115 days, 8200km and 11 countries later - impressions per country

To be honest (why we say so? As if it's an exception and not a norm🙂) I wanted to make a summary for each country of my longest trip ever after finishing with each one on the go but my days were more hectic than I expected to do so. Search for places to stay, edit pictures and videos, write texts, publish, keep an eye on bike's needs, cook, shopping were only some of the things I had to do in my "free" time when I was not riding or walking to collect the content I shared with you. Only when I was house sitting in France and Netherlands I had more time in my hands and even then not as much as you might think as in the latter I had to take care of 3 chickens, a diabetic cat and a garden.

Ο Τέμπη ο μόρες

Κάθε φορά που επανέρχεται στην επικαιρότητα το θέμα της τραγωδίας των Τεμπών σκέφτομαι διπλά τους συγγενείς των θυμάτων, μία για το προφανές (το πένθος) και άλλη μία για την οδύνη που (φαντάζομαι) τους προκαλεί το γεγονός ότι επιστρέφει στις ειδήσεις τις περισσότερες φορές ως μία ευκαιρία κάποιων κομμάτων να βρουν λόγω ύπαρξης. Να μη σου φτάνει δηλαδή ότι την κόρη ή το γιό σου τον έφαγε ένας μπάρμπας του δημοσίου τον οποίο μάλιστα θα συνεχίσεις να πληρώνεις μέχρι να φύγει και αυτός από αυτόν το μάταιο κόσμο αλλά να βλέπεις και ξετσίπωτα κοράκια να σπεύδουν πάνω σε αυτή την ανείπωτη τραγωδία.

Στάθης Καλύβας (συνέντευξη στην Α. Νέγκα)

Ο Στάθης Καλύβας έδωσε μια ενδιαφέρουσα και ουσιαστική συνέντευξη στο "Καλύτερα Αργά" της οποίας το Β' μέρος μπορείτε να δείτε εδώ (εκτός αν σας εκνευρίζουν οι συχνές διακοπές του καλεσμένου στις οποίες δυστυχώς αρέσκεται η Α. Νέγκα):

Βάζω το Β' μέρος γιατί πάνω σε αυτό έχω να κάνω λίγα σχόλια:

"ORIA" shipwreck monument (largest Mediterranean tragedy)

 Trust me, regardless how much you love summer, there's nothing like a warm Hellenic autumn. This year we are lucky to have one of those and even luckier to not consider them a rarity. Therefore, even in mid November one can enjoy an empty beach with warm water even at the Athenian riviera (which during high season is beyond crowded).

Like this one:

Lviv from Tel Aviv is only a few assholes away

 Μια δεκαετία πριν επικοινωνούσα συχνά με μια διαδικτυακή φίλη από το Tel Aviv. Απολάμβανα (μεταξύ άλλων) την υπέροχη φωνή της και τα τέλεια Αγγλικά της στο Skype. Κάποια στιγμή μου λέει ότι μόλις πήρε διαζύγιο και σκέφτεται να έρθει στην Ελλάδα να με δει με την ευκαιρία. "You're more than welcome" της έγραψα αλλά ο θεός γελάει όταν οι άνθρωποι κάνουν σχέδια και έτσι αντί μαζί της πέρασα ένα ολόκληρο χρόνο στα νοσοκομεία και με τους 2 γονείς μου, χάνοντας τελικά τον ένα (τον πατέρα μου) από καρκίνο τα Χριστούγεννα. Χαριτολογώντας (αυτόματη αντίδραση του οργανισμού στις σκοτεινότερες ώρες) είπα μέσα μου "καλύτερα, γλίτωσες τη πιθανότητα να ήταν στη Μοσάντ ο άντρας της και να έκανες παρέα στον πατέρα σου νωρίτερα του αναμενομένου".

(Άλλη μία) Γενέθλια βολτούλα

 Αν παρκάρεις έτσι το αυτοκίνητό σου τότε κάτι έχεις κάνει σωστά:

Socrates: Last Forever (Neradou)

Eetonian Gate of the Ancient Walls of Pireas (Ηετόνεια Πύλη)

In my previous walk around the port I showed you several dodgy bits among others but now let's focus on more charming stuff. Like this palmy tree that wants to break free:

Rebeti bridge (Η γέφυρα του Ρεμπέτη)

Unexplored bits around a city like Athens have no end due to its size and history so today on a sweet Sunday like this I grab the chance to visit one of them. The day is still very young and the pigeons have just woke up at the local metro station:

The HIVE Tour - Episode 71 - Back home after 115 days!

