Guzzi & Costello vs Dracula

[Orson]

I'm back

 

I just finished a trip through Eastern Europe. The loose knit plan was to pick up the Guzzi from Guareschi Moto in Parma then, head east to the Carpathian Mountains in Romania then, swing around and follow the Carpathians for as long as I could through Slovakia and the Czech Republic before continuing on to my friend's house in the UK.

 

I flew into Milan then hopped onto the train to Parma. When I arrived at Guareschi Moto, Gianfranco had just returned from the Sound of Thunder races at Assen. I had the honor of helping Gianfranco unload his racing equipment and the two MGS 1s

 

I forgot the pictures of Gianfranco and the MGS-1s on my home computer but, I'll post them when I get home! Gianfranco & Vitto are extremely friendly chaps as are their mother and father. Gianfranco even excused hiself from some sort of business meeting to say good bye to me as I left and wish me good luck. Good people.

 

Unfortunately, the Alps stood between me and the Carpathians. It's a tough job but, someone has to do it I made my way north to Lake Garda and followed the road alongside it. The road is along a steep mountainside and is constantly disappearing into tunnels.

[Orson]

Another shot from the wine growing region in the foothills of the Alps. If their was an Olympics for the beauty of countries, Italy would be on the podium every time. My favorite country in Europe.

[Orson]

I continued on thru the Alps to Cortina D'Ampezzo and the Dolomites. No matter how many times you see the Dolomites, they never fail to impress. They seem to jut out of the ground and claw themselves skyward. Fantastic stuff.

[Orson]

I met these Germans on Aermacchi-Harley Davidsons near Cortina. They were just returning from the Gyro d'Italia. Can you imagine pounding the Alps into submission on 175cc ringdingers? YEEHAW!

[Orson]

I continued on thru Austria headed east. Austria is like some strange otherworld where gas station attendants resemble doctoral candidates in the states. Motorists don flourescent orange vests just to change a flat tire. Coming from the chaos of Saudi Arabia, it feels a bit unsettled to be around such orderliness.

 

I crossed the border into Hungary near Graz, Austria. No problems at the border crossing. A quick look at the passport, a rubber stamp and I was on my way. After Austria, the terrain changed from mountainous to hilly and eventually to a lumpy carpet terrain. Not much to write home about motorcycling-wise but kinda neat to be behind the former iron curtain.

 

While the Goose tries to figure out how to pronounce Szekesfe...er..whatever..I jumped off for a quick pic.

[Orson]

Budapest! What a jewel! Such stunning architechture! Everytime you turned a corner, you saw something else that made you stop and stare. Hungary is a country in transition. You'll see the latest model Porsche next to a 30 year old Trabant at a stop light. The Hungarians seem to be doing quite well for themselves since the fall of Communism.

[Orson]

More pics from Budapest. I came upon the folkloric dance troupe made up of kids performing in a square near the city center. There was another troupe of older teenagers and I was struck by how much they seemed to be enjoying themselves doing their traditional dances. I thought it was a good sign that not all youth is going down the tubes with MTV

 

A street musician with a fan.

[Orson]

After a couple of days in Budapest, I continued eastward across the Hungarian plains and into Romania. Again, no problems at the border. I was impressed with the quality of hotels in Hungary and Romania. They were just as nice as the ones in western Europe. The roads, on the other hand, were another story. Hopefully, some of that EU money will fix them up.

 

I saw some of the most beautifully crafted churches while in Romania. For such a poor country, they really put a lot of pride and work into their churches.

[Orson]

Finally, my first view of the Carpathians in south central Romania.

[Orson]

I continued along the Carpathians in a counterclockwise route. The cloer I got to northeastern Romania, the worse the roads got. After a while, they were just plain terrible. I must have averaged 20 kph one day Oncoming cars in your lane weren't trying to run you off the road...they were just weaving to avoid pot holes. I dreaded bending a rim in the middle of Romania and have to sit and wait on a new one to arrive. Fortunately, the Guzzi pulled through like the work horse that it is

 

The weather also started to take a turn for the worse while I was in Romania. One morning in particular was very rainy and I had to snorkle on thru it. Another shot of one of the beautiful churches and a rainy Romanian village.

[Orson]

I had to leave the Carpathians for a bit where they entered the Ukraine due to visa restrictions. I jumped back into Hungary then veered north into Slovakia to rejoin the Carpathians. In Slovakia, the Carpathians range reaches its highest point in the High Tatra Mountains. Unfortunately, the day I was there was still a bit rainy and I was unable to get any good pictures of them.

[not_scooter_Scura!]

classic countries

 

classic bike

 

classic storytelling

 

thank you

[st. augustine]

Awesome recap. You are right about buda and pest being an awesome place. Did you get to stop by the bath houses? You should write an article for Road Runner magazine... http://www.rrmotorcycling.com/mags/frames.html I bet there are others outside this forum that would love to hear about your trip. Send the editor this link and ask him if he would be interested in you embellishing it for his mag.

[Orson]

Slovakia most closely resembles Northern California than any other place I've been. Rugged mountains and roads following alpine streams made for some great motorcycling. This is a shot in the Lower Tatras.

[Orson]

From Slovakia, I took a last minute decision to detour into Poland, just to say that I've been to another country. I only road into Poland for about 100 miles so, I didn't get to see much. The terrain was hilly so it made for some enjoyable riding. From Poland I entered into the Czech Republic. By the time the Carpathians reach the Czech Republic, they are but mere foothills but, this still meant there were some nice curvey roads. The Czech Republic had the best roads of any of the former eastern bloc countries that I saw. Roads varied from fast sweepers across open hills to diving into darkened forests. Good stuff.

 

At my bed & breakfast, I met an elderly gentleman who was 15 years old in 1945 when the Russians occupied his homeland. He told me he fled with his family to West Germany where they lived in Cologne. When Communism fell after some 40 years, he returned to his old hometown and went to his old house. He knocked on the door. The man who answered the knock recognized him immediately, gave him a hugg and told him,"this is still your home". It was wonderful talking to this gentleman. I'm sure that story was repeated many times in Eastern Europe.

 

I made my way to Prague...another fine city along a river much like Budapest but, with a few more tourists. Still, it was a wonderful place to visit and I took a rest day here.