Orient Express Blog

This was my third time guiding a group of cyclist between Paris and Istanbul, and this was a finish to remember. In years past we have convoyed the last 23 km down the Bosphorus into Ortakoy. Istanbul and its suburbs were not designed with cyclists in mind. But this year we arrived in style.

The final stage of the tour was a 52 km ride through the lush rolling hills of Turkey. We collected all 41 riders and staff where the hills descended to meet the sea. As each rider rolled across the finish line there were hugs, tears, and photos to commemorate this monumental achievement. Over the last 50 days these two wheeled adventurers traversed 4000 km across eight European countries. When all were present and after quick feed we boarded our fine vessel, the Naim Baba, and sailed into this spectacular international metropolis. While battling traffic its much more difficult to appreciate the magnificence of the waterfront. But this year we were kick’in it on the upper deck of our private boat embracing our cycling comrades with drinks in hand. The voyage lead us past castles, mosques and affluent real estate of the world’s rich and famous. From our dock in Ortakoy it was only a 2 min walk through the pedestrian mall to our hotel to unpack all the gear for one final time. With a group of fifty checking in and parking bikes simultaneously is chaotic, but the madness was short-lived.

Our final banquet dinner was in Taksim at a bizarre restaurant garden, overgrown with lemon trees. The evening was filled with a fabulous feast, speeches and a slide show to reminisce on this epic journey, truly a grand finale.

Many of the participants are staying in Istanbul for several days to explore the history and culture of this city which has been the capital of several empires. Others had a rushed departure, but a select few will continue to peddle east all the way to Beijing and I wish them nothing but sunshine and tailwinds. The conclusion of these tours invokes a contradiction of emotions; pride, for a monumental personal achievement and sorrow to say goodbye to new friends who we’ve shared the moments with. I look forward to the next time our paths will cross.

Til then, keep the rubber side down.

It has definitely been an easier trip for me the second time around; not worrying about getting lost and knowing what to expect certainly makes it much easier to plan for what is coming.

Feeding 50 people from a campsite is always challenging though, regardless. Whether it is standing over a stove in the hot sun, or trying to source out commodities that people in the group have become accustomed to and which simply aren’t available in each country we pass through. It makes it all worth it to see the smiles and get that handful of ‘thank you’s’ at the end of the day.

So here we are 2 days from the finish and I’m trying to figure out what to make for dinner tomorrow night as some sort of grand finale. Maybe a buffet, or a spit-roasted lamb, I think there is a fish-monger up the street…I should probably get back to work. Til then.

Jonathan Shepheard

Apres avoir chante dernierement les louanges de l Allemagne et de l Autriche, je vais essayer de vous rendre compte de la situation cycliste dans les ex pays de l Est. En quittant Vienne, nous sommes brievement passes en Slovaquie, pour arriver en Hongrie. Ce pays est en pleine reconstruction et il agreable de voir que les pistes cyclables sont aménagées en même temps que les routes sont refaites. En Roumanie la situation est bien différente, la voiture est reine. Les cyclistes doivent faire preuve d’une vigilance accrue en ville et sur les grandes routes. Il en est de même en Bulgarie. Mais la situation devrait changer rapidement, le coût du carburant ne cesse d’augmenter, le nombre trajets non-impératifs va sûrement diminuer et le vélo va devenir un mode de locomotion économique (ce qui semble déjà être le cas en campagne). Le porte-monnaie devient le meilleur soutien de l’écologie… dommage que ce soit les bas-salaires qui soient contraint à y contribuer.
Remarque : en attendant l’administration américaine repousse sine die toutes décisions concernant les gaz à effets de serre… dans les pays riches, l’écologie peut attendre.”

- Olivier Thudor

So this would appear to be the year of half tours for me. First, Arusha to Cape Town and now, Budapest to Istanbul. There are many challenges in joining a tour at the halfway point. My biggest struggle is trying to learn everyone’s name. This is the largest group ever for the Orient Express. In just less than week we will cross the finish line in Istanbul with nearly fifty cyclists and staff.

Right now we are enjoying a day of rest in Varna, Bulgaria. This place is a hidden gem. Since we entered this country our route has led us through the rolling hills of agriculture and primary industry. Picturesque fields of sunflowers, where many of the locals still travel by horse and buggy. But Varna is a beach resort town on the Black Sea. Our hotel is right in the middle of pedestrian mall so the all the action is right out the front door. Its only a two minute walk to the water. The boardwalk is lined with restaurants and bars and the nightlife lasts until the sun rises. There is always music on the streets from the eccentric collection of street entertainers. The beaches are endless, the water is warm and apparently the clothing is optional. We should have two rest days here.

