I put together an eleven countries fast forward video of cycling across Europe on my cycling the world journey.
I started in my home town Flensburg, Germany and pedaled all the way across eastern Europe to Istanbul, Turkey. It was about 4,000 kilometers and took me a bit more than two months. I cycled across Germany, Czech Republic, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Greece, Turkey. Don't forget to turn up the volume and get ready to dance before start the video. It contains some catchy music. Have fun!
If you enjoy watching this video then please support my fundraising campaign to equip school class rooms in Darfur, Sudan. Thank you!
And if you enjoy watching it a lot, then I'd appreciate if you'd support me with a virtual cup of coffee on Ko-fi. Cheers! :) Click here if you want to take a look at my equipment.
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I cycled the straightest way towards Thessaloniki. I got off the main road at some point to avoid the traffic. From then on I went through the northern Greek country side. I had to take some smaller roads which were in mediocre condition as well as a few short dirt tracks connecting a few villages. It was a good and peaceful ride and there was also barely any traffic. The only saddening part was to see all the abandoned factories and other business facilities. It sort of created a ghost town atmosphere in the villages. I assume the majority of them were shut down during the financial crisis. However, those villages were everything else but ghost towns. There was so much life happening. People were sitting outside of the cafes, restaurants and especially sports bars. There was a live football match on the screens.
'Can we see your passport please?' they asked.
'Of course', I replied a bit nervous expecting a strict monologue now about trying to 'escape' from the police isn't a smart idea and handed it to them. 'Where are you going and where are you coming from right now?' they asked in a serious tone. 'North Macedonia and Thessaloniki.' 'Do you've anything illegal with you such as smokes or weapons?' I think I never heard the term 'smokes' before but assumed they meant cigarettes but since I didn't have any with me and of course no weapons - besides my pocket knife - I denied. Their tone changed immediately from serious to super nice after they checked my passport and we started to have a nice little chat. Phewww! One of them told me proudly that one of his relatives lives in Germany and how much he liked it there when he went to visit. 'Doe's your bicycle have lights?' they asked when I was about to continue. 'Of course', I answered positively surprised because nobody ever asked me about that thus far and nobody ever also seemed to care. I showed them that it was working. 'Please turn it on. It's getting dark.' I did and continued my way to Thessaloniki. I checked into a dorm room at RentRooms Thessaloniki which is well located for exploring the city and the place itself is clean, it provides really good breakfast and the staff is very kind. I spent a few days in Thessaloniki to explore the city. One day I joined a free walking tour to find some hidden gems because the beauty of the city is more about the things that are not obvious to see and to find. That day I also ended up in an absinth bar with an Austrian and an Australian guy. I never drank absinth before and had no idea that there are so many different kinds. And since it was my first time drinking it, I tried a few of the bars' selection. It really is some fine stuff.
I got a bit pissed off another day. I spent the whole day walking around the city and didn't eat since breakfast. Thus I was really hungry when I got back to the hostel. Luckily I had my plastic container with pizza leftovers from the previous day plus a plastic bag filled with grapes from North Macedonia in the dorm rooms' fridge. I was really excited to shuffle that into my mouth.
I opened the fridge and it was all gone! No way! Really? I went down to the reception to ask if the cleaning staff might have removed it although I labeled it as it's common at hostels. They assured me that they didn't which meant that one of the guys in the dorm must have taken it. So whoever it was...seriously! Just ask! I'd would have shared it with you since it was more than enough for two persons. Although the value of those things was low, the fact that someone simply took my stuff made me a bit mad. Even the plastic container was gone. At least that one could that person have left behind. So I walked a bit hangry to the nearest supermarket with a deli and got a big portion of moussaka. Luckily it even came in a solid plastic container.
Wild camping in Greece is very easy and I camped in some amazing spots on the way to the Turkish border such as on the beach or on top of hills. Wherever I camped the sunsets were beautiful. The red glowing sun slowly disappeared behind the horizon on the edge of the sea or behind another hill. Sometimes I could even hear the prayers coming from a mosque in some distance. Soon I'd enter the Islamic world.
