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Malta to Sweden

June - July 2022
I'm riding a BMW GS 1250 which I used to come to Malta in March/April this year. Read more
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  • Peter SprotMalta to Sweden
    1
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    Day 1

    Valletta Malta to Consenza Italy

    June 20, 2022, Ionian Sea ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    My ferry sailed from Malta with just a few passengers at 9am and took three and a half hours to get to Agusta on the east coast of Sicily. I followed the coast to Messina in temperatures around 32c and took a second ferry of the day to Villa San Giovanni on the Italian mainland then headed inland towards Cosenza which is where I am now.
    It has a nice central walkway which is nice clean and busy. Maybe I'm spoilt by Malta but I found this place very run down and once off the main road it is full of graffiti and tired tenament buildings. The cathedral was ok in a plain sorry sort of way. My hotel is clean and the bike is in a private garage which is part of the hotel.
    Tomorrow's ride to Bari area in the East coast is easy.

    Having bought fuel in Malta for €1.10 per litre it came as a shock to pay 2.38 per litre in Italy    Read more

  • Peter SprotMalta to Sweden
    Day 1

    Valletta Malta to Cosenza Italy

    June 20, 2022 in Italy ⋅ 🌙 20 °C

    My ferry sailed from Malta with just a few passengers at 9am and took three and a half hours to get to Agusta on the east coast of Sicily. I followed the coast to Messina in temperatures around 32c and took a second ferry of the day to Villa San Giovanni on the Italian mainland then headed inland towards Cosenza which is where I am now.
    It has a nice central walkway which is nice clean and busy. Maybe I'm spoilt by Malta but I found this place very run down and once off the main road it is full of graffiti and tired tenament buildings. The cathedral was ok in a plain sorry of way. My hotel is clean and the bike is in a private garage which is part of the hotel.
    Tomorrow's ride to Bari area in the East coast is easy.

    Having bought fuel in Malta for €1.10 per litre it came as a shock to pay 2.38 per litre in Italy    Read more

  • Peter SprotMalta to Sweden
    Day 2

    Cosenza to Monopoli

    June 21, 2022 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    I posted the same info twice yesterday and can't delete it.
    Today I had a lazy start and walked around Cosenza and enjoyed it more than yesterday. If I had realised it was going to be so hot I would have set off earlier. I spent a lot of today's four and a half hours in 36c temperature. It even got 37c for a while. It gets really hot when you need to stop at traffic lights or in very slow traffic.
    Today I had my first twisty roads as I came down from the mountains near Pollino national park. I ignored the ridiculous so of limit of 20kph in bend and 30 on the straight and just went at my safe speed as everyone else does.
    My route took me via Taranto so I came along the coast for an hour or so.
    I'm now in Monopoli in a four star hotel with no room internet no working restaurant, no pool, poor air con. But it does have soap in the bathroom unlike yesterday's.
    Tomorrow no riding. I went for a walk and found the local swimming area so I will go.
    I'm just back from eating one of the best pizzas ever and it was only 5 euros.    Read more

  • Peter SprotMalta to Sweden
    Day 3

    Monopoli District

    June 22, 2022 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    After a huge breakfast I walked to the beach and swam for couple of hours then came back to the hotel and fell asleep for a while then rode the bike down the coast and found an amazing ruin in the sea.
    This evening I walked for half an hour to the old town of Monopoli which is very pretty with the inevitable tourists. I found the cathedral which is stunning then looked for a none tourist pizzeria and had a lovely meal.
    Tomorrow I move on. It's a short ride to Alberobello Today's photos illustrate my story well.    Read more

  • Peter SprotMalta to Sweden
    111
    Day 4

    Alberobello

    June 23, 2022 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    I'm in Alberobello near Bari Italy
    You see the pointed roofs. They were designed so the owners could pull on a central rope and collapse the building if the tax man was coming. Then rebuild it when he'd gone.
    It's a very picturesque place. I prefer these towns to big cities.
    I had a walk in the afternoon then another this evening. I'm staying in one of the old houses which are called Trulli. I'm in the cellar which is more comfortable than it sounds. I'm staying here tomorrow so I'll post if I find anything interesting.    Read more

