02.27.08

Budapest, Hungary

East to West

Eastern Europe is very different from west and as I left Bulgaria I was reminded of this fact.The coast north of Varna, Bulgaria got significantly poorer and the roads got significantly less smooth, but then there was Romania.

I managed to plow through Romania in just two days time.Romania is not a small country, but I never let off the throttle.Once I crossed the boarder from Bulgaria, I noticed a significant difference.Romania is just Albania two notches farther along.I never thought though after driving the bumpy and almost non existent roads of Albania that I would ever complain about how smooth a road was.Well, here it is!I have never been so bored out of my mind.From the coast of Romania to Bucharest the, capital, I was on the straightest, smoothest, flattest,treeless road I have ever been on.Not only was it boring, I was bucking a head/cross wind the entire way.

The road I was on was a relatively new thoroughfare and I suppose the gas stations had not had time to set up shop yet.From the Coast to Bucharest almost 150 miles there was not a single gas station and my tank only holds oh about 150 miles worth of fuel.Now that range is based on no headwind though, so of course 10 miles outside of the nearest gas station, conk, conk, conk.Out of fuel! Luckily I have a reserve switch on my tank which I have been lucky enough to avoid using.Running on fumes I made it to the first station and filled up.Believe it or not, running out of fuel is constantly on my mind.With never knowing a countries fuel station situation, never knowing when the next one might be and only having a small 150 mile range it is on my mind a lot.Thankfully this has been the only close call I have had in 15,000 miles, but certainly not the first time I have had to worry.That is a lot of tanks of fuel by the way.

I was planning on staying in Bucharest, which has been touted as the Paris of the east.Well, a couple of hours driving around I decided to make my way to higher ground.A blob of a city in the middle of a flat plain, there is not much to see in Bucharest, unless you like to see the occasional tractor pulling around downtown, or maybe century old trolley cars carting people up and down the rail paved streets. Speaking of rail paved streets, not the best thing to be riding a motorcycle on.Something about thin tires and those huge crevices that house the rails!Bucharest does however have one must see and it really is only a second best.Next to the Pentagon, Bucharest has the largest government building.Yeah, ten seconds and a quick snap of the camera and that was checked off my list.So I figured out that those that touted Bucharest as the Paris of the east were definitely from the east because any westerner would be embarrassed that Paris and Bucharest where in the same sentence.Now I have painted a rough picture, but it is a rather modern city certainly not what I expected from the east, but not the west.

I headed north to the Carpathian Mountains, nervous about snow conditions and how that might have affected the roads.Transylvania, the region in the mountains and where the Dracula story comes from was where I was headed.After a couple of small mountain town stops I found my way to Brasov, "Romania's favorite city".I would have said Romania's only city worth visiting.A nice cobblestone mountain town, Brasov was a nice treat to see.Transylvania is certainly pretty, but overall I would not boast about it to anyone or put it on a must see list.My only real lasting memory of Romania will be the horse buggies.On my drive from Brasov to the Hungarian border I passed at least 100 of these carts.Some, carrying piles of wood, loads of hay with small children sitting atop and even a family on their way home from a day in town.On some stretches of the main road there would even be a separate dirt road next to the highway for the buggies, but for the most part they entered the highway and traveled the same way I did, just a little slower.

Overall, Romania is not horrible, not extremely poor, but just a country trying to make it, with a people who seem to have smiles on their faces and a way of life that is not quite Far East, but not quite west.Romania is kind of stuck between Albania and London.I don't see Romania ever becoming a huge tourist destination as the geography just does not have that much to offer.I think the biggest draw is the whole Transylvania, Dracula thing which I must admit I did not stop to see yet another set of castles.

Once I crossed the Hungarian boarder though things seemed to change.The roads were beautiful, and even though straight and flat and almost treeless there was a beauty about the country side that just did not exist in Romania.They seem so similar, but the plains of Hungary just have something about them that is good.I felt completely different rolling through towns on my way to Budapest.I definitely felt like I was back in the west again.The towns where clean cut, and the country side and roads well maintained!Then there is Budapest!I am looking forward to spending the day on the Danube seeing the Budapest sights.From first impression the city has a life and vibe about it that is just good.I feel at home in this country and at ease.

For the next two months or however long the money lasts, I will be moving very quickly I think, with some slowing in Germany and Czech Republic.Looking ahead, obviously there is no coastline which has and always will be what tugs at my heart, but there is still a lot of ground to cover.Most of my stops will be to the more major sights along the way and more notable cities much like what the typical plane/train tourist would visit.Without the water and cute cozy little coves and marinas to draw my attention my days will be filled with long rides to get to the next big more romanticize city; places like Vienna, Prague, Berlin and St. Petersburg to name a few, but don't worry unlike the plane/train tourist I still take in a lot of scenery along the way which of course is one of the benefits of doing this trip on a motorcycle.Of course with all the long riding time, I have even more time to reflect on life's biggest questions.