wall. Or both. Kills your  wheels. And kills your ass. After 20km, you really start to feel the effects…..
Very often you'll drive on the big streets. Just read my story about       the M1 as soon as I'ver written it down. Very often, these streets were just declared open for bikes, marked on a map and here we go again with another 200km of bicycle paths… Sometimes the bicycle path just end on a 4 lane motorway. And no, there's no alternative. So when in Rome, do as Romans do - ignore the signs "cycling prohibited" as they do and continue your ride. The alternative, again, see the post about my adventures with the M1 (to arrive soon).
Anyway, however why and how you ended on the big street, now you're on it, so live with it. First of all, drive as far on the right side as possible. Then drive a little bit farer on the right side. Then, get used to cars passing you 20cm close. 80km/h faster than you. Defensive driving style has no equivalence in hungarian. And on overland roads, there's just  one speed - as fast as possible.Of course, all these characteristics also applies to trucks.
This gets extremely funny when you've got strong wind heading in the wrong direction, slightly from the side. So strong, that it's really hard to maneuver your bike. The airstream of an heavy truck is impressive. If some of them are crossing close to you, you feel ike in the middle of a little whirlwind. With 40cm to maneuver - and the sidestrip is rarely a real option. A detailed story about this will be published in the post about the Hortobagy Nemzeti Parc.
So, to conclude, is it a good idea to cycle through Hungary after all? I'd still say yes. The hungarian tourist board (they're doing a really great job by the way, especially the quality of their free maps is outstanding and the staff is extremely friendly, helpfull and motivated) is working on improving the system of bicycle paths all over the country and if you avoid windholes like the Hortobagy Nemzeti Parc it really  is fun to ride the bike. You cross beautifull landscapes and beautiful towns. And once you got used to the hungarian style of driving this isn't problem any more. At least that's what you say to yourself…

Posted by gaston at 2:28:00 | permalink | comments[1]

My way through Hungary

October 20, 2006

As I'll soon stop to type - I'm not that fast and I'm getting tired - I'll give you just a short description of my way through Hungary.
From Gyoer the next day brought me to Komarom. The next day, I crossed the boarder to Slovakia again before coming back to Hungary at Esztergom, my next goal. From Esztergom I went to Szentendre, a small town just at the city limits of Budapest. After visiting Budapest (very stressful by bike, very stressful) I almost reached Goedoello (famous for its castle, just one word - Sissy). The next day brought me until Gyoengyoess, another day to Eger. From there, I went south-east to Tiszafuered to see the famous Theiss-sea and the Hortobagy Nemzeti Parc, spending the next two days in this windy area. And I do mean windy. After leaving the National Parc, I visited Debrecen and made a little sidestep to avoid the big streets (more on driving on hungarian streets later) and spent the night at Bagamer, befor crossing the boarder to Romania after 970 km of cycling at Nyirabrany - Valea lui Mihai.

Posted by gaston at 6:06:00 | permalink | Add comment
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