It's been a long time since I recall myself waking up in the sea and since I'm an early bird I manage to catch the first rays of the sun struggling to make it through these clouds somewhere West of Albania:

The HIVE Tour - Episode 70 - 1st post COVID19 ferry trip reminded me how it sucks

 As you saw in the previous episode I waited for a later than late ferry at Ancona which is beyond ludicrous if you consider that this is the normality of the ferry companies for the last years. They don't give an F, they give you a departing time which is much earlier than the real one so they can cramp routes as much as possible as the ferry arrives, unloads and departs again. The good old days when the ferry was docked and you could enter even 2 hours before departure while the latter was accurate as a Swiss train are gone for good. Now they don't even sms you the delay as at least they used to few years ago.

The HIVE Tour - Episode 69 - Goodbye Italy!

My time is over here at Pugliano in Italy and I wake up to this view:

The HIVE Tour - Episode 68 - Walking around Pugliano, West of St. Marino

Ladies and gents, this is a special moment in my trip. If you are following my adventures during this journey you already know that I started early May so this makes it my longest one by far. "By far" goes in time but mileage wise I am @ 8000km right now which equals my previous longest one so it is going to be the one during which I did the most kilometres too. But here at Pugliano is the last AirBnB I have to rent for this trip as it's the last place I stay before I take the ferry to Ancona back to Greece in a few days. So many months on the road and feels like yesterday...it's a feeling hard to describe but makes material for a later post.

Now I don't have time for such analysis cause among other commitments I think I must walk you around the village I stay. So, grab your comfy shoes and lets walk down this road:

The HIVE Tour - Episode 67 - Bye Veneto, ciao Chioggia, hello Emiglia Romagna

I've written a lot about the farm I stayed here in Veneto but now that is time to leave it behind I have to praise it for one more time due to the generosity of its owner. Dear Lucia treated me with this really nice wine:

The HIVE Tour - Episode 66 - Morning hilltop walk becomes rather URBEX

The more I stay here at this farm in Italy the more I thank myself for that choice. Have a look at my bedroom view:

 

The HIVE Tour - Episode 65 - I gladly lost my way on this hike

As you might have already seen over my last posts my trip has brought me to this beautiful farm NE of Venice and since the beauty is not strictly limited to the farm but expands to the whole area it's a no brainer to decide to hike around. Even better when the hike starts from the farm itself which is such an eye candy:

The HIVE Tour - Episode 64 - One walk, countless beauties

In the previous Episode you saw the relics that the owner of the farm I stay at the moment was kind enough to show me. Now it's time to walk outdoors as this place looks like it has more to offer than what I can see in only a couple of days. Even this owl looks to me like...

"it's pointless...you gotta come back one day":

The HIVE Tour - Episode 63 - Surprises during my stay at a Venetian farm

Not only the farm I've just arrived to stay here in Italy is located at a piece of heaven (more on that later but you can already check the link) but I also have a rather generous host. My only problem is that I have to squeeze my poor Italian to start cooking cause I am more than hungry:

The HIVE Tour - Episode 62 - From South Bavaria to Veneto via Austria

I'm finally "privileged" to be treated with some proper summer by the weather here South of Munich so I load my bike to move on South more carefree than I did previously. You know you experience a proper summer when you aim your stops under the shade of a tree like here at Bruckmühl:

The HIVE Tour - Episode 61 - Goodbye Baden Butenburg, Hello (again) Bavaria

My time here at Obersulm is over and I'm loading my iron donkey to head South (oups, better say horse, don't hurt its feelings). However, it looks like someone desperately wants to escort me:

 

The HIVE Tour - Episode 60 - Hiking @ Obersulm Germany brings more fruits than expected

They say "Carpe Diem" right? I have no reasons at all to not apply it here in the German West so I'm out to see what is what on a nice day but with a challenging sky photography wise:

The HIVE Tour - Episode 59 - Goodbye Netherlands, hello (again) Germany

Last day here in the Dutch South and in some sort of irony the weather feels like summer for the first time but I'm not gonna be here long enough to enjoy it as I have my bike loaded ready to leave. My dear diabetic companion ill stay home of course and as far as I can tell he doesn't bother that much about my departure, despite the great times we shared:

The HIVE - Tour - Episode 58 - Dutch time is running out

As my days are coming closer to an end here in the Netherlands I'm thinking how different the weather is this year compared to the last one when I was here exactly at the same time. I mean, I didn't expect a Mediterranean summer either time but at least last year there was some sort of summer, despite the breaks of winter. This year is just a random mix of all seasons. Literally, as long as Dutch winter is excluded. As I'm typing these words it's 10:00 am but there's absolutely no sun at all and I am wearing my brand new leather pants indoors, not only without sweating but feeling like that's proper stuff for this weather.