  • Peter SprotMalta to Sweden
    Day 6

    Croatia North of Split

    June 25, 2022 in Croatia ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    Yesterday seems like a long time ago when I was killing time by the pool waiting till evening to go to Bari ferry terminal.
    In Italy you expect chaos and delays at any ferry terminal and while I waited at the check in which is 3 kilometres from the ferry I met three other motorcyclists. One from Croatia with his wife on a BMW GS 1250 like mine but the adventure version with the huge fuel tank one from Hungary on a nice BMW GS 850 and one from Austria in a Honda 750 scooter. The Honda guy disappeared once on board and the rest of us had a meal together and a great chat then met again in the morning and decided to travel together up the coast.
    In my last post I said I was heading for Sarajevo in Bosnia and Herzegovina but looking at travelers information they said I probably wouldn't be able to buy bike insurance at the border on a Sunday so I cancelled the hostel I had booked and decided to stay in Croatia and head north up the route 8 coast road which is reputed to be one of the best in the world for bikers and I agree. Imagine the best roads you've ever ridden then add to that stunning scenery following the rocky mountainous coast for three hours.
    The three of us had to enter Bosnia and Herzegovina for about half an hour. If you look at a map it is unavoidable. So in that half hour I had no insurance no breakdown cover etc. Not a problem for a short while and sure enough there was no insurance office open that I could see. So we re-entered Croatia where I am covered because it is on my insurance list of countries and where just waved through immigration.
    Further up the road we stopped for coffee and water as it was once again very hot, then we said our goodbyes and soon after they both turned off and I stayed on the coast road for another two hours of twisty roads. At one point I stopped for lunch and after I couldn't face putting on the jacket in the searing heat so I strapped it on the back and rode like most others in a short sleeved shirt.
    Now I'm north of Split still in Croatia in a up market hostel on a tiny peninsula. I've had a swim and a walk and decided on my destination, route and accommodate for tomorrow. 480 kilometers towards the border with Hungary. Not a problem if it wasn't so hot. I've bought water and juice. I just need to find a way to carry it. I'll attach a bunch of photos from yesterday and today.    Read more

  • Peter SprotMalta to Sweden
    Day 8

    Varazdin Northern Croatia

    June 27, 2022 in Croatia ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    I was up extra early and on the road just after 07.30 because I knew it was another hot day.
    Five hours in the saddle which was bearable except for going through Zagreb city traffic lights and slow traffic. I'm now in the very picturesque town of Varazdin which is near the border of Hungary and was recommended by my Croatian friends yesterday. I will post some photos. One from today's ride before I joined the motorway and the rest of this lovely town. Tomorrow the forecast is even hotter than today. I have a border crossing and a three hour rideRead more

  • Peter SprotMalta to Sweden
    Day 9

    Fadd and Paks Hungary

    June 28, 2022 in Hungary ⋅ ⛅ 33 °C

    After a late start, a border crossing into Hungary and three hours ride in not to sticky heat. I arrived at the hotel my Hungarian friend had booked for me and what a fantastic place it is. Beyond anything I've stayed in so far. Take a look at the photos. He came and picked me up in his car and took me to a local fish restaurant to try the speciality soup which was very nice. Then we drove to his friends vineyard and walked around the underground labarynth of tunnels where the wine is stored at 12c. Then to see the owners collection of classic motorcycles which was impressive. I didn't try the wine as I'm still not drinking.
    Tonight back at the hotel we ate an amazing meal. Tomorrow is another hot ride 4.5 hours ending in northern Slovakia only half an hour ride from the border with Ukraine    Read more

  • Peter SprotMalta to Sweden
    Day 10

    Presov Slovakia

    June 29, 2022 in Slovakia ⋅ ☁️ 32 °C

    Last night's hotel was the best ever.
    https://youtu.be/WeGXDp_uOC8 ignore the commentary.
    I knew it was to be the hottest day so far so I tried and succeeded to stuff my motorcycle trousers in to space taken by my jeans in my pannier and I managed then I did the same with my boots and wore trainer and jeans with my jacket tied on the back of the bike.
    I had a late start 11am and it was already 32c and it climbed to 37 and stayed. I had several stops for fuel or a rest and at one I met some polish bikers who gave me ideas where to stay in that large country. On another rest I feel asleep on a bench for about ten minutes.
    I had sat nav trouble again today as it didn't know about a huge new motorway and border crossing. Google maps is far better than Garmin.
    If my phone could be as bright as the BMW Nav 6 I'd use it all the time.
    Now I'm in a place called Presov in Slovakia which as you will see from the photos is rather pretty. Tomorrow I head for Lublin in Poland about 4.5 hours riding so with breaks nearer 6.
    All the photos are of Lublin as it wasn't picturesque and far too hot on the motorway    Read more

  • Peter SprotMalta to Sweden
    Day 11

    Lublin Poland

    June 30, 2022 in Poland ⋅ ⛅ 32 °C

    I'm in Lublin Poland. A four hour ride to get here once again in unseasonal heat. The first three hours were not on motorways which was very nice and the first hour was up in the mountains of southern Poland with hairpin after hairpin which was fun but would have been more fun if there were not so many huge trucks.
    Tonight I'm in a hotel which is in the botanical garden of the town so today's photos are of trees and lakes.
    Tomorrow is a 3.5 hour ride north and I'm staying at a hotel in Bialystok. I'll have Belarus on one side and Kaliningrad Oblast in the other and neither of them are fond of the English so I'll hide the bike and use my Maltese identity.    Read more

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