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Go East
  • Herbert E
  • Meike Grothe

Go East

A 175-day adventure by Herbert & Meike Read more
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  • Go East

    Bike&Hike in Pirin National Park

    August 20, 2020 in Bulgaria ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    As the mountains here looked nice and the weather forecast was good for the next days, we wanted to go hiking in the Pirin National Park. So in the morning, we left our guesthouse with empty bikes and cycled up 16km and 1000m in elevation in order to get to Vichren Hut. There were lots of cars on the small road which was a bit of a downside. We didn't understand why they don't close the road for normal traffic as there's not even many parking spaces at the top, so there's chaos with cars parking along the side of the road. Plus, there's a lift going up most of the way, but people are just too lazy...
    From the hut, we went on a beautiful hike around some lakes. The scenery was fantastic, especially with the colours in the sun. On the way, we had to pass a herd of cows. The dogs guarding them were huge and wanted to play with us. Obviously, it was too boring for them to sit around herding 😉
    The way down was fast, so we had enough time for another walk in the town, some icecream and an extended dinner.    Read more

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    Morning canyon ride2 mosques in one of the villages we passed1Herbert swimming in the lakeA visitor in our tent

    Camping at Lake Dospat

    August 21, 2020 in Bulgaria ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    The first 50km were easy today, mainly downhill on a nice canyon road. We can feel it's late summer now, as it's colder in the mornings and it takes longer for the sun to climb above the mountains.
    The second 50km were much harder as we had to cycle uphill with some rolling sections as well. Finally, we ended our bike day at Lake Dospat where we went for a well deserved swim in the cold water.
    Our Bulgarian neighbours invited us to a glass of wine, so we stayed up and watched the sunset.    Read more

  • Go East
    Start into the day with our dog friend
    Devil's throatPerfect picnic places - the guys met at the top of the canyon for some rounds of chessBeautiful, but no place to camp

    Riding into devil's throat

    August 22, 2020 in Bulgaria ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    Our furry cat friend came into our tent during the night and slept there until we had to pack it in the morning. Furthermore, a dog was happy to see us at sunrise, so he had some company, so he decided to run with us for some kilometres. What a good start of the day if there's animal friends around!
    We had our breakfast stop in one of the villages at the lake and were pleasantly surprised by a bakery selling sourdow break - yum! Then, an amazing day of riding in the Rhodope mountains began. First, we passed an area of a mix of forests and meadows. Later, the mountains became rockier with steep canyons. The road to Devil's Throat was one of our highlights in Bulgaria so far.
    In Bulgaria, there's is countless springs along the roads, so it's easy to find water. Most of them have benches and tables with a roof or even a bbq oven with firewood next to them, so it's an ideal picnic place. Today, we used these for lunch and an early dinner.
    We wanted to do wild camping tonight as we thought it would be nice to sleep with the mountains and canyons around us. However, the problem with those canyon is that they are very narrow and there's absolutely no space for pitching a tent. We also couldn't get down to the river as the shore was to steep. The only two roads to access it ended in a private property for the rich and famous.
    We went further and further until we got out of the mountains. From here, it was only 35km to Plovdiv where we were heading. It was after 6pm and we decided to race it through before dark. So eventually, we ended up sleeping in a guesthouse, but at least enjoying a beer after this beautiful but exhausting 155km-day.    Read more

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    View from Alyosha monument
    Roman stadium with mosque in the backgroundStreetart in KapanaAncient theatre in the Old TownDinner at our guesthouse

    Plovdiv

    August 23, 2020 in Bulgaria ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    As we already arrived in Plovdiv last night, we had a whole day to explore the city. And for the first time in ages, we had a bit of a sleep in before we started our walking tour.
    First, we climbed up to Alyosha monument where we had a great view over the city and its surroundings. Even at 9am, it was extremely hot at only 200m above sea level.
    Afterwards, we spent time exploring the city center with the Roman stadium and the Kapana area. Kapana is the artist quarter of Plovdiv, lots of streetart, little boutiques, shops and stalls and full of cafés, bars and restaurant. It was fun just walking through the little streets and watching the people. In Plovdiv, life feels normal, not many signs of the pandemic.
    After Kapana, we visited the ancient part of the city. It's located on a hill, so sitting in the Roman theatre gives you a view of the surroundings. There's also old churches and houses to see.
    Before heading back to our guesthouse, we stopped on the main shopping street for some icecream and went for a stroll through the Garden of Tsar Simeon, a nice park with a huge fountain. Kids and their parents definitely had fun playing in the water to cool down in the heat.    Read more

