Réinitialiser la recherche
Heritage Tour
  • Roger Formanek
  • Roger Formanek

Heritage Tour

Bike tour visiting European roots. En savoir plus
+6
S’abonnerAperçuAperçuCalendrierCalendrierPhotosPhotosPartagerPartagerListe de choses à faire
AperçuCalendrierPhotos
  • Début du voyage
    9 juin 2019
    Roger FormanekHeritage TourVoyageur
    2
    2

    The Start: Leaving Istanbul.

    9 juin 2019, Turquie ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    Two great days touring one of the great cities of the world. Now, time to get on the bikes.

    Decided to skip Bulgaria and follow tip of Aegean east to Greece. 50 miles of riding freeway shoulder in hot weather just to clear suburbs and beach resort towns outside of Istanbul. Found a nice boutique hotel to rest up in.En savoir plus

    Voir la traduction
  • Roger FormanekHeritage TourVoyageur
    1

    Leaving Silivri: Birthplace of Herodicus

    10 juin 2019, Turquie ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    Silivri us a thriving resort and fishing town on the Sea of Marma, dating back to Thracian times, with a history of conflict. The Byzanantines built a castle here. The stone bridge was built on the order of Suileman the Magnificent in 1562. The town was mostly Jewish at the beginning of the last century.En savoir plus

    Voir la traduction
  • Roger FormanekHeritage TourVoyageur
    11

    Through Tekirdag and Into Kesan

    11 juin 2019, Turquie ⋅ 🌧 26 °C

    Stayed in Tekirdag last night, a city of 175,000 with a modern university and an attractive waterfront on the Marman Sea. Took a hotel because we are both fatigued from 50 mile days in heat. Today, crossed the top of the Gallipoli Peninsula, passing through really pretty farmland, to Kesan, near the border with Greece. Kesan is in an agricultural area that has been inhabited since the 30th century B.C. Almost no english is spoken here. The people are technically Turks but the Thracians, Persians, Macedonians, Romans, Byzantians, Bulgarians (several times), Venetians, Otomans have all been here. After WWI, when borders were drawn there was a trade and relocation of the areas Turkish Christians for Greek Muslims. I am listening to the call to prayer as I write this. Both road and drivers have been good, gas station C-stores are the same everywhere.En savoir plus

    Voir la traduction
  • Roger FormanekHeritage TourVoyageur
    1

    From Kesan TR to Alexandroupoli GR

    12 juin 2019, Grèce ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    One would think that we've learned our lesson about over packing, but no. Shipping home costs more than the stuff, so we are leaving a trail of personal belongings. Kind of like pioneers going West.

    Crossing into Greece was like flipping a switch. The first person we ran across was an Orthodox priest. Not a single mosque; many churches. Not one woman wearing an abaya or hijab. Worked our way, in light rain, into Alexandoupli on the Aegean, a center of commerce without historic significance. Found a so-so hotel and a meal to match. So far, Greece is shabbier than Turkey and pricier, but still inexpensive. People are hospitable. But don't ask about immigration if you aren't ready for an earful. This is a hot spot on Europe's southern border.    En savoir plus

    Voir la traduction
  • Roger FormanekHeritage TourVoyageur
    1

    Rest Day: Train to Thessaloniki

    13 juin 2019, Grèce ⋅ ☀️ 34 °C

    We've changed our plans to include Athens. Because of the added distance we have to cover ground by train, so we caught a train to Thessaloniki (180 miles), the second largest city in Greece (1 million plus) and a historic trade, business and government center. Antiquities are everywhere. Those letters Paul wrote to the Thelonians - that was for the first Christian church in Thessaloniki..

    Susan is having fit problems, so we went to a bike shop run by an ex pro racer, now frame builder. He was all business until I mentioned that I grew up with Gary Fisher's brother. That was the secret handshake - now we are bike bros. We'll be seeing him tomorrow.