Two days from now we will cross into Turkey our final country of the tour. Last year we had temperatures of nearly 50 degrees. But the forecast is much more favourable for us. Although the end draws near, cycle touring is all about the journey not the destination. I must admit I’m envious of those who will keep cycling all the way to Beijing.

We will not miss the bad tempered automobile drivers, thundering trucks, poor neglected dogs or Luminati, the proprietress at the only accommodation in Dragodana who, no matter how much money we tried to throw at her, refused to let us pitch our tents on her weed infested patch of grass for one night. We never did find out the reason for her vehement stubbornness, but immediately abandoned all manipulation when she relented to the idea of a slumber party in the large, dilapidated reception area. After another one of Chef Jon’s sublime meals, the bleak floor was soon covered with sleeping mats as 45 weary bodies jostled for space and some semblance of slumber.

We WILL miss its unpretentiousness and the gentle, quizzical, salt of the earth rural folk who were so kind to so many of us along the road.

The mercury kept rising, and peaked at 45 degrees on the day we rode into Bucharest. Accompanied by a lone traffic officer on a motorbike, the riders braved the hectic traffic and potholed roads that led to the hotel. Pretty swish by Romanian standards, it had an elevator on the outside of the building which afforded a grand view of Ceausescu’s “Palace of the People”… the second largest building in the world after the Pentagon. Renamed “Parliament Place” after the demise of communism, it is now used for parliamentary sessions but most of the 3000 rooms stand empty. Overall, the city feels a bit like a tired old tart smoking a cigar on top of a demolition site. What was left of the old city – and there are some beautiful old buildings – is hemmed in by crumbling communist era buildings, many of which are covered by enormous fabric billboards. A most intriguing sight to see one crumbling ideology (communism) being gift wrapped by another, flimsier one (capitalism).

We crossed the border into Bulgaria yesterday and spent our first night outside the town of Russe in a beautiful campsite around a lake. It was time for the second Talent Show of the tour and we were entertained and delighted by a handful of the riders who recited poetry and sang ballads and songs. The highlight had to be the performance by Janice and Stewart, who belted out their rendition of ‘My Way’. Feel free to sing along….!

And so the time has come for me to take a trip to Turkey
Along a rugged road, Orient Express, the name is quirky
With maps and written notes I’ve followed each and every by-way
But more much more than that I’ve ridden my way
Detours, I’ve had a few, but then again too few to mention
I’ve closely followed notes which made me lose my direction
But when the camp is near or someone calls “It’s your dish day’
There’s more, much more than this, I’ve ridden my way
I’ve ridden plains and I’ve climbed hills
Passed fields of corn and bars with ales
I’ve read the signs to find the towns
I’ve done the ups and done the downs
I’ve ridden fast but still come last
I’ve ridden my way
In camp I pitch my tent away from those so fond of snoring
Dinner time, a big surprise, but nothing ever dull or boring
The lunch stop every day, a focal point along the highway
But more so more than this, I’ve ridden my way
For what is a man what has he got?
Two sore cheeks and one big spot
To ride the roads he really wants
Not just the usual local haunts
I took the chance to ride from France
And rode it my way

Nous voici donc depuis 3 jours en Roumanie et ce pays nous a deja fait forte impression. En effet, c est le premier pays reellement depaysant depuis le debut du tour. Les paysages sont vallones,on peut y observer une vie agricole - a l ancienne -, le foin est coupe a la faux et empile en mottes a l aide de fourches en bois. On croise des caleches tirées par deux chevaux, portant une montagne de foin, avec á l’avant, une petite mamie avec un fichu sur la tete, et son mari, tous deux fierement assis… Plus surprenant encore, est quand cette meme dame, sort son téléphone portable de la poche de son tablier ! En effet, la Roumanie semble etre pleine de contrastes : des charettes et des gros 4×4, des vieilles Dacia et la fameuse nouvelle Logan, des routes tapissées de nids de poules et des supéres voies rapides fraichement goudronées…

Autre surprise : nous étions tous inquiets de la présence de chiens errant et donc la plupart d’entre nous ont conscienceusement été se faire vacciné contre la rage! En fait, on croise plus d’oies et de vaches sur la route que de chiens, et ceux-ci semblent plus effrayés que nous !

Enfin, nous voici en repos dans la petite ville de Baile Herculane, station thermale, avec des sources sulfurées (ca sent un peu bizarre…). Cette ville propose donc hotels, locations, piscines, spas, massages… (principalement pour des touristes locaux) et tout cela dans un décor magnifique, au milieu des montagnes !

