Europe Bike Trip Part 5: Croatia

After spending a couple of nights on lovely Lake Balaton in Hungary, we began our journey to Croatia. Crossing into Croatia was an interesting experience, as we didn’t know exactly where the border was located. Along the road, we asked several people to point us in the right direction and eventually a man steered us through a corn field. Riding through the field, we weren’t sure whether we were illegally crossing the border. When we came through the field we saw the border crossing, but weren’t sure which side we were on. Confused, we rode to the crossing and sheepishly asked what country we were in. Luckily, we were still in Hungary, and the crossing was indeed the Croatian border.

After crossing the border we made our way to the town of Koprivnica where we spent our first night. The next day we rode just under 100km to Zagreb, the capital of Croatia. It was mid-July at the time; so much of the city’s inhabitants had made their way to the Mediterranean coast. This meant that the city was not as bustling as it would normally have been. Finding a place to have a drink was a bit more challenging, but the kids managed just fine.

Zagreb is an interesting city, with lots of history and culture. Since many so many had fled the city for the coast, there weren’t any crowds and we were able to float along and enjoy ourselves. Most of our time in Zagreb was spent aimlessly wandering the streets until we found something that caught our attention. The people in Zagreb are incredibly warm and friendly, and always offered assistance when our wandering eventually led us astray.

After a leisurely stay in Zagreb, we got back on our bikes and began the final leg of our adventure.

Europe Bike Trip Part 4: Hungary

After traveling spending some time in the picturesque town of Bratislava, the family made our way to the capital of Hungary: Budapest. We rode our bikes into the centre of the city where we had rented an apartment. After disembarking, the boys immediately went out to get some refreshments as we had not yet tried any Hungarian beer. The next few days were spent off our bikes discovering the city. However, we still managed to get in a lot of exercise, especially when exploring the hilly Buda side of the city which is west of the Danube River.

Budapest has a fascinating and extensive history, and therefore, there are a number of important sites to see when visiting the Hungarian capital. The House of Terror is a museum which chronicles the fascist and communist regimes in Hungary during the 20th century, and the atrocities committed during these dictatorships. Though the museum is quite horrifying, it is an important and sobering experience. The Parliament Building is another must see, for its incredible architecture and history. One of our favourite sites was the Castle Labyrinth on Castle Hill—a complex of caves underneath the Buda Castle district. After 6:00pm the lights are turned off and you can explore the caves with lanterns.

Of course, a trip to the Hungarian capital would not be complete without visiting one of their famous thermal baths. Széchenyi Baths, located in City Park, is one of the most popular baths in the city and features a number of pools which fed with thermal spring water. Gellért Baths is also very popular as it features some of the most beautiful pools in Budapest. A relaxing afternoon at the baths is the perfect way to spend an afternoon.

Our break from biking did not last long, and soon we were back on our bikes, heading south to Lake Balaton. It took us two days of riding to cover the 136km to the lake, but the journey was well worth it. The lake, which is absolutely gorgeous, is a popular place for Hungarian and German tourists in the summer. We spent hours swimming and lounging by the lakeside under the hot summer sun. Lake Balaton provided the perfect escape after spending a few nights in the big city. After a couple of nights, we mounted our bikes and continued our journey into Croatia.

-Wendy