Eurovelo 6 - Vienna to Belgrade
The Eurovelo 6 cycle route crosses all of Europe from the Atlantic coast of France to the Black Sea. In August, 2018 I cycled one section from the source of the Danube River in SW Germany to Vienna, Austria. This second trip describes the section from Vienna southeast to Novi Sad, Serbia. Much of both sections follows the Danube River. This trip was from May 7 to June 2, 2019 with 20 days of cycling totaling 835 km or an average of 42 km per day.
Day 1
I arrived last night in Vienna, Austria tired after a long flight. The apartment I had reserved turned out to be very large and nice. I found a great dinner at a nearby Chinese Restaurant. I had decided, rather than packing my bike on the plane, I would purchase a used one in Vienna and sell it at the end of my trip. In the morning I took the tram out to a large bicycle shop. As always I was very impressed with the public transit system in European cities such as Vienna. You could set your watch by the trains. While waiting for the bike shop to open, I discovered a lovely Viennese café just around the corner and enjoyed a Cappuccino and ham and eggs. The bike shop had lots of used bikes, but I found a really good deal on a brand new British made Hallvard hybrid for 350 euros. This bike served me well the entire trip. I noticed hardly any bikers here wear helmets. Then the first program I saw on TV that evening was about the importance of helmets and how everyone should wear them. I guess it's a new concept here. The standard of living in Vienna is very high. I needed a couple of things from a hardware store and found that a 10 minute walk from my apartment was a huge Bauhouse. It was like Home Depot except with more stuff and better organized.
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| Bike shop in Vienna |
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| New British-made bicycle |
Day 2
The paved cycleway out of Vienna crosses to the east side of the Danube and then follows the general course of the river southeast to the town of Orth an der Donau. The next morning I visited the interesting history museum housed in an old castle in the center of town.
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| Castle Museum Orth, Germany |
Day 3
I headed out in the morning and soon found a lovely outdoor café located right on the bike trail. After several more hours I crossed the bridge into the old picturesque town of Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia.
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 | | Bratislava, Slovakia |
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Day 4Today it clouded over and began to rain quite heavily. As if that wasn't enough, I then got a flat tire. Fortunately, there was a nearby village church which had a covered sort of patio area out of the rain. There I managed to replace the inner tube and resume my trek across the flat plain finally reaching the unpronounceable town of Mosonmayarovar, Hungary. That evening I learned the town was hosting a European wide swim meet at the huge indoor pool complex and I was treated to a lovely fireworks show before retiring.
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| Sports Complex and Pool |
I got an early 7 am start, and with a pleasant flat ride across the Hungarian plain, I arrived in Gyor, Hungary by 11 am. This is a very nice place with a beautiful central plaza and pedestrian-only streets. The hotel was very nice and only one block from the picture-perfect town square. There I met a friendly German cyclist and we chatted over a cappuccino. He was biking the same route, but in the opposite direction. He had lived in the U.S. so his English was very good. I had a nice afternoon around town taking photos and by 6 pm it was raining again.
Day 6
Today I managed another early start (6:30 am) hoping to avoid the rain which was forecast for later in the day. The day turned out to be a little of everything including clothing changes from shorts and T shirt to down jacket and windbreaker, and cycling changes from paved beautiful cycle paths, to highway, and to a muddy potholed track through the woods. I made good time and arrived in Komarano, Slovakia at 10:30 am. It was Sunday so I was lucky to find a lovely café open where I had a fantastic breakfast including three eggs, ham, tomatoes, bread, coffee, and mineral water - all for 4 euros! The town was nice and the quiet apartment was huge and spacious with two bedrooms, kitchen, and a balcony with a view. In the afternoon I walked around town. It was a quiet Sunday and most things were closed. I happened to run across a procession of church clergy parading in to the church for Mass. It was quite a procession including robes and and staffs. For dinner, I tried the restaurant close by and was surprised that it was so good, inexpensive, and had a live trio playing classical music.
