Eight days to Istanbul ~
- Thread starter David Nimrod
- Start date
The inside of that mosque looks absolutely amazing.
I really should take a 'proper' camera next time...
I really should take a 'proper' camera next time...
Wow, now that I would like to see. I would even take my shoes off for it!
Istanbul is without a doubt one of my favorite cities...
i can still "taste" it........ its one of the few cities that has a "taste" the other being Athens and New York.........
do you know what i mean,.......
i can still "taste" it........ its one of the few cities that has a "taste" the other being Athens and New York.........
do you know what i mean,.......
Enjoying this David. But whats happened to Rob ?
Limping along on an ailing Airhead...
All will be revealed in the next and final installment
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Fantastic write up. Really gives me the urge to take off on my GSPD again myself....... keep it coming
AndyT
AndyT
.........
roadrider
Registered user
excellent,
have you got any pics of Rob smiling ? its a holiday,after all
Swiss Mike
Registered user
Great report
Making me want to do it.
Making me want to do it.
ExpatinIstanbul
Registered user
Off topic a bit, but for those who are reading this and thinking of heading this way, there is something of note to see in Edirne itself: The Selimiye Mosque
Another link.
When I have time I'm going to put together a list of places to see and other information for Turkey, as it seems to be a popular destination for two wheeled travelers.
Another link.
When I have time I'm going to put together a list of places to see and other information for Turkey, as it seems to be a popular destination for two wheeled travelers.
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Mr Farmer....
Currently replacing his gearbox at my place..... 38 degrees in the sun here!!
Enjoying this David. But whats happened to Rob ?
Currently replacing his gearbox at my place..... 38 degrees in the sun here!!
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ExpatinIstanbul
Registered user
Still not smiling.
Sir James
Rear Stab Vest Only ....
He lives in Loughborough, it had the same effect on my Nanna until we moved her ..........
Sunday 10th June
There was no communication received from Rob overnight, so I texted him my location, and onward route, and left it at that...
I packed up and rode the few km's west into Edirne, to find some breakfast. I confess to worrying, I couldn't think of a reason (other than the iPhone packing up again) as to why he hadn't messaged me.
Anyway, in Edirne, next to the Mosque, was a small cafe. I parked the GS up on to the pavement, and was welcomed in. A glass of tea and two plates of Borek (one white cheese, the other lamb), and I was replete.
I'd still not received any replies from Rob to my texts, and was now starting to worry (as you do), so I rode back east, to the campsite. There he was, having coincidentally arrived just minutes earlier!
Because of the coverage of Rob's European Breakdown cover, he needed to stay within the EU, and it looked like we'd have different routes home... I headed out of Turkey, promising the beautiful woman at the border post that I'll be back soon (how corny!).
Bulgaria passed by easily, as I was mostly riding on the fairly empty Autoroute, and I'd decided to stay close to the EU to meet up with Rob in Hungary. But off the main roads it's a different story, in one town there was a brand new mirrored glass 'Corporate HQ' building on one side of the road, on the other, a mud street shanty town, full of ragged kids, really as poor as it gets. The cars were the same, a clapped out Zastava (basically an ancient Fiat) would be right next to an Audi Q7, LED lights sparkling. Speaking of which, it was usually the prestige 4x4's that had the most arrogant drivers... no surprise there then!
Bulgarian flats.
Industrial landscape.
Soon I was nearing Serbia, a country I've always wanted to visit, but was slightly scared of too, since seeing 'A Serbian Film', a truly disturbing piece of cinema.
I crossed into Serbia mid afternoon, expecting a long drawn out procedure, but the smiling border guard only gave my Passport a cursory glance, preferring to talk about English football (something I know next to nothing about). I don't really know why, but I was genuinely excited to be there... The countryside was flat, green and the road in a state of partial construction. I saw dilapidated cars, people working by hand in the fields, neat & tidy houses... someone even waved as I trundled past. Soon the landscape changed, and I was riding along a deep gorge, the river to my left, many short tunnels punctuating the road.
But over and above this, I was preoccupied, knowing that things hadn't really worked out as I'd planned (do they ever?), and it brought on an introspective state, thinking and riding... thinking and riding...
I headed for Nis, Serbia's third largest city, and decided to look for a Hostel. This involved spotting likely looking pedestrians, pulling over, and asking them if they knew of one. It'd become humid and hot, airless and all I could think of was getting to somewhere cool. Eventually a girl gave me directions that I could follow, and I found an anonymous door, with an intercom. A man appeared, showed me a large clean room (with air con!) and tells me it'll be 20 Euros, including breakfast, and a locked yard to park the bike in.