  • Go East
    Downhill trails
    Harder sections where we had to push2And off it goes, my front fender...2Try to find Herbert 😉2

    Wonder Bridges

    August 24, 2020 in Bulgaria ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    Today, we had to cycle a mountain stage. After only 30km, we were up above 1500m after we had started under 200m above sea level. It was a continuous 4-7% climb, so not too hard. The following descend of 800m wasn't much quicker though, as we rode on a trail which was partly muddy, steep and rocky, so we had to go slowly and even push a few sections. However, we really enjoyed having a technical trail again! Plus, no cars and amazing views!
    In one corner, my tyres slipped on the dry mix of sand and rocks though, so I went off the bike in slow motions. Nothing happened to me, but the front fender broke, so we had to dismantle it. We wanted to reduce weight on our setup anyways in the future, so why not start right now 🤷‍♀️
    Our destination today were a natural site of interest, the "Wonder Bridges". In order to get there, we had to climb again. It was a narrow road with lots of potholes, but at least a continuous elevation gain again. When we arrived at the site, we had climb about 2200m today.
    The Wonder Bridges are impressive! It's always amazing to see what nature can create. Can you spot Herbert standing under the bridge in the 4th photo? Good we can camp next to the site and enjoy our dinner at this wonderful place!    Read more

  • Go East
    1Wonder Bridge at sunrise
    Rhodope mountains viewAnother great picnic spotCaught in the rain

    More Canyon riding

    August 25, 2020 in Bulgaria ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    Before we left our campsite, we took a last look at one of the Wonder Bridges which was lit up by the rising sun. Then we headed down the small road again to continue our tour through the Rhodope mountains.
    We cycled on more canyon roads, passed a ski resort and enjoyed the views.
    In Smolyan, we thought about calling it a day, but it was still early. So we continued further and cooked a meal at one of the picnic places next to a fresh water spring. We thought, we had waited out a thunderstorm passing North of us, but unfortunately, we got caught in heavy rain a little later. The road we were on by now was in construction, so I learned about the use of a front fender very quickly. Too bad mine broke yesterday!
    As we were wet and there was no campground anywhere close, we decided to stay in a hotel where we were dry and could do some laundry.    Read more

  • Go East
    Us and 2 of the volunteers from Turkey
    Creating our piece of artExhibition piece in the mineral galleryLast view from above 1000mCampspot for the night

    Social project

    August 26, 2020 in Bulgaria ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    Travel stories... Last night, I chatted with a French cyclist regarding the border crossing into Turkey. When he heard where we were, he recommended to meet two Bulgarian sisters who are running a social project in Madan. So that's what we did. We met Sisi, the volunteers and the rest of the crew at a café for breakfast. They do art projects with people with special needs, so some of them are deaf or blind or have down syndrom or whatever. This Friday, there's an exhibition where they are going to sell the work. So we created some art-like work with minerals which they mine in this region.
    Sisi and her sister Suzanne also organized a visit to the mineral gallery where we got a short tour. Afterwards, we had lunch with everyone again. A morning full of fun and laughter altogether!
    However, we still wanted to cycle at least a little bit further. So at about 4pm, we said goodbye to everyone and started with a climb. The last time we were above 1000m for a while I guess. The climb was followed by a great descend. When we saw a river bed, we pulled over to camp. A couple of Bulgarians came to pick some berries. When they left, they gave us some cookies. Then, a cowherd passed by with his herd. One of the young ones was really interested in our tent, but walked on eventually. All in all, we expect a quiet night here.    Read more

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    Right and left of the dam

    More miles on the iron curtain trail

    August 27, 2020 in Bulgaria ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    The landscape has changed significantly. It's still hilly, but it's very dry. There's still springs along the road, but most of them are only dripping or totally dry. We enjoyed the ride today, as we could go on remote backroads with almost no traffic. Part of it was again on the Iron Curtain Trail.
    The border to Greece is close as well. We were going to go there, but they require a negative Corona test and logistics for this are kind of difficult here. So like some other contries, we'll skip it on this trip.
    At some stage, we crossed a dam. It was interesting to see the two sides: one with lots of water, the other one pretty dry - see picture number 4 below.
    We decided to go to a rabbit farm to camp there. The owners were away, but arranged for us to stay over the phone. So we spent the evening with their two friendly and playful dogs Mimi and Sherry, and their cats. The older man who came by to feed the rabbits tried to talk to us. He had an old fashioned pocketbook with some German vocabulary, so we had a very basic conversation with him.    Read more

