Heading To Eastern Europe

After the amazing scenery and riding conditions of the Alps it was a different ballgame heading east, not bad just different. The horizon flattened out and as we left the mountains behind we ventured into rolling hills with vineyards and lowlands of fields growing pumpkins, sunflowers and corn. As we reached Slovenia the villages became not as modern in appearance and the look of the houses changed as outside walls became covered with tile and ornate wood work. Yards turned more to gardens with potatoes, peppers, tomatoes and corn. By the time we finished riding through Hungary and into Romania little benches lined the roadway with older people sitting, visiting and watching the cars go by. Many of the younger generation have left the countryside, going to the city and other countries in the EU where work is more plentiful. A growing amount of store fronts are closed up or are for sale as declining numbers in the villages demand less retail. 

The weather deserves mentioning here as temperature climb into the high 30's. We are sweating it out in our riding gear, every vent is open in jackets, pants and helmets.  The problem with the extreme warm comes extreme thunder storms which aren't that much fun on a motorbike either (really! I had to find something to complain about).

We are loving the countryside but our big destination in Romania is Bucharest. Last time we visited Romania we skirted the city on purpose but this time we have big plans of visiting friends and we are really excited about that.

In southeastern Austria we toured small roads weaving through wineries on the hillside. Like the Okanagan you could stop for a taste, a meal or if you had the time a stay. Also in this area we found kernol, a delicious oil made from pumpkin seeds, which found later to be very tasty on salads, fresh bread or toast.

In Sylvania, storks find a safe place to build their nests on rooftop chimneys.

Western Hungary boasts lakes for the fishermen. Row boats line the shores and small fishing cabins are built in amongst the reeds and islands of the shallow lakes. There are huge catfish and carp living in this small lake. We stayed a night in a room overlooking this lake and enjoyed a evening with our host and friends BBQing sausage and drinking wine.

 

Your typical Hungarian house, I liked the flowers on the bike.

Lake Balaton in Hungary, a must see according to the Hungarians but we were not quite as impressed as some. Although it is approximately the same size as the Okanagan Lake it is only 11 meters deep in the deepest spot and averages only 3 meters, thousands of people were at the lake for the weekend enjoying the 26 degree water temperature. We realized how lucky we really are living on the Okanagan Lake.

A cozy cafe/bar in Voineasa, Romania, a small town on the Transalpina. The Transalpina is a road that twists through the mountains from Transylvania to Bucharest, sometimes paved...sometimes not.

Ken buys some wild mushrooms from a gypsy along the roadside. Not a great buy as they were a little to wormy for us, but we did manage to trade them for 2 yellow peppers at a stand a ways down the road.