Eastern European Delights

Welcome to Austria, more precisely in the heart of Vienna to the EDELWEISS BIKETRAVEL Tour "Dream Roads of the East". Our shared adventure in Eastern Europe begins just a stone's throw from Belvedere Palace. 7 countries in 12 driving days with a good 3500 kilometers of driving fun await us. The bikes are ready! Tomorrow it will start!

Bei strahlendem Sonnenschein und angenehmen 20 Grad starteten wir unseren ersten Fahrtag. Glücklicherweise an einem Samstag, so war das Verlassen der sonst sehr quirligen Großstadt Wien sehr einfach und zügig geschafft. Schnell erreichten wir unsere Reisegeschwindigkeit, bis wir zu unserem ersten Kaffeestop, Cafe Steiner stoppten. Durch grüne Felder und Wiesen fuhren wir weiter zum nächsten Stop, Lednice Castle, einer beeindruckenden Schloss- und Gartenanlage. Nach einem Mittagessen unter Einheimischen erreichten wir am Nachmittag das Friedensdenkmal von Austerlitz. Durch rote und lila Mohnfelder fuhren wir die letzten Kilometer zu unserem heutigen Hotel in Kojetin. Ein gelungener erster Fahrtag endet am schönsten mit einem kühlen Bier zu schmackhaftem Essen. So ließen wir den Abend ausklingen und freuen uns auf die Tage die da kommen. We started our first day of riding in bright sunshine and a pleasant 20 degrees. Luckily on a Saturday, leaving the otherwise very lively city of Vienna was very easy and quick. We quickly reached our cruising speed until we stopped for our first coffee stop, Cafe Steiner. Through green fields and meadows we drove on to the next stop, Lednice Castle, an impressive castle and garden complex. After lunch among the locals, we reached the Austerlitz Peace Memorial in the afternoon. We drove the last few kilometers to our hotel in Kojetin through red and purple poppy fields. A successful first day of driving ends best with a cool beer and tasty food. So we let the evening end and look forward to the days to come.

After a rustic breakfast we started early, as we wanted to get a lot done today. The sun was shining and we drove quickly towards the Slovakian border on small but nice roads. Hills, meadows, forests and beautiful red poppy fields accompanied us far into Slovakia. In Cicmany, we admired traditional house paintings before heading for the highlight of the day. The fairytale castle in Bojnice.  In the afternoon, we squiggled our way through the Low Tatras and arrived exhausted but satisfied at a centuries-old castle. A fitting place for an overnight stay.

Pünktlich nach dem obligatorischen Briefing verließen wir unser Burghotel in Liptovsky Hradok Richtung Südost nach Kosice. An den Bergen der Tatra entlang fuhren wir den dunklen Regenwolken davon und entschieden uns für einen kleinen Abstecher nach Polen. Ein verwunschenes Tal an einem Fluss entlang stoppten wir zum Mittagessen um gleich darauf wieder zurück über die Grenze in die Slowakei zu fahren. Bei strahlendem Sonnenschein erreichten wir gegen spätem Nachmittag das 250.000 Seelen Städtchen Kosice mit seiner phantastischen Promenadenstraße. Gleich vor unserer Tür erstreckte sich der entspannte Flair dieser sehr sehenswerten Stadt und so flanierten wir in aller Ruhe eine große Runde um uns die Beine etwas zu vertreten.   Ein gelungener Tag endet abermals bei gutem Essen in nettem Ambiente und wir harren der Dinge die da kommen. Right on time after the obligatory briefing we left our castle hotel in Liptovsky Hradok heading southeast to Kosice. Along  the mountains of the Tatra Mountains, we drove away from the dark rain clouds and and decided to make a small detour to Poland. A enchanted valley along a river we stopped for lunch in order to return  to drive back over the border into Slovakia. In the late afternoon we reached the small town of 250,000 souls Kosice with its fantastic promenade street. promenade street. Right in front of our door stretched the relaxed flair of this very worth seeing city and so we strolled in all peace and quiet  a big round to stretch our legs a little.   A successful day ends again with good food in a nice ambience and we are waiting for the things to come.

After a wonderful balmy summer evening in the cultural city of Košice, we set off in the morning with overcast skies. Fortunately, we stayed dry until the first stop in Hungary. Fuzer Castle was a short but nice stop. Sleepy between quiet fields and meadows it awaited us. Afterwards, we drove quickly to Tokaj with increasing precipitation. Istvan was already waiting for us and we were able to visit the impressive wine cellar and buy a bottle or two for the evening. Since it continued to rain heavily, we looked for a cozy bistro and enjoyed an extended lunch break. In the afternoon, we took a small ferry across the Tisza River and off to Romania. There was not much going on at the border and we were able to continue quickly. Oradea lies ahead and the beginning of the adventure in Eastern Europe.