The trail went for miles along the top of the river dike. I didn't see another cyclist all morning. Then I arrived at a point where the GPS said turn right, but all that was there was the river. Then I noticed a boat landing and a small 30 foot boat. On closer inspection the sign in Hungarian (which I translated with Google) said this was a ferry boat which only ran about 5 times a day. Fortunately, I only had to wait 30 minutes and a guy showed up, took my $1.50, and whisked me to the other side. I was dying for coffee. Finally about 10:30 I found a coffee shop with lovely Hungarian pastry. There I ran into two couples from New Zealand who were heading the other direction all the way to Amsterdam! For the next six miles or so there was no bike trail, but only a highway with no shoulder and semi trucks passing within inches. After 54 km total, I was glad to reach Esztergom, Hungary. But, then there was a steep uphill to reach the hotel. It turned out to be a Catholic-run hotel called Saint Adelbert. It was excellent and the breakfast buffet the next morning was outstanding.
Day 8
The forecast was for rain all day. Discretion being the better part of valor, I decided to take the train to Budapest. It was very convenient and was only an hour ride. For $1 it was well worth being warm and dry. No problem taking the bike on board and free WiFi. Funny how a country poorer than the U.S. can have such a modern comfortable train system. I arrived in Budapest about 11 am and found the hotel would not be ready until 2, so I found a cozy restaurant bar a block away and had some delicious Goulash soup and a glass of wine. The owner tried to explain to me the different grape varieties used in Hungarian wines. I ended up with a dry white wine made from a grape called Juhfark which was quite nice. In general, the food in Hungary was outstanding.
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| Budapest, Hungary |
Day 9
It was morning in Budapest and my thought for the day was: Maybe the U.S. has gone overboard in some instances with health and safety regulations. But, I was struck by the lack of bike helmets, the exposed stairs without guardrails, and the prevalence of cigarette smoking everywhere. I hopped on the hop-on hop-off bus this morning for an overview of Budapest. In the afternoon I decided to see the number one attraction in Budapest - the Palace and Castle on the hill in Buda. It was only a 15 minute walk from my apartment across the bridge to the other side of the Danube and the funicular which carries you up the hill to Buda. As happens in all places these days there were lots of large groups of Chinese tourists. I made the mistake of believing the weather forecast and did not take my rain gear. I ended up being soaked from head to foot. The architecture, restaurants, and scenery in Budapest are amazing.
Day 10
Another day in Budapest. The more I see of this city, the more I like it. There are beautiful parks, fountains, and sculpture around every corner. The plan was to rest my bicycle legs today, but I ended up climbing 200 steps of a church bell tower for the view from the top. It was cloudy, but at least it didn't rain. The largest Synagogue in Europe is here. It was repaired after WWII, and includes a sculpture of a weeping willow tree with the names of 400,000 Hungarian Jews who died in the holocaust.
Day 11
I left Budapest at 8 am and wound through the morning traffic. I'm getting fearless (or is it reckless) when it comes to biking in the big cities. I was on a cycleway for awhile and stopped at a nice little suburban bakery for coffee. Then I think I lost the regular bike route and after awhile the going got a bit rough. I endured ten miles of rough highway (meaning potholes) with cars, trucks and absolutely no shoulder - not fun. Finally, I arrived in the small town of Szigetzentmarton (yes try pronouncing that). As I searched for the hotel I noticed the blank back wall of a big building with a small sign that said "Wellness Center". As I peeked around to the front side of the building, I realized that it was my hotel with its own private beach facing right onto the river. For $57 I had a comfortable room with a balcony overlooking the Danube and a really nice bar and restaurant downstairs. Hardly anyone else was there. Language was becoming somewhat of a problem as hardly anyone in these small towns spoke any English. Using Google Translate, I tried to learn a few words of Hungarian.
