Danny Beer - A tour of Eurasia

© Danny Beer, 2020

ISBN 978-5-0051-4069-2

Created with Ridero smart publishing system

Well it has finally happened. Danny’s getting deported. And what a great excuse for a bike ride. So the whole Eurasia thing has had its appeal for a while now so a flight to Vienna, a month looping around Czechland and then it is Slovakia and beyond.

Feelings are mixed. It is great to be going but it is really shit to be going this way. With less than two weeks to plan, not to mention finding lawyers, giving and selling my stuff, yudda, yudda, yudda, details of the trip are a little bit scarce. But that’s okay. Why not wing it!

The bike.

Emigration out of Taipei isn’t a problem. There is no red ‘deported’ stamp. No hassles. Nada. You finish work around lunch time and it is only then that you are told to pay your tax. Fuck. 500 US smackers straight to the government because you are in the country less than 6 months. They already took a k and as a further consequence of being deported they can take 500 more. So it is off to the tax office to file 2 years of tax records. After a confusing interval the good news arrives. A 2000 Americano dollar refund. Brilliant. Except you have to wait 2 weeks to pick it up. So despite the triple F U from Taiwan you do have a little bit of cash to help finance this trip.

Not long after boarding the flight to Vienna do you realize that not only do you not possess a credit card but your debit card is also absent. But worry not because it was not left behind. Hidden somewhere in one of the bags it is at last procured. Relief.

It is quite cold in at Vienna airport around 6 AM. Ice still sits in puddles. But it doesn’t feel that cold as you piece back together the bike and sort out the luggage. The next problem to solve is a lack of a nut and bolt to fit the front rack on. Actually you have the bolt. You just need to find a nut. Until a nut is found a cable tie is used.

The route from Vienna airport to Bratislava is the same 1 taken 3 years previous. Except this time you don’t get on the freeway but onto the smaller road running parallel. Traffic isn’t as light as you would like but at least drivers here are courteous. None of this me first mentality you are used to braving.

A bike path runs most of the gauntlet. Unfortunately a lack of a map and knowledge of the place names means you at times abandon the path for the road. If only you had known. So for future reference, route number 6 takes you to the border.

The day is uneventful. You see some ancient roman ruins that you missed the last time round. Last time you took the detour to the ‘ruins’, ie amphitheater and in so doing missed out on seeing the much more spectacular gate. You see the trips first castle ruin. Not long after you spot Devin castle across the Danube and in nearby Slovakia.

You stop by at the border to get your passport stamped. But, according to the polizie, there aren’t any border formalities. From the border it is only a few more km, over the bridge with the UFO and welcome to Bratislava proper.

Coming into the hostel you find that the cable tie used to secure the front rack is gone, broken off. It is just luck that the whole thing stayed on. Tomorrow will be spent looking for a nut and bolt to secure that thing. But wait, Macgiver to the rescue. You do have such a set. You have a spare quick release for your seat. It fits snugly. But only time will tell if it lasts.

Time for a beer.

Men at work.

A day of procrastination in Bratislava and you are off to see the world. Following the Danube to Devin castle you then head north along the Morava River. You see some of the hundreds of bunkers along the Iron Curtain bikeway, built originally against Nazi Germany.

It is a pleasant day. That is, pleasant until it starts to rain. But it is good to be out on the bike in the beautiful countryside, passing through quaint towns and eerily quiet woodlands.

You stop over in Austria for a late lunch and then it is back into Slovakia and then Czech Republic to Breclav, your stop for tonight. It is not until you buy a beer do you realise that you don’t actually have any money on you, at least not Czech money. And the exchange place is closed for the night. Damn.

Tonight’s host is a lovely lady called Zuzana. And no, it’s not like that. I met her on Couchsurfing. I slept on the couch. Soon it all catches up with you as those heavy eyelids close shut. It must be time for bed. Apparently you are quiet lucky with the weather. It was winter 2 weeks ago. It still is cold though.

Bratislava castle.

The iron curtain.

You change some money over but the fuckers only give you big notes. Big notes that everyone else will refuse to take. Can I have some smaller money please? No. Fuckers.

Lunch is had in Mikolov and none too soon. The castle here looks pretty cool but you are too early in the tourist season for a tour. So you move on. Lednice is nice. You have a quick look at the castle but with all of the renovations going on you don’t stay long. Besides, it is getting late. It would be good to put away a few km before dark.