If you enjoy reading this blog then please support my fundraising campaign to equip school classrooms in Darfur, Sudan. Thank you! And if you enjoy reading it a lot, then I'd appreciate if you'd support me with a virtual cup of coffee on Ko-fi. Cheers! :) Click here if you want to take a look at my equipment.
Since so many people asked, I finally created a detailed kit list of my current cycling the world journey. But since I started with equipment that I already had due to other shorter bicycle and also backpacking trips, don't expect some fancy stuff here. It's basically a collection of things that I gathered over the years.
In my opinion it's more important to get a journey started instead of trying to be prepared for every possible situation. I think that's almost impossible anyways unless you want to carry tons off stuff around or you're some sort of a survival champion. Finding the right gear for such a trip is a learning process and everyone has different preferences anyways. I simply figured out along the way what works for me and what not. I just got rid of those things that didn't work for me. If I identified that there was something missing in my equipment then I simply bought it along the way - usually a no name product. For those no name products I tried to find comparable ones online to give you a better picture. Also, please note that the links on this list are affiliate links. That means that I'll receive a small - rather tiny - commission if you make a purchase through them. There are no additional costs for you but it'll help me to maintain this website and provide you content about my journeys and challenges. Furthermore, I transfer 10% of all my websites' affiliate income into my current fundraising campaign to equip school class rooms in Darfur, Sudan. So thank you for your support in advance! >>> go to kit list <<<
I get often asked: 'Why are you traveling the world on a bicycle?'
There are two main reasons for that. In this short video introduction I briefly describe them.Thanks for your support and happy cycling! By the way, the audio is in German but there are English subtitles.
Click here for more information about my fundraising campaign. Any support is highly appreciated! Thank you for your support!
Click here if you want to take a look at my equipment.
Ich hatte das Vergnügen mich mit Götz und Gerrit von den Fahrrad-Fanatikern zu unterhalten, um ein paar Erlebnisse und Erfahrungen rund ums Thema Fahrrad-Weltreise und Equipment zu teilen.
Nochmals vielen Dank für eure Zeit! Beste Grüße aus Vietnam!
Once again in my life I realized how fortunate I am that I can easily travel pretty much anywhere in the world to, only because I was born in Germany. Hearing that makes me appreciate my passport even more than I already do.
It was already dark when I arrived in Skopje. The city can be seen already from miles away. There's a huge cross - Millennium Cross - on top of Vodno Mountain and its lights are turned on every night. It's one of the tallest crosses in the world and it symbolizes 2,000 years of Christianity in North Macedonia.
'You can stay here another night if you want', she said the next morning but I wasn't too keen for more awkward discussions. So I turned down the offer, thanked her for her hospitality and went back to the city center to find a hostel.
Right the first one had a free bed. So I checked into Unity Hostel for one night and started to explore the city. The center was only a couple of minutes walk away from the hostel. There's an incredible rediculous amount of statues in Skopje. They're literally everywhere and locals told that nobody really know how many there actually are. I think it could be an interesting challenge to walk around and count them all. :D
I left Skopje in direction south. I chose Thessaloniki in Greece as my next destination. The days were grueling hot and the roads hilly. One day the heat knocked me out. Temperatures were above 40 degrees Celsius. I was that much exhausted that I had to take nap in the shade under a tree on the side of the road. I used my water bottle as a pillow. I took a dirt road above the river Vardar the other day. The view down into the valley was spectacular and at the end of the road there was a grape field. I took a few and shuffled them into my mouth. They were incredible juicy and delicious. I filled a bag with even more, attached them on the back of my bike and headed further towards the Greek border.
If you enjoy reading this blog then please support my fundraising campaign to equip school classrooms in Darfur, Sudan. Thank you! And if you enjoy reading it a lot, then I'd appreciate if you'd support me with a virtual cup of coffee on Ko-fi. Cheers! :) Click here if you want to take a look at my equipment.