Day 12
For today the good news was that the weather was perfect for cycling. The bad news was I experienced probably the worst track of the Danube Cycleway so far. A bit like yesterday most of the ride was on rough pot-holed highway with no shoulder and busy traffic including semi trucks whizzing past at what seemed like a few inches. On the other hand, once I reached my destination in Solt, Hungary I had a pleasant surprise. The BnB was lovely. Behind the main house I had my own 800 sq ft cottage complete with kitchen and a covered outdoor BBQ area. The landlady was so nice. She provided two free beers and a bottle of Hungarian wine. Since it was located outside of town a bit, she gave me a restaurant menu in English and called in my dinner order, which was shortly delivered to my door. Before my dinner arrived I learned she was a retired elementary school teacher. She and her husband invited me into their home where they were hosting a party with about six of their friends. I was offered a glass of their homemade Schnapps, made from mixed fruit and very strong. The dinner was amazing. Pork cutlets with caramelized onions, roast potatoes, and a fruit salad - more than I could eat for $7 including delivery!
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| Cottage accommodation, Solt, Hungary |
Day 13
The weather was mostly sunny and 72 degrees F. Bicycling along the dike this morning I ran into a nice couple from Brisbane, Australia. They had started in Vietnam and were biking and camping for six months ending in Portugal - crazy Aussies. They had bikes with huge tires that could probably go through anything. Then I stopped in a small village bar for a nice Cappuccino with whipped cream on top for 86 cents U.S. The ride was a little of everything - paved trail on top of the dike, shoulder-less highway, and dirt track across farmlands. I spent the night in the small town of Kaloksa (population 17,500). Being Sunday everything was closed and very quiet. It seemed the only activity was people lining up at the gelato stand, so naturally wanting to blend in, I joined the line.
Day 14
Today, most of the route was a cycleway along the top of the Danube Dike with views of the countryside. I didn't see anyone all morning, but finally met a Dutch couple doing the same route as me. Just before getting into the town of Baja, Hungary a heavy thunderstorm moved in and I was pelleted with pea size hailstones. Fortunately, within 10 minutes, I reached a gas station with a covered area and a Cappuccino inside. Soon the storm passed and the sun came out. One word in Hungarian I have learned to recognize is Pekseg (bakery) and there seemed to be plenty of them.
I am writing as I sit under an umbrella at a sidewalk café in Mohacs, Hungary with the rain coming down. Fortunately, I had arrived just before the rain began. The morning ride had been mostly all along the top of the Danube dike, with some gravel, but mostly pavement. A nice ending was taking the small ferry across from the east side of the Danube to Mohacs on the west side. As I stepped off the ferry I tried to locate directions to my hotel, when I realized I was already there and was standing right next to it. Mohacs is a nice little town with a lovely pedestrian shopping street.
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| Mohacs, Hungary |
Day 16
Since the forecast was for heavy thunder showers, I decided to skip a day of biking and take the train from Mohacs, Hungary to my next destination in Croatia. I found this tiny old train station with an old train coach parked on the tracks. I thought that's a nice old relic they have preserved for historical value, and I sat to wait for my train. Turns out that was it. It was an antique train car probably left from the days of Soviet occupation (or maybe the Turkish occupation of the 18th century :). The station master walked onto the tracks and manually moved the track switch. The conductor helped me load the bike and I was the only one on the train. I hoped it wasn't taking me to a labor camp for foreigners. Later, while waiting at another station for my connecting train, I met a railroad employee who spoke quite good English. He said he had learned to speak English by watching American movies, especially John Wayne. He was surprised that I came all the way there to bicycle. He was supervising a construction crew. He said he was originally from Serbia and then lived in Croatia. When the civil war started he left and came to Hungary, learned Hungarian, and eventually got a job with the railway. I boarded my connecting train and had a nervous moment when Croatian border guards with handcuffs boarded the train and were unable to scan my passport. They looked at all the visas in my passport and finally stamped me in. Finally, I arrived in Osijek, Croatia. I went to a shopping center/grocery store not far from my hotel to find a new water bottle. It seems the world is becoming the same everywhere. I could have been in a supermarket in Portland - except the wine selection was better here.
