Greece to Germany via Bulgaria and Serbia
Date: July 2022
Duration: 2 weeks
Distance: 3,585 km
Yet again I have shipped my bike by truck, from Germany to Thessaloniki in Greece. I flew in a day beforehand, spent an afternoon and evening sightseeing before taking a taxi to an industrial estate on the outskirts where I collected the bike.
The SatNav takes me rapidly out of the city on the motorway. After only a few kilometres I am routed off the motorway and onto a small, very quiet road through the mountains towards the border crossing with Bulgaria.
Bulgaria
At the Bulgarian border I acquire for the first time ever, a stamp in my passport from an EU Country – as Bulgaria isn’t in Schengen, my residency permit isn’t valid here.
My first night is spent in Bansko/Банско, a touristic mountain town, that is more than just a ski resort. I park the motorbike next to the hotel pool, as the regular motorbike parking has all been used by a motorcross team. Eventually I find a place to exchange some cash, have a look around and find somewhere to eat and drink.
From Bansko I ride down through several valleys to Plodiv/Пловдив, oldest continually inhabited city in Europe. My chosen hotel is fully booked, they had sold the last room shortly before I arrived, but I find a room and parking for two nights at the hotel opposite, before heading out to explore the ancient ruins and the young vibrant city.
I take a long detour out to Buzludzha/Дом паметник на БКП, a communist monument built in 1981 at 1,441 metres altitude. The doors are locked, but everyone is free to look around. I unpack my drone and program it to fly around the building. Distracted while chatting to fellow bikers on the ground, I fail to notice the drone flying sideways into the concrete tower – the crash is recorded on the live stream.
The on-site security guy is most helpful, and we locate the drone lying on a 5 metre high wall. There’s no way today to recover it today, but he calls me the following day to say he has retrieved the drone, and uploaded the data on the SD Card to Google Drive and sent me a link.
I stay overnight near Sofia before leaving for Serbia.
Serbia
A few metres inside Serbia, I exchange far too much cash, not anticipating just how low the costs are. It’s my first ever visit to Serbia. I am heading to Niš, and ride there along a beautiful road through canyons and rock arches.
My hotel is right in the middle of the city, and was previously the main hotel during the communist times. Outrageously cheap and it is decorated in a classic 1970s style for the elites of the day. Right beside the city centre on the other side of the river, is the rather large and impressive Niš Fortress, and a short walk eastwards is the skull tower – with the real skulls of Serbian rebels embedded into the tower.
Due to a thunderstorm and heavy rain, I eat in the hotel’s restaurant, enjoying a very good and very cheap meal and wine.
I head north and hit the Danube, which I follow until the border crossing with Romania.
Romania
The border crossing with Romania is over the Danube. The exit from Serbia on one side, entry to Romania is on the other. As usual, I overtake a long line of stationary trucks waiting at both control points.
I spend the night in Drobeta-Turnu Severin, before riding over the Transalpina (altitude 2,145m) and then on backroads to Sibiu. I pull-up in a supermarket car park on the outskirts of Sibiu, and on the Booking app, I find a 5* hotel in the city centre with parking garage for €40 – usual price €200.
I was previously in Sibiu during my honeymoon in 2012. The development of the city is phenomenal – and tourists now flood the streets.
My next destination is the UNESCO medieval city of Sighișoara, but not before visiting one of the finest examples of a fortified church in Biertan.
I take the easy and fast approach to reach Timișoara from Sighișoara, and use a new motorway. The fuel gauge updates and my range drops over 100 km within the first 15 km of high speed riding. Unfortunately not all the service stations have been build yet, so I must leave the motorway to refuel.
In Timișoara I take a day off, staying two nights, then head back into Serbia.
Serbia Part 2
Across a rather flat landscape, I head back to the Danube and the city of Novi Sad. The previous day was the final day of Exit Festival, and my chosen hotel is still quite busy with departing youngsters.
The festival takes place in the citadel above the city. I chat with the security guard, and despite the on-going dismantling, I am able to take a look around.
I stop for lunch just before the Hungarian border, then head for the crossing and kindly ask the Hungarian border guard not to stamp my passport, as I have a valid residency permit. He probably has not seen many Schengen-resident Brits, post-brexit.
Hungary
I arrive in Pécs, where I previously visited in 2012. This time I had more time to look around some of the Roman ruins. I also convert the remainder of my Serbian Dinar.
I am getting towards the end of the tour, and decide to have a relaxing afternoon and evening beside Lake Balaton – the largest lake in central Europe.
The final evening of the tour is spent in the city of Sopron. The city was given the decision in 1921 on whether to be part of Austria or Hungary, and decided for the latter. To reach the city, I travel out of Hungary and through Austria, crossing the border again back in to Hungary.
At a location nearby in August 1989, the Pan-European Picnic took place. Where several hundred people from East Germany crossed to Austria, shortly before the iron curtain crumbled.
The city itself is small, but old and pretty. A perfect place to spend the final night of the trip before returning to Germany.