I spent the morning looking around Bratislava, without the bike. Checkout at thew hotel was at 12:00, so I had plenty of time. The views from the castle are great, especially as I was there before the crowds. Very noticeable the industry to the South, still in Slovakia, and an amazing number of wind generators … Read more
Another good day‘s cycling, the fairly strong wind cam mainly from the side. After the bike path ended rather abruptly, I was on quite good roads without lorries – maybe because it was Sunday? As the valley widened I could see less mountains and hills, but I still had to do a fair amount of … Read more
Great day cycling, slightly downhill all the way, and there was a partly EU-funded bike path most of the way – and it stayed dry. Even saw some direction signs for bikes. The scenery was also beautiful, a few castles on the way, autumnal – nice. I was the only customer for lunch in a … Read more
The start of my day was not so pleasant, but it just got better after that. It was foggy, so I delayed my start a little and wore the safety-vest I had ‚delivered‘ to Krakow by one of my colleagues. That with the white helmet made sure I was visible, but that does not really … Read more
Great day! The weather was great, I was in short sleeves and even short legs (some of the day). Very autumnal, which in the Carpathians is beautiful! A lot of coloured foliage and golden light. The day started great as well. I spent some time looking at and climbing up Orava castle, which is Nesferatu‘s … Read more
Beautiful sunrise this morning, and it actually stayed dry all day. It was not as warm, as predicted, though, I needed my long-fingered gloves. And then the wind was in my face most of the time, quite blustery, made climbing (almost 700m) and descending very difficult. Especially, as some of the car drivers here seem … Read more
I am learning a lot about geography this trip. I thought I was cycling up into the Tatra, turns out I am now in the Beskid mountains, part of the Carpathians… Anyway, high enough up to be a skiing region. My hotel for the night is its own little ski resort, I look out over … Read more
As the weather forecast was rain all day, I decided to spend at least some of that underground in the salt mine of Wieliczka – very impressive! Then I set off in the downpour, and had over 500m to climb in the short stretch I cycled – I can tell I am getting closer to … Read more
After four days of not cycling, but intense sightseeing and political exchange with the Polish colleagues of the counties of Krakow and Wieliczka, it felt strange getting on the bike again. Here a few impressions from the visit. The salt mine of Wieliczka came so highly recommended, that I decided I had to have a … Read more
Not far to go today, as I decided to spend a couple of days looking around Krakow before the delegation arrives and meetings begin. It was very foggy this morning, so I delayed my leaving a bit. I did not want to be cycling along a national road (7) with all those lorries maybe not … Read more