Today I...

Throughout this trip, I kept a simple travel journal (available here), mostly about the day to day events, record of costs, etc. Its main purpose was for me to have some way of summarizing and remembering my day, kind of like sharing how your day was with your partner. I feel so grateful that so many people followed along with the journal (which, had I known, I might have put a little more effort into spicing it up!). But for those who didn't (and for lazy me of the future that wants to know generally what I did during the trip), I put together this calendar of sorts. The note and photo about the day aren't meant to necessarily be the highlight nor a summary of the day, just something notable.


Thursday January 19 2023File under: travel, europe

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Biking Vienna to Budapest

Ever since I heard about the EuroVelo system of bike paths across Europe, I felt like I needed to check it out. I didn't know how or when, but it seemed like a good fit for me. As I do most of my travel in Europe's winter, I thought it might be a bit of a pipe dream. After all, who likes pedaling in rain, snow, and freezing temperatures? I somewhat put it in the back of my mind until...

During my Christmas cruise down the Danube, after the weather went from sub-freezing to just at or above freezing, I found myself eying the pleasantly paved paths that line much of the Danube thinking, "Maybe this could actually work!" A quick peek at the weather forecast once the cruise ended, and it was decided; I was going to do some biking!

No less than an hour after disembarking the ship, I found a place to rent a bike (a big shoutout to Vienna Explorer for 1) being open while everywhere else seemed to be closed 2) having just the right package for me (1-week of rental with helmet, lock, panniers, and tool kit), and 3) being super super nice and supportive!). The cost came to $135, just under $20/day.

EuroVelo 6 passes through Vienna so I had the choice of heading east or west. Going west would keep me mostly in Austria (the most expensive country I'd visited yet) but going east would take me back to where I just was on the cruise. The foriegness (and cheapness) of Slovakia and Hungary won out so I headed east!

As a consequence of doing very little research*, the actuality of the trip differed from my imagination of it. I was picturing a clear, smooth, wide path along the Danube the whole way. While some of it was like that, maybe 40-50%, 20-30% was on less ideal paths (sidewalks, less even surfaces, or sometimes unpaved tracks). The rest was on roads, probably evenly split between very few cars making for a lovely ride and not overly enjoyable because cars are more frequent and go fast. Those percentages might have skewed more favorable had the signage been a bit better so I didn't get lost as much and I wasn't in the offseason so facilities (hotels, ferries, etc.) were open and operating. But even as it was, EuroVelo 6 between Vienna and Budapest was a very pleasant ride.

Another "didn't fully think it through" consequence was the state of my body. Sure I ride a bike at home. I sometimes even ride 10 miles in a go, usually in less than an hour. So having a full 24 hours to ride 30-40 miles for 4 or 5 days in a row? That should be easy, right? Easy? No. It was doable, but at a cost. My legs (quads, specifically) really turned to jelly by the end of the day. I found myself cursing hostel keepers for putting me in a 4th floor walk-up room. But that was the good kind of hurt, the kind that makes it feel like you're getting stronger. My "sit bones", however, were a different kind of hurt. By the end of the day, esp. when I ended up on less than smooth pavement, I would audibly yelp when I hit a bump.

In the end, I covered the ~180 miles to Budapest in 4 days, quicker than I anticipated, but mostly because I had a hard time finding hotels where and when I needed them (leading to cycling much longer than I wanted at the end of the day). I could have kept going because I had the bike for another 3 days, but my body told me to maybe chill. So I ended up taking the train back to Vienna and using the bike to get around the city which greatly increased my appreciation of the place! And it only took a day or two of rest before my "sit bones" were no worse for wear!

Very often while in the saddle, I found myself comparing the experience to that of the Camino last year. There were just so many similarities: physically taxing, off season, loneliness, motivation, diet (grocery store meat and cheese FTW). And just like the Camino, while I can't say that I had the best time ever, I am really glad I did it. It was where I was meant to be.

I think with better planning (esp. in regards to not pushing myself so hard) in a less off-season, a long bike trip could be a really good trip for me, though I don't imagine I'll put it at the top of my list. I've done Europe 2 years in a row now, and there's so much of the world still to be seen. But, like I said, I'm glad it's a thing that I've done.

Saturday January 7 2023File under: travel, europe

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Europe 2022 Travelogue

Personally, chronological, laundry-list style travelogues never super appealed to me as a reader. Maybe its just because I like doing better than reading about others doing. So I've always tried to make my travel blog posts over the years a little more varied with topic specific observations, photo-heavy descriptions off a place, or a particular anecdote that I could see telling someone when asked "how was your trip".

I diverged severely from this format last year for my time on the Camino, with a straight travel journal of what I ate, where I was, what I spent, etc. Surprisingly to me, it was very well received, though perhaps more because of the uniqueness and import of the adventure than because of its style. But perhaps more importantly than how well it was received was how valuable writing it was to me. Not having someone to share the adventure with left me lots to say and no outlet. Closing down my evening with capturing thoughts and feelings as well as facts and figures became a favorite part of my day.

With that in mind, I've decided to chronicle this year's Europe trip (starting with volunteering in Poland, then onto a Christmas cruise down the Danube, then hopefully further European adventures) in a similar manner. While I anticipate less chronicle-worthy daily activities than the Camino (volunteering on a construction site might be a lot of "I painted all day again" posts), creating and having a record of my time and sharing that with whomever cares feels right.


Thursday December 8 2022File under: travel, europe

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Serendipity in Budapest

After spending 3 weeks across 5 countries in the Middle East, Della and I find ourselves in the decidely non-Middle Eastern city of Budapest...AND IT'S AWESOME! (This is not to say that the time in the Middle East wasn't great, because it was, but there's just something about a good old European city.)

The city itself is a treasure enough. Like any guide book will tell you, there are beautiful buildings, the Danube River (and its spectacular bridges), statues, and of course the city's thermal springs fed baths. After a visit to these baths*, we could see why they are so popular, esp. after Della and I nearly froze our buns off sightseeing our way around town.

But what made our visit to Budapest so much better was having wonderful hosts, Horge and Isabel. They housed us, fed us*, showed us the city and taught us everything we could possibly want to know with one exception...

Me: Hey, do you know if there is a circus in town?

Isabel: Uh, I think there was an Italian circus that came through a while ago, but probably not currently.

---Flash forward no more than 3 minutes of walking through the park---

Budapest International Circus Festival Poster: On now...and tomorrow's the last day!

Click, beep, boop, bop, click

Me: Arlight, Della, we've got tickets to a 3.5 hour awesome circus show tomorrow

Della: *shiver*

So, on our last day of our whirlwind 10+ country semi-unsuccessful-but-still-totally-awesome-winter-dodging adventure, we unexpectedly found ourselves enjoying a world class circus show with full bellies and full hearts. (It served as a nice bookend together with the world class Big Apple Circus we saw on our very first day of this adventure.)

Our brief stop in Budapest was just what good travel should be: new sights and experiences, good good people, and a little bit of magic*. Super thanks to Horge and Isabel for making our time great (and for being the reason to stop through). And thanks to Lady Luck for providing excitement along the way!
Thursday January 21 2016File under: travel, Europe

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