The HIVE Tour - Episode 57 - Dutching my days away

How many times have I commented on the weather? One too many already right? Apologies from a spoiled Mediterranean, your truly. However, it's impressive to see how the mood of all beings on earth is dictated at a certain degree from the weather.

See my friends here:

The HIVE Tour - Episode 56 - Riding from Heeze to Tilburg got me to the scene of an accident

Nice days oblige you to "Carpe Diem" here at the European North since weather is far from friendly and predictable. So, on this promising morning I decide to ride from Heeze to Tilburg here in Netherlands aiming to visit Oisterwijk Park first and then the mega store of Louis in Tilburg to do some motorcycle related shopping.

As I am enjoying riding on a nice day through some lovely neighbourhoods, after some km on the highway I meet a heavy jam. Not sure how policed (or punished) is filtering the traffic on a bike I use all my patience and just wait behind the cars hoping it's not gonna last that long. However, it seems to last forever and I'm often just sitting idle. No bikers around me at all to see how locals behave in such conditions and I don't want to be the ass acting out of local habits. Despite me being much more travelled than the vast majority of bikers I still act this way and no regrets so far. It's as simple as respecting a house that hosts you. Two bikers appear later and as soon as they start filtering the insane traffic I follow them and at some point I overtake them as the situation feels like it would eat up my whole day. Wondering how come and what is this craziness all about I get my answer as I witness this scene:

The HIVE Tour - Episode 55 - Ways to spend time during shitty and not so shitty summer (?) weather

I don't like complaining so I (hope I) won't focus on the meteorological side of things here in South Netherlands, if you follow my posts you're aware of that. Funny things happen when weather is OK enough to be outside though. Like this:

The HIVE Tour - Episode 54 - Taking care of chickens

Just like the same time last year at this place South of Eindhoven in Netherlands, I am taking care of 3 sweet ladies which generously provide me their fresher than fresh eggs on a daily basis. Ladies and gents, put your hands together please for Tina, Truitje and Roosje:

The HIVE Tour - Episode 53 - Silence is priceless (Dutch version)

Mainly cause it gives you the chance to live the way you audibly want while if you live in noise that's it - you have no choice. Democratic as I am, I love peaceful neighbourhoods cause they give you choices contrary to the fascistic noisy ones. Now go explain this to the wanker with a loud bike...

Here at Heeze in Netherlands peace 'n quiet is far from rare so imagine how a Sunday morning feels like. Do you want me to walk you around these empty streets?

Come follow me:

 

The HIVE Tour - Episode 52 - My longest trip ever brought me to my most Northern place I've been on a bike

And that place is Heeze, South of Eindhoven. Those who follow me might remember that I was here last year same time, looking after the house of my (now good) friends and here I am for the same reason again (here's a link in case you're interested).

The star of the place is what I call "the mischievous King of Heeze" AKA Arie, the diabetic old cat:

The HIVE Tour - Episode 51 - 3 countries in 1 day for the 3rd time in this trip!

I'm about to leave Le Mans behind after 3 weeks that flew by like the wind. This city marks a turning point in my trip. When I arrive here early July I was exactly 2 months on the road after 5500ish km, on a trip that is bound to last 4 months. Anything after it belongs to the second part of this journey. I totally luck out on the weather as the rain that was bound to fall today occurred last night so now it all looks much better than it could be. I "au revoir" my smiley hosts and their cat, and I hit the road on much better conditions than I expected:

The HIVE Tour - Episode 50 - Visiting the Acropolis (?) of racing @ Le Mans

Much less people around the globe would know Le Mans if it wasn't for its worldwide famous 24h circuit and I couldn't leave the city without visiting the place where the heart of racing beats:

The HIVE Tour - Episode 49 - Enjoying the sweetness of rural France

I've cycled you around Le Mans, I walked you around its center, how about riding with me some km North of the city? Let's go:

The HIVE Tour - Episode 48 - Cycling up to Arche de la Nature park SE of Le Mans

I have a nice day waiting for me, I am at South end of Le Mans and I am given the choice between 4 bicycles to ride around the city. I consider myself a lucky guy and I pick the following one:

The Hive Tour - Episode 47 - Walking the center of Le Mans (long but worth it!)

In my previous episode I walked you around the South end of Le Mans. Since it's one more nice day in a row I won't miss the chance to walk the center too. Wanna follow?