I get in the shower, and after charging the netbook, and all the phones, I head out to see what a Serbian town is actually like...
Rob finally messages me, having been unable to charge his phone until now. His gearbox has got so bad that anything over 40mph is impossible, he tells me he has checked into a Hotel, and ends with 'Have fun in Serbia'...
Most of the 'shops' seem to be gambling places, betting shops or mini casinos. It has a sleazy feel, I'm looking for a place to eat, and apart from a dodgy kebab shop, a takeaway pizza joint (mopeds lined up outside) and the local version of Greggs, I'm stumped. I walk for km's, feeling like I could really do with some local contacts. Eventually, irony of ironies, I see the local McDonalds, and swallowing my pride, get my dinner... needless to say, it's rubbish!
I get back to the Hostel, get my head down, and sleep fitfully...
Monday 11th June
Breakfast is served by a kindly faced middle aged woman; it's a basket of bread, a strong coffee, and a plate with 4 slices of garlic sausage, a big square of white cheese and 2 hard boiled eggs on it... it's good, and certainly sets me up for the day.
I go down to the yard and my bike (still with the helmet on the seat, and the two sat navs on the 'bars) is waiting for me. You simply know when a place is trustworthy, and these were good people.
I leave Nis, and head north west towards Budapest, in Hungary, after a while passing signs for Novi Sad, where we had made plans to stop at MrIFan's bar, a warm welcome and a cold beer assured. Another time, I was sorry to have missed it.
I get a text from Rob 'Bike's buggered have called assistance' - then a few hours later - 'Rescued by a man called elvis. Bike safe in his garage. I'm full of food and very nice wine.' I grin to myself, Rob's a survivor, and by the sounds of it, his adventure is just beginning...
At one of the toll booths on the Autoroute I see a pair of Airhead GS bikes ahead of me, at the next fuel stop I pull in, and they are there. It's two Germans, on R100GS PD's who have circumnavigated the Black Sea, clockwise. We chat for a while, they put a camera on a tripod and photograph all three of us with the bikes, but the sun is overhead and it's a crummy photo. Interestingly, neither of them used any GPS. Even in the half hour or so we are together I can deduce the relationship between these two; one is definitely 'the leader', and is always laughing and joking with me. The other one seems to have had all the bad luck, and is dour and grumpy. Still, their trip is inspiring, and of course I feel it's really more like what I should have done...
I spend an hour or so using the WiFi in a McDonald on the outskirts of Budapest, finding someone to stay with that evening, eventually getting in touch with a woman who would put me up (or should that be 'put up with me'?). A pleasant evening was spent eating, drinking and watching a gentle and interesting movie - The Visitor on the largest flat screen TV I'd ever seen.
Tuesday 12th June.
I leave Budapest thinking that I'll simply ride to Linz in Austria (about 450kms away), but in the end I reach Frankfurt (about 970kms). All I can say is that I rode, and rode, and rode... sometimes that happens. I stopped every 300km's or so, for fuel, a Snickers bar and a bottle of Ice Tea... not a great diet! Of course it rained, eventually getting down the neck and through the zip of my one piece over-suit. I had a place to stay lined up, and while I was waiting for her to get back from work, I stopped at a cafe and had Bratwurst, chips (with mayonnaise) and beer. The Poland v Russia match was on the TV, and I was so raddled by the riding that I actually enjoyed watching it!
Wednesday 13th June.
Soon after waking up it started raining, putting paid to my plans to do some photography of the amazing Frankfurt architecture. Pretty soon I'm in Belgium, then start seeing signs for Calais once I'm in France, heading home...
I decide against another long day, I want to arrive home 'in good order', so don't plan to return today. Plus, the Tunnel would be expensive if I just turn up. In Calais, where the sun is shining (doesn't it always on the way back to England), I find a motel for 43 Euros, and book my Tunnel the next morning for £30 (it'd be £73 today). Dinner at 'Flunch' is a treat, at the motel I sort my gear out, and really relax for the first time in days. Staying with people along the way is all very well, but it can be a strain making the social effort...
Thursday 14th June.
I get up early, pack the bike, and have a ride 'round the countryside looking for an early cafe to get breakfast at... nothing's open, but the sunshine and crisp sea air is wonderful. As a devout Atheist I love religious iconography, so stop to photograph this Crucifix by the side of the road.