    The city is crazy congested and you need confidence to ride here. Tomorrow we tour the city and will post pics. Still deciding how to handle Athens.    En savoir plus

    Voir la traduction
  • Roger FormanekHeritage TourVoyageur
    1
    2

    Left Thessaloniki for Lamia

    14 juin 2019, Grèce ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    We left Thessaloniki with the idea of cycling out of town until Susan could not take another day of riding in traffic on a freeway! So we took a much more relaxing train to Lamia. Lamia is a charming town with vibrant town squares within blocks of each other and wonderful restaurants with people to match. We will be staying 2 days so we are off to Athens tomorrow only to return and jump on the bikes again the next day. If you are wondering about the bird picture, it is a stork and it is Roger's birthday so we now know where he came from. It explains a lot!!!En savoir plus

    Voir la traduction
  • Roger FormanekHeritage TourVoyageur
    1

    Day trip to Athens

    15 juin 2019, Grèce ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    Took the train into Athens to see the Acropolis, the reason for our detour, and glad we did. Back in Lamia for the night. We're off to Delphi on our bikes tomorrow and it looks like there is a mountain in our way!En savoir plus

    Voir la traduction
  • Roger FormanekHeritage TourVoyageur
    1

    On the Road to Delphi

    16 juin 2019, Grèce ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    Big day in the mountains on country roads. We climbed two mountain passes: 48 miles, 4300 total elevation gain. Still hot but we are both feeling good and Susan's bike fits. Staying in Amfissa tonight, into Delphi in the morning.En savoir plus

    Voir la traduction
  • Roger FormanekHeritage TourVoyageur
    1

    Made It To The Center Of The Universe

    17 juin 2019, Grèce ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    Big climb up to Delphi, which had a 360 degree curve thrown in with switchbacks that can be seen in one of the photos. Delphi, according to the ancient Greeks, is the center of the universe, the exact spot being marked by a cone-shaped stone. Rode down the mountain to the Gulf of Corinth. Found a charming hotel in a village on the shore. Our balcony looks out to Delphi and Mt. Parnassus. It was a very nice day.En savoir plus

    Voir la traduction
  • Roger FormanekHeritage TourVoyageur
    Hotel in Galaxidi

    70 Miles In Hot Weather

    18 juin 2019, Grèce ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    Susan was getting readings of 100 degrees off the pavement on her bike computer. Fortunately, we found another good place at a reasonable rate in Mesolongi to lay up - we're beat. We will look st the town in the morning but, for what it's worth, Lord Byron died here.

    Pic 1 is a view of last night's hotel in Galixidi Pic 4 is a goat herd beside the road. Five was taken in Nafpaktos, our lunch stop. Six is a view, looking back, of the bridge to Patras on the Peloponnese. Patras is the third largest city in Greece.    En savoir plus

    Voir la traduction
  • Roger FormanekHeritage TourVoyageur

    Days Are Getting Easier

    19 juin 2019, Grèce ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    Turns out Lord Byron is a Greek national war hero; he died in 1824 at the age of 36 in Mesolongi campaigning in the Greek's first war of independence against the Turks. The town was important in that war but is a little frayed today.

    From Mesolongi, we swung north on our march. One big hill, then onto a coastal plain in agriculture, and then over a small pass into the quaint seaside village of Amfilochia. Amfilochia sits on the Ambracian Gulf. Nearby, Augustus defeated Mark Antony and Cleopatra in the Battle of Actium, clearing the way for Augustus to become the first emperor of the Roman Empire. I think Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor had something to do with it.

    100 degree day but got 52 miles not-so-bad miles going into the wind. The first photo shows wind turbine blades - see car on left for scale.    En savoir plus

    Voir la traduction
  • Roger FormanekHeritage TourVoyageur

    Hill Hell

    20 juin 2019, Grèce ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    Quick miles early in the day then got walloped in the mountains. Big run down switchbacks out of the mountains into a wonderful village with a great hotel.

    Pics show the farmland that we rode through the first half of the day then shots of mountains and villages.En savoir plus

    Voir la traduction
  • Roger FormanekHeritage TourVoyageur

    Welcome to Albania

    21 juin 2019, Albanie ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    Slogged into Albania on a hot day. We are going to try to hug the coastline to stay out of the mountains, which are gruelling, but so far, Albanian secondary roads are one-laned and potholed. We'll keep you posted.

