Cycling-Tour on Janik von Rotz

Traverse the Elsass

Mon, 20 Jul 2020 20:17:10 +0200

Together with my brother and father we cycled through the Elsass/Alsace in nothern France. We started in Karlsruhe (Germany), headed over to Wissembourg and rode 450km back to Basel (Switzerland). The route we took was the paved version of the Traversée du Massif Vosgien (TMV). Even though we would have enjoyed the dirt road, our equipment was not ready. We sticked to the streets which took us from hill to village and over two passes.

The french people were pleasent to talk and always glad to help. We had 3 days of sunshine and almost 3 days of rain. But that did not stop us from cycling on. A flat tire, a failed fuel cooker and nearly broken camera were the only obstacles on this tour. Here are some impressions:

Jabba the roof

Lamp post on a hill

In the north this was the standard view

Baguette and cheese is all you need

Zigzag street in Sélestat

A wide street only for us

Dive up into the mist

Le Lac Blanc - the white lake

Cycling tour part 3 - Montenegro and Croatia

Wed, 29 May 2019 09:57:00 +0200

This is the last of three posts of my recent cycling tour. We started in Greece, cycled through Albania and reached Croatia after a short tip in Montenegro.

We entered Montenegro underneath lake Skadar from Shkodre. In terms of road conditions, it was just perfect. Not far after crossing the border we took a sideroad and entered the panorama road that goes around the mountain range below the lake. Montenegro offers a beautiful landscape and seems to attract a lot of cyclist. Also compared to Albania we did not have to deal with wild dogs.

We were blessed with rain on our second day in Montenegro. Too much rain. After an exhausting climb in the cold wet to Citinje we were happy to find a cozy apartment and enjoyed a warm shower. From Citinje it was not much further until we reached the highest point before Kotor. A basilisk road took us all the way down to the port. After a scenic day in the city we headed towards Croatia. On the way we met Heidi and Tom from Belgium who were cycling a similar tour. Together we camped in Croatia and spent our final days in Dubrovnik.

This cycle trip taught me a lot about the Balkan and the people. I totally underestimated their kindliness and and interest towards foreigners. Doing such a tour is logistic and not a physical challenge. Once you spent a few days on the road, you feel like you could keep going forever. I definitly looking forward to my next cycling tour.

I highly recommend the route we took:

Cycling tour part 3 - Montenegro and Croatia Map

The last 7 photos of the cycling tour:

View on lake Skadar from the panorama road

Halfway through the climb from Virpazar to Cetinje

Looking down on Kotor

Mountain range next to the Kotor bay

Boats asleep in Molunat

Old town of Dubrovnik

The last residents of the old town

Cycling tour part 2 - Albania

Sun, 26 May 2019 10:59:22 +0200

This is the second out of three posts about a cycling trip. Checkout the first part here.

We entered Albania in Kakavie and took pass road towards Sarande. Our first day was quite rough. After cycling for the whole day we decided to take a shortcut along a land road. However, it took us way longer to reach our destination. First of all our bicycles got stuck in the mud, then we had to deal with shepherd, wild and guard dogs. The camping we hoped for did not exist and finally it started to rain heavily. Luckily we found a nice hotel to dry and warm up.

Afterwards we took a cozy pace along the Albanian Riviera with some steep roads. From Vlora to Durres we had to take the highway due to main roads being in bad conditions. This was not much of a problem as drivers always looked after us. From Durres to Shkoder we took a train as we were a bit tired of the boring trip on the highway. After Shkoder we entered Montenegro.

Compared to Greece the landscape is more rural. Communism in the past took a hard toll on Albania. Economically, the country is no good shape. Public infrastructure lacks funding and people try to find work abroad. However, I personally enjoyed the Albanian people the most. Ridiculously friendly, helpful and always glad that you visit their country.

This is the path we took through Albania:

Cycling tour part 2 - Albania Map

And some more impressions:

Climbing the first pass in Albania

Through the fields of mud

Along the coast of the Albanian Riviera

Calming waves at the pebble beach

Almost there

First cycling lane in Albania Vlora

Taking a shortcut to Shkoder

Cycling Tour Part 1 - Greece

Thu, 23 May 2019 13:20:34 +0200

This is the first of three posts about a bicycle tour I recently finished.

During three weeks me and a friend cycled from Athens to Dubrovnik through Albania and Montenegro. It was a joyful and sometimes exhausting experience. We started at the Airport in Athens and made our way along the south-west coast up to Ioaninna. With lots of head wind we had to endure a rough start and thus decided to take things afterwards a bit more relaxed. We enjoyed the various coffee shops, friendly Greece people and the always changing scenery. From Ioaninna we rented a car to visit the Meteora monasteries. A truly astonishing place, you should look it up. Afterwards we crossed to border to Albania and found ourselves in an entirely different place.

As much as we enjoyed the Greece people, we felt sorry for how they were taking care of the environment. There was a lot of garbage left and right of the road. Even worse there is a trend of constantly drinking cold coffee from plastic cups and disposing the garbage in public space. We hope this practice will change soon.

Nonetheless, we felt save in Greece, the roads are well done and drivers kept distance when passing. We can definitely recommend to go cycling in Greece.