Posted: August 9th, 2006 | Author: admin | Filed under: Central Europe 2006 | No Comments »
Hello friends
I picked a bag of fruit from the trees at my campsite north of Budapest, and rode into the city at midday. The temperature was in the mid 80’s, the hottest it had been. I promptly got lost in the bustling traffic. It really is a problem entering a strange big city on a bike. No matter how you prep with Lonely Planet, it’s not easy. One, you don’t arrive at a bus or train station. 2, you are peddling, and you can’t read your maps. 3 you simply may be tired. So I took the first good room I could get, and then began checking out the city. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: July 31st, 2006 | Author: admin | Filed under: Central Europe 2006 | No Comments »
From Budapest, 7-31-06 (I am struggling with this ’Magyar’ Hungarian keyboard)
I just rode from Krakow Poland to Budapest in about 3 and 1/2 days. Less than 500 kilometers, but I had to cross the Carpathian mountains. As much as I enjoyed Krakow, I disliked riding on their bicycle unfriendly streets. All too many times I would be riding on a rough bike path to find it abruptly end, only to begin a few blocks later. I would be forced either to walk my bike, or swerve out into heavy traffic without any shoulder. I am not comfortable with that.
I did purchase the necessary shifter part for my bike in Krakow, so I could manage without major handicaps.
Many parts of Poland appear to be opting for the US model of suburbanization. I see some new homes popping up in rural agricultural usage lands. I do not see this happening in Czech Republic, Slovakia, or Hungary. In the latter 3 countries, the governments have specific policies to preserve farm land. Sprawl is out. They have made important longterm decisions about how the land should be used. These land usage decisions will have major consequences in a post peak-oil world. Read the rest of this entry »