Haven't seen such a blue sky since I don't know when:

The HIVE Tour - Episode 46 - First steps around Le Mans

Thinking that I am at Le Mans puts a smile on my face. This French Acropolis of racing was known to me since I was a little kid and now I get the chance to see how it looks like in real. So I wake up and can't wait to walk this famous city. However, here's what I see as soon as I look down from my bunk bed:

The HIVE Tour - Episode 45 - 3 countries in 1 day for the 2nd time on this trip!

One of the first world problems of such a long trip is finding places to stay. While I'm not gonna imply it's not a 1st world one, trust me it's a time and nerve consuming pain in the ass if you don't want to see your budget going out of control. So as long as I remain a self financed HIVE powered traveller (hence this trip is aptly baptised) I have to check myriads of listings trying to find the most value for money ones, the most conveniently located, cancel unresponsive hosts etc.

I've made the mistake to spend less time in Croatia where things are beautiful but not necessarily overpriced if you stay away from the hot places so I arrived in the expensive North earlier than I had to. And while Germany while not being an exception still offers attractive slots of accommodation, France, Belgium and Holland do not.

After browsing places to rent for ages instead of working on my pictures and videos to deliver the best content possible I finally find a place near Dortmund from a lovely lady which is affordable as it is her new listing. Not the most convenient as I should drive all the way to Eindhoven after that but I can't waste more time on this instead of what I have to do which is publishing my content here.

The gods of travelling do their magic on the same night and as I wake up next morning I get an offer to sit a house in Le Mans (yep, the French Acropolis of racing) for the EXACT same dates. The pros of being a handy and trusty guy. First I'm like "YES!" and then I'm like "if only I had slept without booking first". However, even more luckily, the host has a very elastic cancellation policy so this won't cost me anything except the extra fuel to make it all the way to Le Mans (650ish km). I write a super polite letter to the lovely lady host, I get those 830 euros pending to come back to my account and get ready for a huge change of plans. From 200km NE going 650km SW instead.

It's a lovely morning here in Bad Münstereifel and... tell you what? Among the things I will miss is this amazing "sodastream". For those who might not know, it's a device allowing you to make your own soda at home. The quality depends on the quality of your water of course and this place in Germany has one of the best I have ever tried. (If only I knew what I'd face on that matter in Le Mans but more on it later). Busy loading the bike I forgot to picture it but you can look it up.

My view as I start rolling my bike out of the garage to make it all the way from Germany to France:

The HIVE Tour - Episode 44 - Effelsberg, largest radio telescope in EU!

My dear host here at the South part of Nordrhein Westfalen in Germany is care taking enough to have the dinning table half flooded by brochures about the attractions of the area. Among them I see one about the local telescope. I instantly decide to put it as a top priority since it is one of the two largest Radio Telescopes of the world with a diameter of 100 meters! I've never seen anything like this! Have you?

The only issue is the weather which remains questionable. On a cold misty morning that looks like the heart of winter in Athens rather than the heart of summer (early July) I take the short ride up to Effelsberg radio telescope and I leave my bike at its parking lot to have a first walk around:

The HIVE Tour - Episode 43 - Hilltop church SE of Bonn Germany

Weather up here SE of Bonn is still challenging and though it doesn't rain it feels like it can do so anytime so I feel pushed once again to grab any chance given for exploration. And this one doesn't look bad at all:

The HIVE Tour - Episode 42 - Goodbye Rheinland Pfatz, Hello Nordrhein Westfalen

My last day here at Medard has come, world's least known village/town maybe but I find bits of interest wherever I go. Besides, I am not a "Mykonos" or "Ibiza" guy. So now I walk parts of the area that I haven't yet and I must say that Germans have a taste when it comes to road warning signs:

The HIVE Tour - Episode 41 - One tower, one too many exceptional views! (Aussichtsturm Prinzenkopf, Germany)

In the previous episode I showed you around Klopp Castle and its wonderful view to river Rhein. Now I am leaving the castle behind to head West and visit other beauties of this region. After an hour plus ride, I get wowed to the view of the river Moselle and the town of Pünderich in the background:

The HIVE Tour - Episode 40 - Klopp Castle and (almost) vertical vineyards @ Bingen am Rhein

And the HIVE Tour just became 40! It's actually older if you also count the sub Episodes (more like 50) and time wise it's also close to the middle so yes, mid life crisis is a challenge at this moment 🙂

So I'm leaving behind Medard village to head for the beauties of Rheinland Pfatz region as proposed by my good Bavarian biker friend Andreas and after some riding here I am looking for some privacy to... pee:

The HIVE Tour - Episode 39 - Walking the least attractive German village (so far)

My first morning here in Medard has just begun and that's what I see as soon as I open my eyes, in other words bedroom view:

The HIVE Tour - Episode 38 - Very Murhpy's Law on my goodbye to Essen and hello to Rheinland Pfalz

I pack my things here in beutifull Wittelsberg and get ready to leave this scenic region of Essen in Germany to move South West in Rheinland Pfalz. The weather is expected to be rainy (if not VERY rainy) so I keep my camera in my bag and wear my rain gear. I hate it but better dry than wet. I'm also low on fuel so I mark the closest fuel station on the map and set my route accordingly.