    The currency is the Albanian Lek. 1500 Lek buys a good dinner for two in the village restaurant. That's about $14 US. 2500 Lek got us a room in the village hotel; clean but past its prime. We are now seeing campgrounds for the first time on the trip. We may be trying one soon.    En savoir plus

    Voir la traduction
  • Roger FormanekHeritage TourVoyageur
    1

    Going With Animals Today

    22 juin 2019, Albanie ⋅ ⛅ 34 °C

    We need some rest so we stopped midday at a really nice hotel with an ocean view. We are hanging out at the pool. The Albanian coast caters to toursts; we regularly see tour buses and saw four other bicycle tourists today. We are sticking to a main road which is good, but the coastline is rugged.

    The island is the second-to-last shot is Corfu.    En savoir plus

    Voir la traduction
  • Roger FormanekHeritage TourVoyageur
    11

    It Was All About The Hill

    23 juin 2019, Albanie ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    58 miles for the day: 6,900 feet of climbing in 41 miles, then 17 miles of down. Most of the up came on one really humongous hill. Check the photos out and look for the switchbacks. We met a Swiss fellow on his way down the mountain. He got a Masters in Engineering from Cal in 1979. Only 67 and out there doing it. Susan too; she is an Iron Woman.En savoir plus

    Voir la traduction
  • Roger FormanekHeritage TourVoyageur

    Today It's Architecture

    24 juin 2019, Albanie ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    We dropped over yesterday's Mother of Hills away from the stunning Albanian Riviera into a congested flat coastal region with real cities. Vlore was held by the Nazis in WWII; they had a sub base nearby. Now the waterfront has a modern business district geared to tourism. The last three photos were all taken on the main square in Fier. They show: a post WWII Communist era block apartment, an Ottoman era mosque and a Byzantine church. Also on the square is a modern bank building that would fit in in LA.En savoir plus

    Voir la traduction
  • Roger FormanekHeritage TourVoyageur

    "It's Your Passport We Want"

    25 juin 2019, Albanie ⋅ ☀️ 33 °C

    The full quote from our waitress last night was "All Albanians love America ... It's your passport we want." We've heard this a lot in Albania, but the waitress put it most bluntly. Despite what they hear in the press they still look to the US as the model for the world - a place where they can make a life that their own country has denied them.

    Today we grabbed quick miles, mostly on major motorways, through heavily populate areas and agricultural lowlands. The couple in one of the photos is from Brittany, in France. We ran into them a couple of days ago and again today - they took a bus up the Mother of Hiils.    En savoir plus

    Voir la traduction
  • Roger FormanekHeritage TourVoyageur

    We're In Montenegro

    26 juin 2019, Monténégro ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

    Albania is behind us. We only scratched the surface of a complicated country. Before we left we visited the tomb of Skanderbeg, who in 1444 lead the Northern Albanian nobility to fight the Ottomans and is credited as being the father of Albania. We rode through the very crowded city of Shkoder, into beautiful farmland, crossing into even more beautiful Montegro. Good roads and no litter. It's hot, so we're laying up in a modern hotel in the capitol city, Podgorica.

    If you can't read the plate, it's says "Michigan."    En savoir plus

    Voir la traduction
  • Roger FormanekHeritage TourVoyageur
    11

    The Downhill Run Of Our Lives

    27 juin 2019, Monténégro ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    The day started easy riding the flats out of Podgorica, but we got into serious climbing following country roads over the mountains to Kotor. We visited Kotor on cruise in 2018 so we knew the mountains were rugged and they lived up to our expectation. The run down was fabulous. Dozens of switchback and we could easily keep up with the cars. Kotor is a beautiful old walled city but we are going around Kotor this time and plan on taking a ferry across the mouth of the bay to continue on to Dubrovnik.En savoir plus

    Voir la traduction
  • Roger FormanekHeritage TourVoyageur
    1

    Into The Land of Susan's Ancestors

    28 juin 2019, Croatie ⋅ ⛅ 35 °C

    We both needed an easy day so we rode 33 miles up the coast into Croatia and found a nice little apartment a few miles before Dubrovnik. We are fully in the tourist zone now. At times the road is like the PCH. I see a steady stream of tour buses in my rear view with driver on the left and guide hold microphone on the right. Also, the dollar doesn't go as far so we are relying more on markets and pension-style lodging.