Frustrated by not finding a friendly cafe (coffee and a cognac would've been nice), I head to the Tunnel, and line up with a group of middle aged, well to do Dutch guys, all riding top dollar bikes, Multistrada, K1300, GZZR1400, VFR1200 etc etc... They were fascinated by my 'old nail'
Back in England, riding the motorways north, the usual gloom sets in; why am I back, why did I hurry home, the difficulty of going away, being carefree (whatever that is) with a wife and three kids at home...
Back in Nottingham, and before I even get home, I ride straight to 'Cafe Hockley', where even though I only had my 5 (emergency) £1 coins, I still got given the full £5-50 breakfast - top people!
Conclusion
Distance traveled - about 4500 miles.
What went wrong with the Bike - Nothing.
Future plans - Get to Istanbul, and continue East!
Thanks to:-
Jim at ifixyourbike.com for the fantastic preparation of my Bike, much appreciated
There was no communication received from Rob overnight, so I texted him my location, and onward route, and left it at that...
I packed up and rode the few km's west into Edirne, to find some breakfast. I confess to worrying, I couldn't think of a reason (other than the iPhone packing up again) as to why he hadn't messaged me.
Anyway, in Edirne, next to the Mosque, was a small cafe. I parked the GS up on to the pavement, and was welcomed in. A glass of tea and two plates of Borek (one white cheese, the other lamb), and I was replete.
I'd still not received any replies from Rob to my texts, and was now starting to worry (as you do), so I rode back east, to the campsite. There he was, having coincidentally arrived just minutes earlier!
Because of the coverage of Rob's European Breakdown cover, he needed to stay within the EU, and it looked like we'd have different routes home... I headed out of Turkey, promising the beautiful woman at the border post that I'll be back soon (how corny!).
Bulgaria passed by easily, as I was mostly riding on the fairly empty Autoroute, and I'd decided to stay close to the EU to meet up with Rob in Hungary. But off the main roads it's a different story, in one town there was a brand new mirrored glass 'Corporate HQ' building on one side of the road, on the other, a mud street shanty town, full of ragged kids, really as poor as it gets. The cars were the same, a clapped out Zastava (basically an ancient Fiat) would be right next to an Audi Q7, LED lights sparkling. Speaking of which, it was usually the prestige 4x4's that had the most arrogant drivers... no surprise there then!
Bulgarian flats.
Industrial landscape.
Soon I was nearing Serbia, a country I've always wanted to visit, but was slightly scared of too, since seeing 'A Serbian Film', a truly disturbing piece of cinema.
I crossed into Serbia mid afternoon, expecting a long drawn out procedure, but the smiling border guard only gave my Passport a cursory glance, preferring to talk about English football (something I know next to nothing about). I don't really know why, but I was genuinely excited to be there... The countryside was flat, green and the road in a state of partial construction. I saw dilapidated cars, people working by hand in the fields, neat & tidy houses... someone even waved as I trundled past. Soon the landscape changed, and I was riding along a deep gorge, the river to my left, many short tunnels punctuating the road.
But over and above this, I was preoccupied, knowing that things hadn't really worked out as I'd planned (do they ever?), and it brought on an introspective state, thinking and riding... thinking and riding...
I headed for Nis, Serbia's third largest city, and decided to look for a Hostel. This involved spotting likely looking pedestrians, pulling over, and asking them if they knew of one. It'd become humid and hot, airless and all I could think of was getting to somewhere cool. Eventually a girl gave me directions that I could follow, and I found an anonymous door, with an intercom. A man appeared, showed me a large clean room (with air con!) and tells me it'll be 20 Euros, including breakfast, and a locked yard to park the bike in.
I get in the shower, and after charging the netbook, and all the phones, I head out to see what a Serbian town is actually like...
Rob finally messages me, having been unable to charge his phone until now. His gearbox has got so bad that anything over 40mph is impossible, he tells me he has checked into a Hotel, and ends with 'Have fun in Serbia'...
Most of the 'shops' seem to be gambling places, betting shops or mini casinos. It has a sleazy feel, I'm looking for a place to eat, and apart from a dodgy kebab shop, a takeaway pizza joint (mopeds lined up outside) and the local version of Greggs, I'm stumped. I walk for km's, feeling like I could really do with some local contacts. Eventually, irony of ironies, I see the local McDonalds, and swallowing my pride, get my dinner... needless to say, it's rubbish!
I get back to the Hostel, get my head down, and sleep fitfully...