Today we started early in Oradea towards the southeast. At the beginning we got a small shower, the weather got better by the hour. We climbed the peaks of the Apuseni mountains over winding passes and drove through fantastic forests and meadows to Alba Julia or Karlsburg. After a hearty lunch we drove at a brisk pace through a beautiful, extensive day of farming and meadows to Sighisoara, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, very interesting town. With Mediterranean temperatures, we let this long but also great day run out and fall into bed tired and happy.

Today we had a short day ahead of us. With unclear weather conditions we started in the direction of Viscri to the white fortified church. The sun was smiling at us over the hilly landscape. Arrived in Viscri we climbed up to the fortified church. Early in the morning there was not yet much going on and the temperature was still pleasant. Afterwards we went through green meadows to Brasov. A nice old town where we had our lunch stop. Now it was only a small winding section to the Spa Hotel, where we could all take a breather. Half the tour is over and we are now heading west again.

Bran Castle, home of the famous and notorious Wallachian prince Vlad III, model for the novel character Count Dracula and later the Transfagasaran mountain road, an exciting day. We left Brasov early in the morning through the forests of the Carpathians at the easternmost point of our journey and reached Bran Castle in the morning with the best weather. A highlight of the Eastern Europe tour and fortunately few visitors at an early hour. Around noon we treated ourselves to a small snack in front of snow-covered and later even a bear raced with us. In the evening we let ourselves be carried away by the flair of the old town of Sibiu and let a great day of driving come to an end in a relaxed manner.

Today we started in perfect motorcycle weather Timosoara. We walked quickly through picturesque villages towards the border, where conscientious and hard-working customs officials checked our papers very carefully. We quickly crossed the granary of Hungary to reach the Danube in the early afternoon. A ferry helped us across so we could have lunch in Mohacs. In the early afternoon we reached the city of Pecs and we still had some time to visit the city. Heute sind wir bei perfektem Motorrad Wetter Timosoara gestartet. Durch malerische Dörfer ging es für uns geute zügig Richtung Grenze, an der gewissenhafte und fleißige Zollbeamte aufs genaueste unsere Papiere kontrollierten. Zügig durchquerten wir die Kornkammer Ungarns um am frühen Mittag die Donau zu erreichen. Eine Fähre halff uns überzusetzen sodass wir in Mohacs zu Mittag essen konnten.   Am fruhen Nachmittag erreichten wir die Stadt Pecs und es blieb uns noch etwas Zeit um die Stadt zu besichtigen.

In glorious sunshine we went today over small roads in the direction of Lake Balaton. Meadows, fields and old forests accompanied us. Knap.p we still made it onto the ferry and crossed with glittering water. High between the vines there was our lunch stop with a magnificent view. Now we still had a decent ride to Slovenia and Ptuj. On the way there were wonderful panoramas over the hills and vineyard landscape of Slovenia. A long day comes to an end in Maribor. We are all a little worn out after the 10th day of riding in a row.

Our day today took us through the breathtakingly beautiful Styria. We stopped a few times to take in the beauty of the surroundings. The highlight at noon was a guided tour of the Arnold Schwarzenegger Museum with a close friend. We then set off for a surprise picnic over gorgeous mountain roads. A well-deserved break after those challenging curves.  The afternoon took us further along through wonderful scenery and panoramas. How beautiful it is in Austria. 

The last day! One last time we jump on our trusty motorbikes that have reliably brought us from one place to the next the whole time. At the beginning we drove through the "Gesäuse" a narrow day with a wild river and a lot of noise and after a good hour we reached the Erzberg iron ore mine. There we changed the vehicle and drove through the opencast mine in the largest taxi in the world, a heavy dump truck. After this dusty experience, it was time for the next 75 kilometers of pure driving fun on excellent roads, many curves with little traffic through forests and meadows. Simply fantastic. We allowed ourselves a short pit stop in the "Kalte Kuchl" in order to be able to enjoy another motorcycle ride straight away. Exhausted but happy, we reach the hotel and enjoy our last evening together in a special atmosphere in memory of Falko and let the entire tour with the countless special experiences work on us again in our thoughts. It was nice! After the tour is before the tour. Thank you for this fantastic and unforgettable experience!