Day 1&2 :Berlin
The architecture is surprisingly ugly and doesn't have much to offer but Berlin's secret lies with the friendliness and coolness of it's young residents. We spent a great day meeting many people, always friendly, and had a terrific time. We also randomly ended up with a tandem bicycle and rode around the city which turned out to be a really fun thing to do. The rooftop of our hotel (Amano) is a vibrant night scene and our last evening in Berlin was spent mingling with the local crowd.
Day 3: Berlin to Wroclaw (Poland)
Our first big ride today, around 300km. It was mostly highway so nothing too special on the scenery side but we did have a great time riding. The weather was extremely warm and we were melting under our heavy protective gear. The most astonishing was crossing the border from the high quality German highways to suddenly the worst quality roads you could imagine in Poland. We saw a few local indigenous people along the highway trying to sell some random stuff, and people don't care about stoping and parking on the highway just to buy a fruit .... Our destination Wroclaw has one of the most beautiful architectures I have seen, the colors, the details everything was astonishing.
Day 4: Aushwitz & Krakow
We reached Aushwitz today after about 2 hours of riding in nice weather. Visiting the dorms, the site and thinking about the hundreds of thousands of people who died there gives a lot to think about and gives you goose bumps... It reminds you what people can do and makes us grateful to be born in a generation without war... I took a few pictures below in black and white to add to the drama. After the visit, we headed to Krakow under poring rain, it was Maurice's first ride in wet conditions and he handled it without a problem. My motorcycle jacket is in mesh and is not waterproof (it's great for hot weather) so I ended up soaked and freezing, very happy to reach the hotel! The city is again magnificent, it is built around a central plaza, a real pleasure to visit...
Day 5: Bratislava (Slovakia)
A long ride today, nearly 400km, we mostly went through smaller roads to enjoy the views of the countryside and mountains. Polish people definitely don't know how to drive, and also I have learnt that the "king" is very impatient when it comes to riding behind cars on the road, apparently people should move away as he arrives ;) As we were about to reach Bratislava, there was a giant traffic jam that had cars stopped for miles, but thanks to our bikes we zigzagged to the front and were able to see the damage: a truck had collided into another truck carrying fuel and had cut the fuel tank in half spilling all the oil on the road ... they told us it was going to be hours before they could clean the road and make it safe, so we followed another biker with a BMW 1200 GS and road off the highway and onto grass until we reached a little dirt road that eventually took us to another normal road, back on track, what an adventure! First impressions of Bratislava tonight, it is a pretty city but we have been spoiled by the charm of the previous two cities we have stayed at.
Day 6: Budapest (Hungary)
A short 2 hour ride today, the weather was nice so it made for a pleasant ride. Budapest has a few powerful buildings / monuments scattered around town but besides that I am not impressed with the architecture ... We stopped in a few bars/beer gardens at night which were very lively and fun, so more of a night life city than a city to explore...
What an amazing city, the architecture and the maintenance of all these ancient buildings is fantastic, a real pleasure to walk around and discover the city. We rented some bicycles and explored the city, much fun but beware of the tramways, they pop out of nowhere and are really dangerous!
A very charming city again, very close to the architecture and feel of the Polish cities we visited (rather than Vienna).
Day 10: Back to Berlin
Very tough conditions riding back today, we got hit by several thunderstorms and had to ride under heavy rain, getting soaked and freezing cold .... We made it back to the hotel and what a journey, amazing!
