Europe-biker
 

Report 26

GOING EAST: from July 28 till August 5 2002


Grüss Gott!
It’s the last week of July and being a scout leader in heart and soul I’m itching to go on a camp.
This year though I can only show solidarity with my fellow-leaders and for the corresponding period I pitch my tent in Lienz, the capital of East-Tyrol.
For a week I have nothing else to do than cycling and mountaineering. I enjoy the company of an internationally mixed group of youngsters. Each day we go for a swim and when the evening falls we cosily sit together. It feels like ….. a summer camp!
My German neighbours Matthias, Silke and Tobias persuade me to do some canoeing on the river Gail.
I must admit that after 3 seconds I’m already soaking wet but all in all it stays an overwhelming experience.
I join my teacher Matthias in a double canoe and challenge one of the finest rivers of the region: sheer pleasure!

For those who have Austria at their fingertips it will be easy to follow what’s on my agenda these days; I witness the eternal snow on the Grossvenediger glacier in the Virgental and enjoy the climb to the Scharech panorama and the Molltaler glacier.
Toiling up a mountain luckily alternates with going down hill. The winding roads and the variety of hairpin bends make it all worthwhile.

Once more I’m looking forward to a visit from my family. This time my eldest brother Robin and our friend Björn join me for a week. Together we plan to cycle through inland Romania. Our place of venue this time is Salonta, hometown of Adriana, my brother’s girlfriend.
Salonta is a provincial Romanian town near the Hungarian border, which is not exactly a stone’s throw away from where I’m staying at the moment. Time to get a move on, so I get on my bicycle heading for the Austrian province of Carinthia whose lakes charm me a lot.
On my way to Hungary I pay a flying visit to Austria’s neighbouring country Slovenia.
Here I remember with great pleasure a scout’s camp when I was 17. What fun we had especially diving into the Soca River. This time I’m much quieter, after all I’m a few years older (and wiser?).

After all the high mountains of these last few weeks Hungary is a piece of cake.
The language on the other hand is a horse of a different colour: it’s incredibly difficult!
In Hungary the shopping malls shoot up like mushrooms and so do their prices. The costs here soar much higher than I expected. On the other hand Hungary is synonym for hassle-free travelling and the country has few differences in heights. I reach the region of the low-lying countries, "The Great Plain", better known as the Pustzta.
I peer to the horizon and the scenery is so extensive I bet I can see my brother standing at the end.

At last I reach the borderland.
My brother Robin and Björn, who are already in Romania, want to surprise me by meeting me at the Hungarian side of the border.
Robin knows this region thoroughly due to his many visits to his girlfriend. His help might come handy if I were to encounter some difficulties in that region. Apparently they have underestimated my experience concerning East-European diplomatic affairs, because the moment Robin’s passport gets the stamp allowing him access to Hungary I cross the Romanian border unsuspectingly of my brother’s presence at the other side of the crossing-point. Speaking about bad timing! There we are each in a different country! Throwing our arms around one another will have to wait for a moment. But it will be worth it!
Bye!

 

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