Monday 11th June
Breakfast is served by a kindly faced middle aged woman; it's a basket of bread, a strong coffee, and a plate with 4 slices of garlic sausage, a big square of white cheese and 2 hard boiled eggs on it... it's good, and certainly sets me up for the day.
I go down to the yard and my bike (still with the helmet on the seat, and the two sat navs on the 'bars) is waiting for me. You simply know when a place is trustworthy, and these were good people.
I leave Nis, and head north west towards Budapest, in Hungary, after a while passing signs for Novi Sad, where we had made plans to stop at MrIFan's bar, a warm welcome and a cold beer assured. Another time, I was sorry to have missed it.
I get a text from Rob 'Bike's buggered have called assistance' - then a few hours later - 'Rescued by a man called elvis. Bike safe in his garage. I'm full of food and very nice wine.' I grin to myself, Rob's a survivor, and by the sounds of it, his adventure is just beginning...
At one of the toll booths on the Autoroute I see a pair of Airhead GS bikes ahead of me, at the next fuel stop I pull in, and they are there. It's two Germans, on R100GS PD's who have circumnavigated the Black Sea, clockwise. We chat for a while, they put a camera on a tripod and photograph all three of us with the bikes, but the sun is overhead and it's a crummy photo. Interestingly, neither of them used any GPS. Even in the half hour or so we are together I can deduce the relationship between these two; one is definitely 'the leader', and is always laughing and joking with me. The other one seems to have had all the bad luck, and is dour and grumpy. Still, their trip is inspiring, and of course I feel it's really more like what I should have done...
I spend an hour or so using the WiFi in a McDonald on the outskirts of Budapest, finding someone to stay with that evening, eventually getting in touch with a woman who would put me up (or should that be 'put up with me'?). A pleasant evening was spent eating, drinking and watching a gentle and interesting movie - The Visitor on the largest flat screen TV I'd ever seen.
Tuesday 12th June.
I leave Budapest thinking that I'll simply ride to Linz in Austria (about 450kms away), but in the end I reach Frankfurt (about 970kms). All I can say is that I rode, and rode, and rode... sometimes that happens. I stopped every 300km's or so, for fuel, a Snickers bar and a bottle of Ice Tea... not a great diet! Of course it rained, eventually getting down the neck and through the zip of my one piece over-suit. I had a place to stay lined up, and while I was waiting for her to get back from work, I stopped at a cafe and had Bratwurst, chips (with mayonnaise) and beer. The Poland v Russia match was on the TV, and I was so raddled by the riding that I actually enjoyed watching it!
Wednesday 13th June.
Soon after waking up it started raining, putting paid to my plans to do some photography of the amazing Frankfurt architecture. Pretty soon I'm in Belgium, then start seeing signs for Calais once I'm in France, heading home...
I decide against another long day, I want to arrive home 'in good order', so don't plan to return today. Plus, the Tunnel would be expensive if I just turn up. In Calais, where the sun is shining (doesn't it always on the way back to England), I find a motel for 43 Euros, and book my Tunnel the next morning for £30 (it'd be £73 today). Dinner at 'Flunch' is a treat, at the motel I sort my gear out, and really relax for the first time in days. Staying with people along the way is all very well, but it can be a strain making the social effort...
Thursday 14th June.
I get up early, pack the bike, and have a ride 'round the countryside looking for an early cafe to get breakfast at... nothing's open, but the sunshine and crisp sea air is wonderful. As a devout Atheist I love religious iconography, so stop to photograph this Crucifix by the side of the road.
Frustrated by not finding a friendly cafe (coffee and a cognac would've been nice), I head to the Tunnel, and line up with a group of middle aged, well to do Dutch guys, all riding top dollar bikes, Multistrada, K1300, GZZR1400, VFR1200 etc etc... They were fascinated by my 'old nail'
Back in England, riding the motorways north, the usual gloom sets in; why am I back, why did I hurry home, the difficulty of going away, being carefree (whatever that is) with a wife and three kids at home...
Back in Nottingham, and before I even get home, I ride straight to 'Cafe Hockley', where even though I only had my 5 (emergency) £1 coins, I still got given the full £5-50 breakfast - top people!
Conclusion
Distance traveled - about 4500 miles.
What went wrong with the Bike - Nothing.
Future plans - Get to Istanbul, and continue East!
Thanks to:-
Jim at ifixyourbike.com for the fantastic preparation of my Bike, much appreciated
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