Location: Pristina
Km on the clock: 2,871 I slowly climbed up another hill to the Serbian border post. Today I'd leave Serbia and enter Kosovo. Although I just spent the longest and one of the worst nights on my journey so far, life was good again after a few hours of sleep and a quick breakfast at a small village store. And since I freed some puppies from a trash container in the morning I kind of felt like a hero. I could see that the border official watched me already for a while and he was laughing at me as I arrived totally sweaty at the post. I was the only person wanting to cross the border from Serbia into Kosovo. Dozens of cars were lining up on the other side of the border to enter Serbia. 'How are you?' asked the guy with a slightly sarcastic tone and big smile on his face. 'Well...it's a bit hilly here' I answered. He kept laughing as he checked my passport. 'Where do you sleep?' I answered 'I've a tent' and pointed at my bag on the back of my bicycle. 'And where do you eat?' 'My kitchen is in here' and pointed at my front right pannier. 'Okay', he said and handed me my passport. 'Have a good trip'.
'From here you'll be faster on your bicycle. Now it's only going downhill until Pristina', he said as we reached the top of the hill. I thanked him for his help, jumped on my bike and bombed down the hill into the countries capital.
I spent most of my time with exploring the city. I really liked Pristina! It's a nice but also a bit quirky place. All the major sights were in walking distance from Pristina Center Hostel. There's a Bill Clinton Boulevard and a three meters high Bill Clinton statue.
Kosovo named the boulevard after him and built the statue to thank the former U.S. president for his help when they were struggling with the Yugoslavian government in the end 90's. By the way, there's small clothing store next to the statue called Hillary. A picture of Hillary Clinton is also attached on the facade. Seems like some Kosovan's have a good sense of humor. There's also a Madeleine Albright monument and I heard there's even a George W. Bush Street. The connection to the U.S. can be seen and experienced in many places in Pristina as well as the connection to Germany. I was surprised to see many cars with German number plates and that quite many locals speak German. The shelves in the supermarkets are filled with German brand products. One of the supermarkets around the hostels corner even played some bizarre German rap music every time when I went there. It didn't really create an inviting shopping atmosphere but I was happy to get some familiar products.
One interesting fact that I learned about Kosovo is that there was no law against keeping brown bears until end of 2010. Baby brown bears were snatched from their mothers by animal dealers in the forests of Kosovo and Albania and then held in small cages at restaurants as an attraction for customers. As I heard, the living conditions of the bears were horrific in most cases and some restaurant owners and customers gave them alcohol to see drunk bears for their amusement. However, since 2013 there's a bear sanctuary just outside of Pristina to provide those bears a natural habitat but also to create awareness to animal welfare and environmental problems in Kosovo.
Although Pristina is a nice place to visit for a couple of it's not a bicycle friendly city. There are no bicycle lanes and there's also lots of room for improvement regarding road signs. It took me a while until I made it out of town and on the R6 road in direction south to Skopje, Macedonia. If you enjoy reading this blog then please support my fundraising campaign to equip school classrooms in Darfur, Sudan. Thank you! And if you enjoy reading it a lot, then I'd appreciate if you'd support me with a virtual cup of coffee on Ko-fi. Cheers! :) Click here if you want to take a look at my equipment.
Wieder einmal vielen dank Helga für deine Zeit und das entspanne Gespräch und herzlichen dank shz für das Teilen meiner Geschichte und der damit verbundenen Spendenaktion für das Deutsche Rote Kreuz.
>>> Zum Artikel <<< >>> Zur Spendenaktion <<<
I studied my map as I took a break in a village. It was a small and quiet place. Cars passed me only once in a while. While I studied my maps, I realized, that I had no clue where I actually was and that this village wasn't on my map. And since there were no locals around, I couldn't ask anyone for directions. So, I decided to use my offline open street maps for the first time outside of the cities.
Approximate scribble of the route
I followed the directions that the app gave me and it was great. I went through scenic hilly landscapes and every now and then I came through smaller villages. The facades of many houses were in a rather poor condition and teenagers and young adults hung out in front of the very few stores.
