We started by crossing Vienna from our Hotel to the north. Going by the Stepansdom and following the Danube to Dürnstein. The famous castle, where Richard Lionheart was captured and held hostage. After our lunch at Maria Taferl and a beautiful view over the Danube and the Wachau, we turned north and entered the Waldviertel. Very famous for the number of trees there. A lot of forest. Which led us to the Czech Republic and to our final destination in Budweis.

We started in Budweis with a short ride to Cesky Krumlov. This is a stunning medieval little town, which we entered through a stunning building, that is part of the castle. This building spans literally from one hill to the next one and you walk right underneath. As you can see, the happy people where have some fun exploring this town and we did a nice little stroll. The next chapter was a ride through the Bohemian forrest, which is one of the biggest in middle Europe. The day went by and we arrived all safe in Prague for our dinner. Which was, where the real danger waited... 

Also on our rest day, we could not resist to hop on our bikes and do a little tour. First we went shopping for bike accessories and then we went to the south to the Castle Karlstejn. Nice little roady and nearly no trafficf. We had a nice little lunch there and a whole lot of fun.

As we are riding towards the German border, we first visited the bonehouse in Melnik and found some very nice icecream along the road. As a little surprise Ana was preparing a picknick in Jetrichovice. After this short stop, we continued our travel to Dresden via the Bastei. The evening brought another surprise for Gabi, as she was our Birthday girl today.

This day started with perfect conditions, dry, sunny but not too hot. And it stayed this way. We hit the road and after a visit to Schloss Weesenstein and the Glashütte Museum, we found some very nice Burgers for lunch. But not any burger, it was a venison burger. Delicous. The afternoon was full riding. 

After leaving Dresden to the East, we explored the possibilities of the German Autobahn. A nice ride into the sunshine, but quite some traffic. We had a little coffee stop in Görlitz and moved on to the Giants Mountains (Riesengebirge). Doing so, we tipped into Poland 2 times, but found our way back to the Czech Republic, where we arrived just 5 minutes before the sky opened up and it started raining cats and dogs. Another adventure awaited us at the dinner...

After the heavy rain in the night, we started with somehow wet roads, but the longer we rode, the more it dried up. Great riding to our first coffee stop in Nove Mesto and great riding along the Polish border afterwards. We had any kind of road you could imagine. Small, big, forrest, mountain, plains, lakes, nice, bumpy...

Perfect for riding.

Not sure, if everybody feels the same way about the art.

We are leaving the Czech Republic and entering Poland. This time to stay a little longer. Our way takes us to Oswiecim, better known as Ausschwitz. After getting a short impression on the surroundings we rode directly to Krakow. A nice and busy city.

This was a real rest day, as everyone wanted to explore the city and the possibilities. Some went to Ausschwitz for a longer tour to get to know the place and the history their better. Others explored the old town and took a tour in Krakow itself. All had a very relaxed and nice day, with a dinner outside at one of the main spares.

Another great day to ride. Sunny weather, but not too hot. Leaving Poland, we are entering the Tatra Mountains and had a blast of good roads. Nearly no traffice and beautiful nature along the route. These were the best roads to find around here.

Entering Slovakia.

Today we were riding from Slovakia to Hungary. Starting with beautiful roads and a nice cool breeze in the morning. 12 °C woke us up pretty fast and we enjoyed neverending swinging roads with nearly no traffic at all. Ana presented us a great Edelweiss Picknick, we visited a Castle and rode over the Danube on a Ferry. Entering Budapest, we were hit with the full traffic. Nevertheless, what a day. Sunny from start to end. 

We took our day in Budapest off and enjoyed the city. Beautiful buildings and a lot to see. There is a very interesting combination of the past and the future in this city. You can easily spend time here, without getting bored.

On our last day, we went to see Esztergom basilica. The place where the hungarian nation was born and the first hungarian king was crowned in the year 1000. A nice little road took us their through the hills next to Budapest. After our visit at this monumental building we contiued our journey back to Slovakia and again back to Hungary. Following the danube we had some nice and some bumpy roads. For lunch Ana was preparing a great picknick again at the historical picknick place of the Pan European Picknick at the border between Hungary and Austria. After arriving at the hotel, we had our farewell dinner and quite some stories to tell. This was a great tour, with a wonderful group of very experienced riders. It was an honor and pleasure to ride with them.

Mary and Darwin were so nice to share their pictures with us, so we can show you, how they experienced the tour.

Carlos was our private journalist on this tour and he did a great job with all his pictures and this video, you can find below. Thank you Carlos!