  • Go East
    Breakfast in Svilengrad
    Selimiye Mosque in EdirneCentre of EdirneDinner time with Esin and Şashenem

    Finally in Turkey

    August 28, 2020 in Turkey ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C

    As soon as they heard the zipper of the tent, the dogs were all over us to get some cuddles. They had slept right next to the tent. What a happy welcoming in the morning!
    We cycled to Svilengrad where we had our last breakfast in Bulgaria. Then it was time to cross the border to Turkey. We weren't sure how strict they are in Corona times, but had heard from other cyclists that border crossing is rather smooth. And indeed, it was. On the Bulgarian side, they checked our passport twice. Then, there was a car desinfection site which we as cyclists just ignored. The guy took my temperature instead - and indicated Herbert to just go through when I didn't have a fever or anything. Because if I'm ok, he would be ok as well. The passport control on the Turkish side was smooth as well. They let us pass all the cars and gave us our stamp. There was a Corona test centre right next to the road, but it seemed to be more relevant for people leaving the country, so we ignored it.
    And here we are in Turkey! We cycled to Edirne, the first city after the border. We quite liked it with its impressive mosques and a cosy city centre. First, we sat down at the mosque, watched people and listenend to the muezzin during Friday prayers. Afterwards, we went to the main street. Straight away, we felt the difference in culture. People were super friendly, two of us came over and invited us for food, offered a place to stay and any other help we need. We accepted an invitation for a coffee and chatted a bit with Sadegh before continuing to our warmshowers host for the night. We expected to stay with Özgür who had accepted my request. But as he was on holidays, his flatmates Esin and Şashenem welcomed us warmly instead. They cooked dinner, we talked a lot with the help of Google Translate and watched a movie at night. What a great start into our Turkish adventure!    Read more

  • Go East
    Watermelon stop at the first gas station
    Mr. Ali's almond farmPicnic of coffee and homemade bread with SerefThe historical stone bridgeGas station campspot with a view

    Turkish hospitality

    August 29, 2020 in Turkey ⋅ ☀️ 32 °C

    Turkish wake up times seem to be a bit different than our. Esin and Şashenem slept til 9:30am, so we could have a relaxed morning. Once they woke up, they prepared Menemen for breakfast, a Turkish dish with eggs and vegetables.
    After breakfast, we started cycling. It was already so hot that we sweat without even moving. We headed South on backroads and were going to meet Şeref about half way to Uzunköprü where he had organized a place to camp for us. On the way, we wanted to message him about our progress, so we stopped at a gas station for wifi. The family who owned the gas station was very friendly and their daughter was happy to use her basic school English to communicate. And what does a family do with total strangers coming for free wifi here in Turkey? They offer them some watermelon which we were happy to accept. It's pretty much the only food you can eat in the heat.
    Then we continued cycling on the backroads. 10km later, a farmer, Mr. Ali, indicated us to stop. It looked like he wanted us to fill up our water bottles in his house, so we followed him up the hill. At his little house, he served us tea, coke, cheese, bread and biscuits. And then, we could also fill up water... He also invited us to stay for the night, but we told him that we already had a place. He could speak only very basic English, so Google Translate was our best friend. Mr. Ali showed us a photo of him shaking hands with the president which he seemed to be very proud of.
    We couldn't stay too long because we were still going to meet Şeref on the road - which we did another 10km later. He had brought coffee and homemade sourdough bread for us, so first thing we did was a picnic in the shade. Some more cycling, another break at a gas station for cold drinks, then a tourist stop at the long stone bridge, that gave the city its name (Uzunköprü means "long bridge"). Finally, we arrived at another gas station near the city center where he had organized for us to camp. It wasn't the cleanest place, but we had water, toilets and a great sunset view. Şeref also ordered a Köfte (= meatballs) sandwich for us and got some beers from a nearby shop. We spent a memorable night with him discussing all kinds of things. Even though we tried, he insisted on paying everything for us. Today, we are absolutely overwhelmed by the Turkish hospitality!
    The final impressive gesture came from the guy working at the gas station. He saw cars/customers parking in front of our tent with their headlights on. As soon as they were gone, he parked his car sideways in front of us, so other cars wouldn't bother us. Just incredible that he noticed this!    Read more

  • Go East
    Coffee at our overnight gas station
    The best second breakfast ever!!Finally we can see the seaBeach time

    Arriving at the Aegean Sea

    August 30, 2020 in Turkey ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    Before leaving the gas station, our personal "gas station guard" brought us coffee. Then we cycled about 20km on a main road, turned off the highway and stopped at a small gas station to have more of Şeref's homemade sourdough bread for breakfast. An older man invited us for tea to his house, but we understood what he wanted to say too late. So we missed out on this.
    Instead, we continued a hilly ride on some quiet secondary roads. It was extremely hot, so even those 50-100m climbs were really exhausting. After another 35km, we had to go back on the main road as there was no other option in our direction. The highway here has a wide shoulder and smooth asphalt, so it's safe. But it's no fun sharing the road with all the fastmoving cars and the noise they make!
    We stopped for a second breakfast at a restaurant that Şeref had recommended. It was one of the best breakfasts EVER! And even with our need of calories, we were completely full afterwards.
    From here, it was one more climb in the heat and then we could see the sea - FINALLY! We had to fight against the strong headwinds, even on a downhill, but eventually reached our campground and jumped into the clear turquoise water. What a luxury after a sweaty day!!    Read more

  • Go East
    First view of the Dardanelles
    Looking back to the European sideKilitbahir fort at the bottomÇanakkale ahead of usBeach at GüzelyaliDinner on Firat's balcony

    Next stop: Asia

    August 31, 2020 in Turkey ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C

    Our night was pretty short as the next tent kid seemed to be sick and cried all night. At 5:45am, we decided to get up as we couldn't sleep anyways. We cycled to Gelibolu to have breakfast before continuing along the coast to Eceabat. We had strong tailwinds, so it felt like flying on the main road. On the peninsula, there was a huge battle in World War I between the Ottoman soldiers and the Allies, so it's a site of historical importance with some war memorials to visit.
    At Eceabat, we took the ferry across the Dardanelles strait, the geographical border between Europe and Asia. We saw the fortress of Kilitbahir on the European side and enjoyed some views on Çanakkale on the Asia side when we were on the boat.
    From Çanakkale, we had to cycle another 15km along the coast until we reached Güzelyali, our destination for the night. The village is nice. It has a decent beach where we went for a swim, of course, nice seafront houses and a few shops and restaurants. Here, we were welcomed by Firat who cooked a delicious dinner for us. Unfortunately, Herbert had to miss out on the food because he wasn't feeling to well. Hope he'll get better after some sleep, so we can go on tomorrow.    Read more

  • Go East

    The turkish yogurt knock out

    September 1, 2020 in Turkey ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    Herbert had a very bad night, so in the morning there was no way we could continue. It must have been the yoghurt we had bought before going on the ferry. It totally knocked him out. Luckily, Firat had no problem to host us another day.
    By noon, Herbert felt a little bit better and was able to leave the bed. Firat and his neighbors had thought about a cure for him and decided to try potatos. So Herbert ate some potatoes which were ok. I also bought a huge watermelon for us to eat.
    In the afternoon, we helped Firat hanging up new curtains on his window. Without any proper tools, this actually took a while. However, Herbert felt way better and could eat a proper dinner afterwards. Firat invited us to some ice cream and we finished the night with Turkish Raki, music, cheese, melon, and a homemade limoncello.    Read more

  • Go East
    2The Troyan HorseRuins of TroySome 5000 years ago, the area behind Troy was oceanAt the ruins of Alexandria TroasDinner with a view

    Troy

    September 3, 2020 in Turkey ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    Yesterday, Herbert still didn't feel 100% and for some reason, I was knocked out, so we spent another day at Firat's. We were very happy that he didn't mind at all - he was only sad we couldn't eat all of the yummy food he cooked but were happy with dry potato.
    Today, we were good enough to continue riding. The road led along the coast at the beginning before turning inland. It was all nice quiet roads with almost no traffic.
    We arrived at the ancient site of Troy, UNESCO World Heritage. Of course, we climbed up the famous horse before visiting the site where you could still see remnants of those 9 cities built on top of each other. The good thing about travelling in Corona times is that you can visit the tourist places almost by yourselve. Except for some 10 other visitors, we had the whole site to ourselves.
    We continued cycling on secondary roads until we reached the coast again. When we saw a beachfront campground, we decided to call it a day and rest in the afternoon. So we went swimming, relaxed at the beach, visited the nearby ruins of Alexandria Troas and enjoyed our dinner with a view.    Read more

  • Go East
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    Coastline cycling

    September 4, 2020 in Turkey ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    As it's really hot every day, we left early and only had breakfast after some 20km. We found a nice spot with picnic tables on the beach.
    The day felt pretty tough as we are still a little weak. So again, we decided to have a short day. After visiting "land's end" Babakale with its well maintained fort, we went to Akliman Beach to camp. And as we are on the Western side of Turkey, we could enjoy one of those cheesy sunsets over the ocean :)Read more

  • Go East
    Old stone houses in the mountains"Touristy" city center of AssosLunch stopp1Meike trying to swim to the EU (Greek Island Lesbos)

    Head wind cycling

    September 5, 2020 in Turkey ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    Turkey is really a great country to visit! Although it's dry in this area, there's always something interesting to see. Yesterday, we passed some volcanic area with a colorful soil an volcanic rocks as well as an ancient Greek temple. Today, we passed some old villages in the hills which are characterized by cute little houses built of stones. We also stopped to see Assos, a village located on a hill with a fort and tiny cobblestone streets. Based on the number of stalls selling all kinds of touristic stuff, it seems to be busy in normal years. However, we were pretty much the only ones walking around the streets - and that's on a Saturday.
    Cycling today was very tough though. The road was badly paved, the hills steep and the strong headwinds caused some struggle all day. By about 11 am, it got so strong that we decided to have a heat and wind break. Luckily, we are at the coast, so we stopped at a beach restaurant for fish and an extended swim. We continued around 3pm when the wind had calmed down a little. Some kilometers along the way, we had to leave the small coastal road and get back on the highway. At least, the surface was smooth. But the amount of cars and the headwinds weren't fun at all! We missed the quiet beach and mountain roads of the last few days straight away!
    Around 5pm, we called it a day and stopped at one of the countless beach campgrounds. You can hear the cars from the road, so it's not quiet. But people are nice. The receptionist told everyone about his crazy German cyclist guests. So first, a lady came by to talk to us. She had lived in Germany years ago. Next, one of the people who worked at the beach restaurant here invited us for a tea - and another one... Time to go into the tent before we fall asleep during one of those invites 😉    Read more

  • Go East
    Breakfast at the beach in Akcay
    Ayvalik harbourTiny streets in Ayvalik and CundaCats waiting for dinner at Tara's houseDinner time with our host Tara

    100 days Transeurope

    September 6, 2020 in Turkey ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    It's been 100 days now, since we started our "Covid-postponed Americas Substitute Trip" how one of our warmshowers host once called our bike tour now.
    We had a short day to Ayvalik where we were going to stay. In Akcay, we stopped for breakfast at the beach, before flying to Ayvalik with strong tailwinds from Eastern directions. This time, we didn't mind the highway as we could go really fast on the smooth surface.
    We liked Ayvalik straight away. It's a good sized town with an old center with tiny streets, markets and stone houses. The harbour is also nice with all the bars and restaurants. It's touristy, but in a good way, mainly Turks and in Corona year only half of the normal amount.
    Tara, an American lady immigrated to Turkey some 30 years ago, welcomed us in her home. She loves animals and has a dog and 9 cats. We spent the afternoon exploring the old town and taking a ferry to the peninsula Cunda which was also really cool. At night, we cooked dinner while Tara introduced us to some good Turkish wines.    Read more

  • Go East

    Party boat trip

    September 7, 2020 in Turkey ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    To fully enjoy the Turkish coast, we went on a boat trip around the bays and islands of Ayvalik today. We wanted to go on a small boat, but the few ones going out were booked for private groups. So we ended up on a really big one, not particular what we like. The good thing was that there were maybe 45 people on the boat that usually has a capacity for about 300. Meaning we could basically run around and chose and change seats whenever we wanted. The tour itself was better than expected. We stopped at 4 different islands for swimming and they served an all-you-eat fish, pasta and salad lunch which was actually very yummy. All of this cost less than 10€, so we definitely can't complain! The only real downside was crazily loud techno music. For some reason, the dj thought it was a party boat which none of the passengers thought...
    We spent the evening having dinner in Tara's yard again and also enjoyed some interesting discussions about basically anything.    Read more

  • Go East
    Leaving Ayvalik
    Fixing my first flat tire in one yearBeach bar timeHomebrewed beer at sunsetFish dinner with Erdal and his wife

    One year on the bikes

    September 8, 2020 in Turkey ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    It's been exactly one year now that we flew to Vancouver in order to cycle South to Patagonia. And now we are in Turkey - definitely not what we expected!
    We had an easy day ahead of us, so we slept in, had breakfast and left Tara's around 9am. The way to Dikili wasn't particularly interesting, rather flat. Most of the time, we had a more or less sandy beach to our right, but with basically no shade, so we didn't stop. We also passed uncountable houses that all looked the same. All holiday or retirement homes and still heaps of construction going on.
    In Dikili, we bought some lunch at a supermarket and when we got out, I realized I had a flat tire. The first on the whole trip! After it was fixed, we looked for a nice beach bar to spend the afternoon. We found one where we could swim and relax until it was time to meet Erdal. We had met him some days ago on the road where he was on a motorbike trip and stopped to talk to us and invite us to his place in Dikili. He and his wife met us at the beach. They brought homebrewed beers and we watched the sunset. Afterwards, we went to their apartment and had an amazing fish dinner. It seemed like they wanted us to gain 3kg within one night, that's how much we had to eat 😉 And of course, we got some Raki with it as well, so we only rolled into bed after finishing everything.    Read more

  • Go East
    Lunch break in Yenifoça
    Stunning coastlineFoça marinaArriving at our campspot - just in time for the sunset

    Eurovelo 8 to Foça

    September 9, 2020 in Turkey ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    The day started with a big breakfast, so we were ready for another day on the road. Today, we first had to cycle against crazy head and side winds for about 25km. Then, we had to go on the highway. It was busy, but at least we had mainly tailwinds. Just after Aliaga, there's a huge port for container ships, so the area is pretty ugly, full of industrial buildings and trucks loaded with the goods. As all of this was no fun to ride, we tried to pass it as fast as possible and only stopped for a break when we reached Yenifoça after 70km. The village is beautiful, located in a bay with a beach and an old town center. Interestingly, we saw signs of Eurovelo 8 here, pointing to Foça where we headed next. The route went along a stunning coastline, full of tiny bays with turquoise water. We stopped at one of them for some beach time before continuing to the town center for dinner. Foça seems to be as nice as everyone told us it would be, so we are looking forward to seeing more of it tomorrow morning. For now, we are camping a bit outside of town. It's a popular campspot as it's located on a peninsula from which you can see the sunset on one side and the sun rising above the Foça bay on the other.Read more

  • Go East
    Morning view
    Cycling around Foça fortFlamingos near İzmirWe could go 16km on a bikepath like this towards İzmirCrossing the bay by ferry

    The Izmir bypass

    September 10, 2020 in Turkey ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    We got up with a nice view of Foça bay. Then we cycled into town to have breakfast. We had heard of a boat going from Foça to Karaburun which we wanted to take. But after talking to many people, it looked like there's a 95% chance the boat had stopped for the season already. Even with the help of some locals we couldn't find an official info, but didn't want to look any longer.
    Instead, we had to go towards Izmir which we wanted to avoid because of the traffic. However, in the end, it wasn't too bad. After a shorter stretch on a less busy main road, we could go on secondary roads and then even on a bike path along the coast with no cars nearby. We even saw lots of flamingos here! When we got closer to the city, we took a ferry to the other side of the bay, from where we continued to Urla. This part wasn't fun as we had to fight headwinds all the time. We were quite tired when we arrived in Urla and decided to stay in a hotel as camping options were rather rare.    Read more

  • Go East
    Breakfast at Sigacik
    1Beach campBBQ dinnerAlexander and Olga with their motorbike

    Familiar faces from Moldowa

    September 11, 2020 in Turkey ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C

    Today, we started on quiet secondary roads, passed through Urfa with its small market streets and arrived in Sigacik after some 30km. Sigacik is a tourist town, but not too big. It's beautifully located in a bay and the atmosphere was nice, so we had our breakfast on a bench in the harbour. We found a bakery that sold yummy rye bread and had olives with it that we got from Erdal the other day.
    Then we continued on secondary roads until we reached Cumhuriyet where we had to go on the main road again. From here, cycling was a bit of a fight as the road was busy and we basically passed one ugly town after the other. The sea looked awesome though, so we decided to cycle no longer than 1pm and find a campground at the beach. At the campground, we met Alexander and Olga, a couple from Moldova travelling by motorcycle who we had met on another campground further North about a week ago. What a small world! To celebrate, we decided to have a BBQ and Alexander took me on his motorbike to buy some meet from the butcher's in the next town.    Read more

  • Go East
    1Sunrise at our campsite
    Kusadasi seafrontRainbow house neighborhood in KusadasiWith Mustafa in the backyard of his guesthouseSunset in Güzelcamli

    Another beach day

    September 12, 2020 in Turkey ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    We continued along the coast to Güzelcamli today. On the way, we came close to Ephesus, one of the 7 wonders of the world. However, we didn't stop as it only opened at 10am and we expected many visitors on a Saturday. The region is quite touristy with those spa&resort hotels and one aqua park after the other.
    We had a longer breakfast stop in Kusadasi though, as we liked the atmosphere of the harbour and treated ourselves with a proper coffee. In Turkey, most people drink black tea and Nescafé or Turkish coffee don't count as decent alternatives for us 😉 Furthermore, we wanted to buy a local SIM card to not be that dependent on wifi spots anymore. However, this is quite complicated without a Turkish ID. Although it's theoretically possible to use a foreign passport for the registration, we tried at 2 shops today and it didn't work for unknown reasons. The system just shows an error message at a certain point in the process.
    The last kilometers to Güzelcamli, we could follow a bike path along the coast. There were many possible free camping options with toilets and showers on the beach as well. However, we had the opportunity to stay Mustafa's for a night. So after some swimming in the afternoon and dinner in the town, we headed to his guesthouse. Mustafa was busy fixing all the bikes of the kids in the neighborhood and seemed to enjoy it a lot.    Read more

  • Go East
    Morning view on the way to Söke
    Breakfast at the gas station where we met Ayhan and AttilaAncient city of PrieneThe road to MiletosAncient theatre of Miletos

    Historical sights - more old stones

    September 13, 2020 in Turkey ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    Our day started with a climb towards Söke. In one of the villages, we saw a family baking bread in a stone oven, so we bought one for our breakfast at a gas station in Söke. Here, we also met Ayhan who had helped us to get in touch with Mustafa the night before. He and his friend Attila went on a bike ride that day and we cycled together for a few kilometers. As we also met a couple of Turkish cyclists, we biked in a group of 6 people for a short time.
    Then we all split. Our route went passed two historical sites. First, we visited the ancient city of Priene. Afterwards, we admired the impressive size of the theatre of Miletos.
    Our destination was Didim where we were going to stay with our host Serkan. Before going to his place, we stopped at a beach at a piknik area. Our table neighbours shared their melon and Börek with us. Obviously, we looked hungry.
    At Serkan's home, we got an odd task at first: His mum is a bit of a messy and had collected A LOT OF stuff over the years. Now, he wanted to reorganize the kitchen and make it very simple and we helped him with this. I guess he didn't knew that we are very pracmatic and are used to a simple life style. So basically, we through out hundreds of old cups and plates and whatever we found unnecessary in the cupboards and only kept a set of each type. Later, Serkan took us to a couple of beaches to swim and watch the sunset before we had a great dinner at a small local place in the market.    Read more

  • Go East
    Leaving Serkan's house
    Hilly dayCold drink and a cuddle after the climb1Dinner at our campground

    Hot climb

    September 14, 2020 in Turkey ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    When we left Didim, Serkan was still asleep, so no photo of our host this time (as we forgot yesterday). But we had some serious climbing ahead of us today, so an early start was necessary! After some kilometres along the bay, we had to cross the mountains to the next bay. Steep climbs, the heat and bad asphalt made it quite tough! On the other side, we had to stop for a cold drink before we could continue. Unfortunately, we had to go on a very busy highway as there was no alternative road in order to head to Bodrum. We ended up in Güvercinlik, a small fishing village in a calm bay. The owner of the campground welcomed us with a cold lemonade and some almonds, the other neighbours brought some sweet Turkish dessert. So we spent the rest of the day swimming, eating and strolling around the harbour before watching the sunset (again).Read more

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