The 1. Eastern European Delights after three years

Vienna is the perfect place to take a guided city tour because there is so much to see. The Stephansdom is one of the main highlights of vienna. Michael and Aharon enjoying the view over the city from the top of the tower. If you have any interest in the middle Ages a visit to the Royal Amory Museum at the Hofburg is a must. Although Austria might just be a small country now, their former rulers, the Habsburg Dynastie was very important throughout the middle ages and they have the knights armor to proove it. The last stop on our city tour was the Kapuzinergruft, a place where a lot of the members of the Habsburg Family have been buried and some of their coffins are really remarkable.

On our first day of riding we were leaving vienna and were heading north to the Czech Republic. Our first border crossing. There are many more to come. Once over the border we visited the castle in Ledice, which is one of the most popular sights in the Czech Republic. There also was a meeting of Tatra owners, a czech car company which is one of the oldest car manufactureres that is still around. Beat and Regula in front of the peace monument on the famous battleground of Austerlitz. Our hotel of the day has some nice decoration.

today we are going to slovakia Schloss Bojnice ist aus dem 1100 Jahrhundert und viele Male restauriert worden.  Heute eine Touristenattraktion. Raubvögel und Papageien sind hier zuhause.

Today we're staying in Slovakia. Just making a detour to Poland to add another country to our list

Slowakia was great but today its time to move on and add some more countries to our list. Our goal of today is Oradea in Romania and our way there we will pass through Hungary. We took the little ferry over the river Theiß today, which was quite adventurous because it looks like its around since soviet times. Right after the ferry Michaela surprised us with a picknick at a really great spot. Its Beats birthday today, so a little celebration was in order. One of the main highlights today was the guided tour through an amazing old winecellar where we learned everything about this special hungarien wine.

Today was just a short distance to ride but there were quite some highlights on our way. Our first stop of the day was in the little town Viscri that was founded by german settlers who came to Romania in the 12th century. The Church of the town which was built in the 13th Century was fortified to help against defend the country against the Ottoman Empire. Some of the locals we met today. Only one horsepower, but still looks fun to ride. Our Lunchstop was in Brasov which is one of the bigger cities in the area and has a quite nice historic center. When in Transylvania you just have to visit the Castle in Bran, which inspired irish author Bram Stoker when he wrote his world famous book Count Dracula. After a day of riding, a boot beer is always welcome. Our todays hotel has a very nice view and served an ever better cake as desert.

Aharon, our sweeper of the day in his official uniform. Our day started with an amazing road that also had some great views to offer. So nice when all the bikes are in line. The Transfaragarsan is Romanias most famous road and of course we had to ride it. There is alot of wildlife in Romania, even bears. And we were lucky enough that we could spot one next to the road. We spend one of our final nights in Sibu/Hermannstadt which has quite an extensive and beautiful old city to explore. We had alot of icecream on this tour, but there is always room for one more.

We had a great time in Romania but today is the day we have to leave this nice country with all its diversity and head over the border to Hungary. Our first break of the day was at a nice little gem at the side of the road. Good burgers, fresh fruit and even some icecream. Those watermelons tasted amazing. Our second ferry crossing on this trip. This time we went over the Donau, which is the second longest river in europe and flows all the way from Germany to the Black Sea in Romania. Erich enjoying the view on the ferry. It is Ulrikes birthday today and of course Michaela had a suprise for her ready. We decided to skip some of the Sightseeing on todays route so we could spend some more time in Pecs in the evening. And that was a great idea sind Pecs is a really nice city with a big historic city center and a lot to see.

today you drive to another country, it goes to slovenia on beautiful roads Today's destination is Maribor in Slovenia, our hotel is right on the river

Only 2 more riding days left. Today we are leaving Slowenia and head back to Austria where we started our wonderfull tour of Eastern Europe. The last border crossing on our tour of many. Of course we had to stop to take a picture. Our first stop of today was at the so called "Herzerlstraße" a piece of road that is shaped like a heart when looked at it from above. Joy found a nice place to relax. Since we were close to Graz we couldnt miss out the Schwarzenegger museum in Thal, which is inside Arnolds birthplace. Peter, a childhood friend of Arnold was our guide and gave us a wonderfull tour. Brian sure looks a bit like Conan the Babarian with the sword from the movie. Regula just couldnt pass the opportunity to sit on the famous bike from the movie Terminator. In between all the great sights of today we also found time to have lunch and the Kaiserschmarren was great. The church in Bärnbach was designed by Friedensreich Hundertwasser, the famous austrian artist. Although not as high up as some of the passes in the Alps, the Gaberl Pass is one of the best roads you can ride. In fact the road was so great that some of us just had to do it twice.

Unfortunately, today is our last day of riding, but before the tour is over we still have a few highlights. Regula and Erich support the daily briefing the fog clears and we have fantastic pictures in the "Gesäuse" gorge Aharon and Michael  the largest taxi in the world, a Hauly with 860 hp and four meters high, is our vehicle today when visiting the Erzberg The "Arizonas " Allan and Chen  Martín and Uli try the monsters, whether that would be an alternative, not really All the bikes back in Vienna