Kids waved to me and asked: 'Hellooo! Where are you from?' as I entered another village. I waved back and answered: 'Hellooo! Germanyyy' as I passed them. I stopped to check the navigation app when I reached a crossroad. My options were to continue straight ahead or turn left. Straight ahead was a solid paved road and the road to the left was a gravel road but seemed okay to cycle. The app suggested to turn left. This route would be even 10 kilometers shorter than the other one. I hesitated because going straight seemed to be the better option although it was 10k longer. A young couple walked up the road with a bucket full of blackberries. Seeing them seemed like another hint that I should take the longer route. Villagers burned trash aside of the gravel road and lots of black smoke blow over the fields. I felt like I was in the middle of a fairy tale and had to make a decision. Straight ahead the nice, easy and sunny road and left the dark, unknown and mysterious path. I thought, Hey, why not turn left? It'll save me 10 kilometers. And this is what I did. Huge mistake! The villagers looked at me kind of suspiciously as I rolled down the gravel road. I passed the big trash campfire and left the village. The road surface changed into sand at times which made it a bit harder to move on but it was still fine. However, first doubts came into my mind whether I had chosen the right road. The road led me through a hilly and forested area and it was incredible quiet around me. After a while it turned into a pebble road which made cycling very challenging. I had to get off the bike and push it. At this point I knew that I had chosen the wrong road but I felt like that I went too far to turn around. I made only very slow progress and at this point I was cursing a lot. So I checked the navigation app again to find out if there was a chance to get off this road soon. Just a few kilometers ahead of me there would be another road. The upcoming road must be better. There's no way that there are worse roads than that, went through my mind. So I kept pushing my bike. At times it wasn't too bad so I was even able cycle for a few hundred meters. I was very surprised to come through a small village along this road. Two elderly men looked at me like they had never seen someone on a bicycle before. And I honestly wouldn't wonder if it was true. Having a bike in this area is probably the dumbest and most useless thing to have. The closer I got to the other road the more excited I got. I pushed my bike an uphill section. Now it wasn't even a pebble road anymore. It was only rocks. The rocks had a size of bowling balls and now I was even cursing more than before. It felt like forever to pass that section and the sun was also about to go down. I prayed: 'Please! Let the new road be better than this one'. I didnât want to be on such a road in the middle of nowhere at nights not to mention to camp somewhere around here. 'NOOOOO', was my first reaction when I reached the new road. Its surface was the same as the one that I just left. I was done, frustrated and ready to give up. I asked myself Why am I doing this? and wished to be at home right now. However, even if I want to give up, I still have to go at least to the next town. So I kept going and hiked my bike up a mountain through the dark forest. It was already midnight when I reached the top of the mountain. I was on 1,100 meters altitude which was the highest peak of my journey so far. And again, I reached a crossroad. This time I had the option to turn left or right. Both roads were in the same horrible condition. I decided to turn left although it would be the longer route towards to border to Kosovo but since I "saved" 10 kilometers earlier I didn't want to make the same mistake of "saving" a few kilometers again. Also, the next villages would be closer on this route. The moon and my bike lamp gave enough light to hike my bicycle down the rocky mountain road. I felt tired and frustrated. After a while I realized a white reflection on the road surface ahead of me. 'Is it really? ... No way ... It is! ... WOHOOO!' It was the median of a paved road. Such a relief! I jumped on my biked and rolled down the hill through the forest. It made me happy to see the lights of a parking car. A couple enjoyed some let's say their private time in their car and they were very surprised to see me bombing down the hill. There was a tiny church in the small village Gazdare and since it was under construction it didn't have any doors and windows yet. I walked inside and placed my sleeping mat and sleeping bag on the ground in a corner. I layed down and fell immediately asleep. If you enjoy reading this blog then please support my fundraising campaign to equip school classrooms in Darfur, Sudan. Thank you! And if you enjoy reading it a lot, then I'd appreciate if you'd support me with a virtual cup of coffee on Ko-fi. Cheers! :) Click here if you want to take a look at my equipment. |
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