Today was an easy 35 km flat bike ride, but unfortunately almost all on a busy highway with no shoulder. It seems that bikeways are not very developed in Croatia. I arrived before noon in Vokuvar, a nice town that was totally destroyed during the 1991 Balkans War. So, much of the town was new construction, including a nice pedestrian shopping street. Many of the older remaining buildings were being re-plastered on the outside to cover all the bullet holes. After complaining about the lack of ethnic food here I was really surprised to find a Mexican Restaurant. The enchiladas we're not too bad, although more like a bean burrito, and strangely they came with French fries. I asked the young waiter if he spoke Spanish and he admitted that he did not know a word.
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| War damaged building, Vokuvar, Croatia |
Day 18
I left Vukuvar, Croatia about 8:30 am. The guide book was right. Today was the most challenging ride of the trip - only about 44 km but up and down hills and all on the highway. The down part was fun when I hit 47 km/hr. I crossed the bridge to the north side of the Danube, went through the Serb border control and got a new passport stamp. I arrived in Backa Palanka, Serbia at noon. This town of about 30,000 seems more lively than the two towns I saw in Croatia. There was a nice pedestrian street with vendors of local crafts. I had to adapt to the new different currency. My large ice cream sugar cone cost 60 Serbian Dinars, which sounded like a lot, until I figured out it was 56 cents U.S.
Day 19
Today I cycled about 45 km from Backja Palanka to Novi Sad, Serbia. Almost the entire way was a busy highway with no shoulder. Novi Sad is a very lively place with lots of sidewalk bars and cafes along the pedestrian mall. There are a lot of tall people here and they are really into basketball. They had a whole area of the town square with a basketball game going on inside a bleachers area and the game being displayed outside on a huge screen and there were probably a couple thousand people outside watching the screen. As it was the end of my cycling trip, I went all over town trying to sell my bike to different bike shops. Finally, the fourth place bought it for about $100. I had paid about $394 for it in Vienna, so the net cost was $294 or cheaper than shipping my own bike over and back. Tomorrow I will take the train back to Budapest, and then after a few days there back to Vienna. I decided I had enough biking on highways and in busy cities. Sometimes I felt like I was on one of those video games where you are constantly challenged with obstacles, cars, and pedestrians.
Day 20
I took the train from Novi Sad to Budapest. Trains are cheap here. Although it is not an express and makes many stops on a 7 hour trip, it was only $13.
Day 20 & 21
I arrived back in Budapest. This time I explored the huge indoor marketplace, the world's largest Parliament building, and the tragic memorial of Jewish shoes dredged from the river, cast in bronze, and now lining the river bank where their owners had been executed by the Nazis.
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| Bronze casts of Jewish shoes dredged from the Danube River |
Day 22
I arrived back in Vienna where it rained steadily all day. I took the UBahn (underground) out to Schonbraun Palace the former residence of the Hapsburg Dynasty which ruled a large area of Europe up until 1918. It was impressive, and the huge outside gardens and fountains were amazing.
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| Schonbraun Palace, Vienna |
Day 23
I stayed at the Moxy Hotel last night right next to the airport terminal. You can take a luggage cart from the hotel and walk just 200 meters into the airport. Vienna airport is one of the best. It is the only airport I have seen that actually has padded recliners where you can lay down right in the gate waiting areas. I flew from Vienna home to Portland, Oregon.
The entire trip was a fantastic experience and confirmed, once again, the beauty of seeing the world from a bicycle seat.
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| Mount Hood, near Portland, Oregon |
RESOURCES
The following two volumes are extremely useful and an absolute must for anyone planning a trip on this route.
Mike Wells. 2015, The Danube Cycleway Volume 1: From the source in the Black Forest to Budapest. Cicerone Press. Cumbria, UK. 266 pp.
Mike Wells. 2016, The Danube Cycleway Volume 2: From Budapest tothe Black Sea. Cicerone Press. Cumbria, UK. 282 pp.