I want to say at this point that I found less gas stations in Germany than I expected. Though my bike has a very long range ( the pros of a large tank and a very efficient engine) there were a couple of times that I reached my limits as I tend to empty my tank before I fill it up.

I am on the same block with that fuel station here in Fronhausen where I face... this:

The Hive Tour - Episode 37 - Last day at Wittelsberg Essen Germany

What a sweet area this is but my time is running out here. So I take the chance for a last walk around in the woods as there's plenty of such choices. Today I pick this one walking South leaving the village of Wittelsberg behind me:

The Hive Tour - Episode 36 - Touring the beauties of Marburg

I have the luck to be staying just a few km away from Marburg which is the nearest city. Not a big city with a population of 80.000 people but big enough to worth the effort. I'm more than happy to find out that they have parking spots for motorcycles just outside the Philips University which is hosted in the following building:

The HIVE Tour - Episode 35 - One more palace in the heart of Germany

It's an overcast day here in the heart of Germany and as long as it's not raining I find it a great chance to explore the surroundings. You see, this is not just my longest trip (time wise at least so far) but also my coldest summer ever so whenever the weather doesn't really suck I feel obliged to "carpe diem".

So, here I am in my lovely neighbourhood for another walk around:

The HIVE Tour - Episode 34 - First walk around Wittelsberg @ Essen Germany

I wake up at this cute little village named Wittelsberg in the center of Germany on this not precisely warm summer morning but a bright day and a cute neighbourhood easily make up for this:

The HIVE Tour - Episode 33 - Goodbye Bavaria, hello Essen

What a rich area that is at Bayreuth and beyond. Just a week and brought me (and you) almost 10 posts! All good things come to an end though and now it's time to leave my beloved Bavaria behind to head West. Once again my friend Andreas leads my route via his recommendations and I'm more than happy to deviate in order to visit Pottenstein. With rock formations like this I love it instantly:

The HIVE Tour - Episode 32 - A 5km walk up to Bayreuth to visit its garden and palace

As my days here at St Johannis East of Bayreuth are not infinite I take the chance today to visit the city's center even though that's 5km away from the place I stay. However, it's a rather pleasant walk as it's a very pedestrian and cycle friendly route as you can see:

 

The Hive Tour - Episode 31 - NE Bavaria & NW Czech in one day

Knowing the right people is priceless and I couldn't have a better contact for my Bavarian days than my dear friend Andreas. I'm close to the end of my days here in Bayreuth and I will try to do as many places he has proposed around here as possible since who knows when I'll be back. Quite a challenge though as the whole area is an eye candy with endless sightseeing.

Number one on my way is Fichtel mountains. It's a nice ride up to there but the place is not exactly what I was expecting. Don't get me wrong, nothing bad about it, it's just that I thought I could ride part of it and then go back to my route for the rest while here you have to park your vehicle and continue on foot. And that's what I do:

The HIVE Tour - Episode 30d - The palace of palaces: Eremitage @ Bayreuth

Quite the walk around Bayreuth's Eremitage isn't it? 3 parts so far and not done yet. In the previous (sub) Episode I covered the pool of this complex and now it's time to continue my walk North East in the woods.

If nothing else these beautiful trees are tall:

The HIVE Tour - Episode 30c - The palace of palaces: Eremitage @ Bayreuth

So far I have showed you around the Old and New Palace of the Eremitage here East of Bayreuth in Germany. I've shared the stunning beauty of both so now it's time for a little mysticism. North of the New Palace a few steps down is the "Dragon's hole":

The HIVE Tour - Episode 30b - The palace of palaces: Eremitage @ Bayreuth

In the previous (sub) Episode I left you in front of the New Palace here at the Eremitage of Bayreuth. Impressive as it is and as you might have already saw, the same goes for the statues surrounding it:

 

The HIVE Tour - Episode 30a - The palace of palaces: Eremitage @ Bayreuth

It's 12th of June but it's almost 12C as well here at NE Bavaria which is far from summer morning temperatures a Mediterranean like me is used to but whenever I leave Hellas behind I am prepared to not be surprised by the weather. By the time I finish my breakfast and leave my place behind it's a little warmer but not by much: