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Cycling East

August 2017 - July 2018
A 315-day adventure by Silke und Read more
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  • 15countries
  • 315days
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  • TravelerCycling East
    11
    Day 66

    Vibrant Tbilisi

    November 3, 2017 in Georgia ⋅ ☀️ 6 °C

    Entering Tbilisi had been quite a challenge for us as the traffic became just crazy with 6 lanes in one direction used by 8 cars, and us on our bikes far-right. But, with great self-confidence, we made our way and enjoyed to pass any jammed car.

    Our first stop was the bicycle monument and we were wondering which sense it makes in Tbilisi because we didn't see any other cyclist and the only other people stopping by were tourists jumping off the sightseeing buses, taking pictures and jumping back on the bus. We also saw lots of new cycle racks nobody uses, but at least there is one bicycle lane in one of the streets. Beka later told us that Saakashvili, a former president of Georgia, is a cycling fan.

    During our time in the city, we realized that almost everybody wants to drive a car, although modern buses and cable cars are going everywhere - the air quality says hello. On the other hand, we found the city to be remarkably clean and groomed, with nice green parks and gardens - despite there is a lot of construction work going on at the moment.

    We stayed at Beka's place for 4 nights. He is a great host, a real sportsman and chances are not too bad that we meet up again in Iran, the destination for his next cycling trip.
    Speaking of Iran, after two visits to the Iranian embassy in Tbilisi, we finally got our visas from the helpful staff! In the meantime we used our days in Tbilisi very well to explore the city by foot, bus and cable car and found it definitely worth to discover the surrounding hills and as the weather was pretty good from there we obtained beautiful views over the city. Back in the valley, the old town distributed a special flair while we were tripping over broken pathways, inhaling the smell of bed eggs near the historical sulphur baths and watching the bustle.

    Cheers from Oguz in Azerbaijan! :-)
    Silke & Hauke    Read more

  • TravelerCycling East
    Day 69

    Following trails of tasty wine

    November 6, 2017 in Georgia ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C

    Endless offerings of grapes, grape juice, churchkhela and wine along the road through colorful mountain slopes resolved all doubts that Kakheti is a true wine-growing region. So we ended up camping between vine stocks and enjoyed the silence a day ride away from metropolitan loudness.

    We found out that traveling on the main roads by bike increases the chances to run across people we met before, so did Julia & Pierre stop by when they saw us. As for the climb up to Signaghi we needed more time than expected we didn't make it to meet up again with these lovely guys.

    However, the ascent was absolutely worth it as Signaghi provides stunning views over the surrounding valley and the Great Caucasus. The town itself is very well restored and quite touristy with plenty of guesthouses and restaurants.

    Unsurprisingly, we found ourselves within a group of Russian tourists and tried our best to keep up with drinking homemade wine and dancing the Georgian style to Georgian live music.    Read more

  • TravelerCycling East
    1
    Day 71

    Georgia, we'll miss you!

    November 8, 2017 in Georgia ⋅ ☁️ 11 °C

    Nana & Vazha made us a truly warm welcome in Lagodekhi with coffee, bread and cheese by their fireplace. They have a beautiful house, surrounded by a garden full of vine stocks, pomegranate and persimmon trees. Each year they pick three tons of grapes, from which Vazha turns one ton into vine for their personal use.

    Pretty quickly during our conversations, we decided to stay a day longer to explore the Lagodekhi National Reserve, Vazha had been working for 28 years as a director, by foot. Our 1-day-hike to the Black Grouse waterfall whetted our appetite for more hiking in this area.

    Nana prepared us super delicious Georgian meals and, not to forget, without Vazha's experience and help, our trip would have ended in Lagodekhi for the moment when the axis of Hauke's front wheel broke during a minor repair - true to the motto "Don't push too hard (Nach fest kommt ab)". According to Murphy's Law, we didn't carry a spare part, so Vazha and Hauke drove around the town to find something they could use - and luckily, in a small hobbyist workshop, they found a suitable shaft - a bit bent and rusty, but better than nothing! And after almost 500km, it still works :)

    Our last two evenings in Georgia were really cosy, sitting together by the fireplace, chatting (two other travelers from Poland arrived in the Guesthouse as well), drinking homemade wine and reading.

    For sure, one day we'll visit this beautiful country again solely because of the people's kindness, the beautiful mountains and the delicious food!    Read more

  • TravelerCycling East
    4
    Day 74

    Salam Azerbaijan!

    November 11, 2017 in Azerbaijan ⋅ ☁️ 9 °C

    Questionable border procedures, three days of rain, muddy showers from passing trucks and the clouds hanging so low that we could only see a few mountain peaks - our start into a new country could have been better.

    However, people immediately took much care of us when we arrived totally soaked through and dirty in a motel or hotel. Maybe because we're looking so pitiful?

    Apropos pity, 'Piti' would not become our favorite Azerbaijan dish. Fatty lamb meat cooked with chick peas in a soup stock in a large mug simply wasn't ours. At least we learned how to eat it in two courses. And the dining room had a cosy fireplace where we could heat up.

    It can hardly be overseen that national pride and Heydar Aliev are omnipresent in Azerbaijan: Giant flagpoles, all sizes of flags, houses in national colors, oversized placards of and streets, parks, buildings and companies named after 'him'.

    Although the border control felt a bit like chicanery (from one gate to another, paperwork here and there, panniers off and on and a 'Good Luck' in the end), we still feel welcome in this country. We earn "Salam, salam!" from all sides, children with their mothers are waving, smiling and practicing their English with us or following us on their mountain bikes. Some people stop by and give us fruits, nuts and sweets and are curious. And others rip us off when we're buying pomegranates. Which was actually the first time on our trip, we believe :)    Read more

  • TravelerCycling East
    2
    Day 78

    A desertlike experience

    November 15, 2017 in Azerbaijan ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C

    The hospitality continued by giving us more fruits and sweets and inviting us into a tea house. People even left no stones unturned to help us: A hotel owner himself runs off to buy a new battery, a computer expert is called to print a form (finally, Hauke ends up in his office and shows him how to print) and a reception lady puts perfume on Hauke at breakfast. Did he smell so bad? :)

    As the weather became pretty good again, we remembered ourselves why we had chosen the hilly, northern road through Azerbaijan. The landscape fascinated us while it changed from colorful forests to bleak but light green and suddenly we found ourselves within an arid environment which felt like a desert. To be correct, this area, in which the metropolis Baku is located as well, is a semidesert because it has slightly more vegetation than a desert.

    Not only the landscape, but also the road itself with its serpentines is remarkable. We don't remember how many times we climbed up to 900m and quickly dropped to 400m again.

    The acquaintance with the three speechless companions rounded out our first desertlike experience :)    Read more

  • TravelerCycling East
    Day 82

    Diverse Baku

    November 19, 2017 in Azerbaijan ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C

    Baku is historical, Baku is fascinating, Baku is chaotic, Baku is delicious, Baku is developing fast, Baku is full of interesting people, Baku is vivid, Baku never sleeps, Baku is hilly, Baku is the "City of Winds", Baku is full of palaces (key word oil boom) - in short, Baku is an impressive metropolis.
    We stayed four nights at Nariman's place who is living with his cousin Nabi. From the balconies of his flat in the 19th floor we had great views over the city. During our stay we got to know more family members including four nephews and were kidding around with them while Nariman's mum and aunt prepared traditional food like Dolma, Kutab and Plow.
    One day, of course, we met our friend Tural again who is currently jumping from one radio or TV interview to another after more than 2 years on the road. Our day was really amazing, thanks again for everything Tural! Even for him strolling around the old town and the city center was quite interesting as some places had changed. We climbed the Maiden Tower, which had actually been the city's main landmark before the famous flame towers were built.
    As you can't pass a town in Azerbaijan without a park or monument which is dedicated to Heydar Aliev, you can not only find parks in Baku, but also the Heydar Aliev Center with its remarkable architecture. We saw different exhibitions varying from Azerbaijan history and culture over puppets to Chinese contemporary art - and a lot about "him" (which you can easily skip without remors if you don't want to spend a whole day). We also met some of Tural's friends, had a tea with Dimar and his son Murat and a great feast with former colleagues. This evening we should also learn that an Azerbaijani never drinks alcohol without a toast on something so that everybody took time to propose a toast. And never forget that the last toast of a night is always dedicated to the parents!
    To get rid of the hangover, the men joined early next morning to have some Khash: Heavy soup with cow feet, along with cow tongue and stomach as sides. Sounds disgusting, but helped.
    Entering the metro which is built so deep that it also serves as a bunker (and photographs are forbidden), reminded us of video scenes from the metro in Tokyo, solely there are no "pushers" (yet). There was no chance to enter, so we went up again, but going down there had been absolutely worth it just because of the beautiful mosaics in compliment to the famous poet Nisami. People in this region love poetry!    Read more

  • TravelerCycling East
    3
    2
    Day 84

    Qobustan sites

    November 21, 2017 in Azerbaijan ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C

    Our way south out of Baku along the blue shimmering Caspian Sea was in the sense of oil production. We passed countless kilometers of pipes, refineries and flames of the burning waste gases along the road. Yes, Azerbaijan is the land of fire!

    The lazy two of us reached the Qobustan National Reserve one hour before darkness so that we had to camp in front of the gate. The policemen promised to take care during the night against a small obolus. Somehow we had mixed feelings but in the end it was the right decision to stay.

    The next morning, the museum of the reserve turned out to be the best museum we've ever seen abroad - it was absolutely worth to make a slight detour to get there. We then climbed up the mountain behind the museum to see the prehistoric rock art of the people who had lived there at least 20,000 years ago. Not only the petroglyphs but also the bizarre rock formations are really fascinating.

    Leaving the reserve, we just tackled some of the famous mud volcanoes when a taxi driver insisted on taking us the 10km up to them because it would be impossible with bicycles and the wild dogs would bite us. We declined with thanks and an hour later we had climbed the volcano site, without any bite :)

    The funny noises of the bubbling mud which scared us easily with a fresh splash in the face, hardly made us to stop watching the
    moving mud. At sunset, we had the volcano all to ourselves and were again fascinated by the surreal landscape.    Read more

  • TravelerCycling East
    Day 88

    Crossing the border to Iran

    November 25, 2017 in Iran ⋅ ☀️ 7 °C

    Although the southern region of Azerbaijan is famous for its tea, and the green of the grass and the trees seemed to be exceptionally intense, the main thing on our mind was the border crossing to Iran. Did we cover all the bases? Do we carry enough money? The excitement increased steadily..

    With tailwind in our backs, we decided to become test drivers of the new motorway to Astara, praised the road workers for the great job they've done and couldn't believe that we had already reached the border to Iran.

    After the Azerbaijani border officials had kindly reminded Silke to put her headscarf on, we proceeded and set foot on Iranian ground for the first time, directly followed by some requests for selfies.

    It didn't take long and we were invited for kebab by Karamat, an Iranian cyclist who has been almost everywhere on earth with his bike. After an exciting day, we had some very relaxing hours of sleep in Mojde's cosy home. Thanks again, the two of you!

    Next morning, women exercising on the ubiquitous gym equipment in the parks caught our eyes and they did not hesitate to make contact with us - we could really feel how curious Iranian people would be and imagined how the following weeks could look like.    Read more

  • TravelerCycling East
    Day 91

    What a hospitality!

    November 28, 2017 in Iran ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C

    It all started with a marathon through several classes of an English school and ended three days later with a heavy-heartedly good bye.

    Teymour, Rooshanak and their son Nima incorporated us in their family and from the beginning it felt like we were a part of it. We went to the sea and countryside together, visited other family members and saw their houses. We had great conversations, lots of laughs and enjoyed delicious food.

    We learned a lot about family life in Iran, cultural specifics and habits, how to play the Santoo, teacher motivation, problems of the educational system, independency of the government and still protest, the sadness of Iranian music, Iranian jokes about the wedding night and that women are actually not allowed to ride a bike (and policemen turning a blind eye to it).

    We were fascinated by their beautiful carpets, slept, ate and sat on them and made the mistake too say how much we like them so that Teymour's uncle asked us for an address to send a carpet to.

    There is so much on our mind about these days that we hardly find words. Thank you for a great time and everything you did for us!    Read more

  • TravelerCycling East
    Day 93

    Via Bandar Anzali to Rasht

    November 30, 2017 in Iran ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C

    Cycling along the Caspian Sea was characterized by beaches littered with trash and cars stopping us to give us bread, fruits or sweets, to take pictures or to invite us to their homes. Whenever a car pulls over in front of us, this is very likely to happen and we were told that many Iranians view foreign tourists as 'messengers of God'. What can we say?

    In Bandar Anzali, we met Mostafa, Jalal and his wife Nushin who hosted us, showed us around in the city and invited us for some kebab.

    On our way to Rasht another cyclist unexpectedly joined us on his bike. It was Mohamed. We cycled together and spent a great day at the old bazar, the city center of Rasht and had a tasty dinner in his favorite restaurant.

    We love these bazars and the mindset of the Iranians.    Read more

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