    Susan is mostly of Dalmation heritage. Two of her grandparents came from the island of Brac and a great grandfather came from the island of Korcula.

    The first pic shows the mountain behind Kotor, which came down yesterday - from the top.    En savoir plus

    Voir la traduction
  • Roger FormanekHeritage TourVoyageur

    A Day With A Great Ending

    29 juin 2019, Croatie ⋅ 🌙 26 °C

    Our plan was to tour the walled city of Dubrovnik and stay for the night. Dubrovnik is beautiful but it was like Disneyland on steroids. We looked at the throngs of people, talked to a lovely couple from Sydney, then opted to ferry to the old walled city of Korcula on the island of Korcula. Right decision. We found a place to stay, parked the bikes, then spent a wonderful evening walking, shopping and dining.En savoir plus

    Voir la traduction
  • Roger FormanekHeritage TourVoyageur

    Off Of Korcular, On The Island Of Brac

    30 juin 2019, Croatie ⋅ 🌙 25 °C

    The medieval walled city of Kortula was really a special place for us. It's touristy, but up a couple of notches. Last night on our walk we met a woman from Manhattan who has made the city her second home. We rode the length of island this morning and it was a joy. Then we jumped on a ferry to Split, got on another ferry, finishing the day in Supetar on the island of Brac. Tomorrow we ride 7 miles out to the small village of Lozisca, where Susan's paternal grandparents were from.

    The forth photo shows a village near Lozisca. The fifth photo is of the 4th century palace in Split built by the Romans. The sixth if of a MG really waiting for a ferry.    En savoir plus

    Voir la traduction
  • Roger FormanekHeritage TourVoyageur

    Lozisca

    1 juillet 2019, Croatie ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    Lozisca is the village on Brac that is where Susan's paternal grandparents came from. The present day population of the village is about 140. Susan went to the home of a distant relative but she was out. She met the neighbor who knows all about Susan's family in America. Photo 5 is the house Susan's grandfather grew up in.

    In the afternoon we returned to Split. Split has a population of about 300,000 and it took us a couple of hours to wend our way out of the city. We're still not clear, but found a nice place in a village that is now, basically, a suburb of Split.    En savoir plus

    Voir la traduction
  • Roger FormanekHeritage TourVoyageur

    Moving Up The Dalmation Coast

    2 juillet 2019, Croatie ⋅ 🌙 31 °C

    In the morning we went north from Split through unbroken coastal development, then moved inland to get away from the congestion. The terrain is getting less mountainous but it's still very hilly. Inland, it's agricultural, the dominate crops being grapes, olives and figs. We finished the day back on the coast, beyond the congestion outside of Split.

    Photos: 1) lamb lunch on the spit,, 2) the three dominate crops, 3) the enduring architectural style brought to us courtesy of Karl, Vladimir & company, 4) St. Michael's Fortress in Sibenik, 5) looking back at Sibenik, 6) yes, the Dalmation dog is from these parts -this particle fellow looked a little heat stressed,    En savoir plus

    Voir la traduction
  • Roger FormanekHeritage TourVoyageur
    1

    City Of Zadar & A Room With A View

    3 juillet 2019, Croatie ⋅ ☀️ 33 °C

    We worked our way up the coast to the oldest continuously inhabited city in Croatia: Zadar. Getting into and out of these cities to visit the historic centers has proved to be a chore and burns up the better part of a day but it's worth the effort. If we plan it right we get out the cities in the afternoon with enough time to find a place for the night. Susan has turned out to be quite a negotiator. The last pic is the view from our balcony tonight.En savoir plus

    Voir la traduction