J’ai donc hate de reprendre la route demain… peut-etre de nouvelles découvertes en perspective !
–
Amandine

Even though we are averaging a gentle 100 kms a day, the journey seems to be going by too fast. Over the past week we whizzed through Slovakia and Hungary and have just crossed into Romania. After a fantastic rest day in Budapest, we said farewell to the pastry and coffee route along the Danube river and the Danau cycle path and, now well into the second half of the journey, we are beginning to see and experience the differences between west and east Europe. The manicured landscapes and well maintained and affluent cultures and infrastructure of France, Germany and Austria have given way to a more run down, less affluent feel in Slovakia, Hungary and Romania. By no means poverty stricken, there is a general sense of people living little a little closer to the edge. The physical and psychological scars of the communist era are visible in the run down, sometimes abandoned, ugly concrete buildings that were thrown up in and round the beautiful old cities of Bratislava, Budapest and Timisoara. And the people, while friendly and helpful, seem to be, generally, more restrained and contained. Life is harder here. And certainly hotter. We’re experiencing dry, hot temperatures of between 30 and 35 degrees most days.

I was keen to get a sense from the riders regarding their impressions of travelling through Europe so far, and asked them to share the one thing that has stood out for them…

Win: The cleanliness, scenery and lack of billboards have been outstanding.

Bill: The fact that so many old, ornate buildings in ex-communist countries survived. Interspersed with the ugly communist buildings, they stand out even more.

Phil: Having dreamed of visiting Budapest for many years, the feeling of elation at crossing the Danube from Buda into Pest.

Albert: The general openness regarding nudity in western Europe. Even old ladies sunbath topless!

Jaco: Having my first one litre sized beer in Eggelstadt!

Carl: The 3 B’s: The botel, the bridges and the beautiful girls of Bratislava!

Rita: Experiencing parts of all these countries that most tourists would not get to see on the usual touristy routes.

Mannon: Going to bed after a great day of cycling feeling physically, not mentally exhausted.

Joss: The cammaraderie, bonhomie and support of the group.

John: Riding down the Champs Elyssees pretending I was Lance Armstrong!

Liz: The people are friendly and open. The automobile drivers are courteous. It’s becoming less manicured the further east we travel.

Allan: Putting up my tent again for the first time in 20 years! Fantastic to be the road. Having a ball.

Maureen: Being led into Regensburg by a little old couple on bikes. They took us across the old bridge and led us to the hotel. It was wonderful.

Glen: The friendliness of the people. Everyone is so willing to help.

Kirby: Being able to visit museums in furtherance of my interest in conservation science.

Graeme: Being on a bike all day has brought me sleep again. Since the age of six, I have not managed more than a few hours sleep a night.

Al: The fantastic gardens of France and Germany. I look forward to implementing some of these ideas when I get back home to my garden.

Janice: The fact that biofuel is being sold as an option in regular gas stations.

Mike: Getting used to not working!

Stewart: Cycling across the old iron curtain boundary without so much as an official in site.

Karen: How people rely on their bikes here for general mobility. I saw an old woman in Hungary transporting a hoe on the back of her bike.

John Ross: Getting lost with Karen in Gyor and having the best ice cream of my life! It had espresso in it with coffee beans on the top!

Today, we’re on a rest day in the Romanian town of Timisoara (tee-mee-shwa-ra) A few of us did a walk about the inner city with Sebastian, our local contact, who eloquently described what it felt like to be part of the revolution that toppled the Ceausescu regime between 15th and 25th December 1989. He whet our appetites for Bucharest, where we’ll get to see some of the more bizarre and excessive manifestations of the crazed Ceausescu couple in a few days time.

Since leaving Paris over three weeks ago, we are already at the half way point of the trip.

The weather was more like winter as we rode through France, with the longest distance day to date of 130km giving us all the chance to see forest and mountain scenery through a veil of light rain, heavy rain and monsoon downpour. However, we had the luxury of being able to use the school hall to sleep in rather than under canvass. I think we were all grateful to the tour organisers and the mayor of Xertigny for that. The mood in camp was as low as the cloud at that point and the climb to the top of the Col de la Schlucht rewarded us with nothing more than 50m of visibility in the mist rather than the splendid Munster valley.

As one local told us, it always rains on the Xertigny side but the Munster side is always sunny. Turns out he was right, and as we crossed the border into Germany the sun started to shine and the mood in camp also brightened with the weather. From Freiburg, we had a short but climbing ride to see the source of the Danube, before following it using the cycle path through Ulm, Regensburg and Passau in Germany and then on through Linz and Vienna in Austria.

This is the ‘pastry route’ as the cycle trail follows the river but regularly diverts into the many villages along its banks. Whether you ride on the north or south side, there are plenty of chances to stop for a coffee and home baked cake or pastry at a Konditorei or Backerei. These also serve the coffee to go with whatever you eventually choose to eat, but 10 riders in a shop designed for two or three as well as their regular customers causes a bit of hilarity, and more congestion as they want to know why we are riding to Istanbul by bike. With a bit of knowledge of the language you can hear that the story you have told one being relayed to the others. This happened the day we missed the lunch stop by taking a short cut and taking a dinner of fresh asparagus at the only eating house in the village. The lady who was actually preparing the asparagus as we went in relayed our story to the locals having their lunchtime beer. In those places you are a star for those few minutes you are there.

As the days progress the joking amongst the group gets more and more and that relaxes any tiredness from the day’s ride. The evening meal is usually eaten with us sitting around a virtual camp fire which helps with the interaction between us all.

Tomorrow, we ride into Budapest to enjoy a rest day and also reach the half way point of the trip to Istanbul. No doubt this part of the trip will seem to go faster than getting here, and it will be memories we take with us rather than as much water as we can get onto bike frame and into jersey pockets.

- Stewart Sinclair

With a five day, 500 kilometre stretch through Germany and Austria behind them, the riders have enjoyed idyllic cycling weather and a well deserved rest day in the magnificent city of Vienna.

We knew we had left Deutschland and were in Osterreich when our cell phones simultaneously beeped the same -welcome-to-Austria-your-calls-will-cost-you-a-lot-more-now - message. No border post or passport check point marked the occasion of our crossing.

From a scenic point of view, things remain pretty much the same as in Germany… farm fields, woodlands and charming villages not more than 5 to 10 kms apart unfurled before the riders as they continued to follow the cycle path along the mighty Danube river. But as we journeyed through the larger towns of Linz, Melk and into the city of Vienna, the change in the architecture signalled the difference. Those Holy Roman Emperors sure knew how to put on a good show. While completely over-the-top and excessive, the grandiose palaces, spires, domes, abbeys and churches perched atop hills and alongside the Danube are breath taking and awe inspiring.
Vienna is art, music, palaces, statues, golden domes, fountains, pedestrian walkways, bicycles, magnificent gardens… and dogs. Coiffed and stylish, they trot alongside their human companions, ride on the subways and in bicycle baskets with a most regal air about them.

Soccer fever swept across the city this afternoon as Italian and Portuguese fans poured in by bus and subway to get things warmed up for the critical match at the stadium. Faces painted, wrapped up in flags and sporting medieval carnival hats in their national colours, the fans did their best to out sing each other in the shadow of St. Stephan’s Cathedral. One particularly fervent fan was on his knees in the cathedral, clearly asking for divine intervention, in favour of Italy.

Tomorrow we leave Austria and cross into Slovakia and, cell phone messages aside, we WILL be aware we are doing so this time. Due to the large influx of foreign soccer fans into Austria this weekend, security has been stepped up and passports will be required, we are told. Hmmm… Why am I not surprised? I did enjoy wearing my T-Shirt with the outline of the African continent stamped boldly on the front and the back, and watching the reactions of the ticket sellers at the over priced art galleries when I asked them if there were any special discounts for Africans!

En une quizaine de jours, nous avons parcourrus la partie germanophone de l’Orient-Express. Des nos premiers metres en Allemagne, la difference avec la France apparait. Les cyclistes quittent la route pour cheminer sur des voies qui leur sont dediees.

Arrive a Freiburg, ce sont les boutiques de velos qui se multiplient. Pas des magasins élitistes où seul le matériel haut de gamme à le droit de site ou encore des grandes surfaces de sport qui ne proposent que leurs produits. Non, ici, les echoppes sont baroques (comme l’architecture), la bicyclette fabriquée par un artisant trône au milieu de nombreuses autres de marques différentes. Les vélos de courses, les VTT, les bicyclettes de villes, les vélos de randonnée se partagent la scène. Même dans les villages, on trouve des bouclards a coté de la boulangerie ou de l’épicerie. Le vélo est un mode de déplacement, pas seulement un loisir estival. L’Allemagne et l’Autriche ont conservé à la petite reine ses lettres de noblesses. Merci!

- Olivier Thudor