Day 1 ( of 3): One Wednesday we packed our bikes and rode through a short part of the south of Austria via Hungary, Croatia straight into the north of Bosnia. There we headed to the capital city of the Rebublica Srbska, Banja Luka. In a small, but lovely hotel with a fine breakfast we booked in for two nights. The distance of 470 km took us 5,5 hours. Through Austria and Hungary we rode on speed reduced highways (100 km/h speed limit) or on country roads (90 km/h). In Croatia and Bosnia we could mostly use highways (130km/h speed limit). In Austria you must pay tolls on all highways. Therefore we are using a whole year electronic vignette for the toll system. For Hungary we bought also an electronic vignette for 10 days. In Croatia and Bosnia you pay the tolls directly on the highways depending the milage of your ride. This means beside the Austrian toll we payed about €20.- for the complete distance to Banja Luka. The weather was nearly fine. Only the last 10 kilometers we had a real thunderstorm. We were "washed" along the highway. After reaching our lovely hotel we went for a walk to the inner city of Banja Luka. We braved the weather with a small umbrella. As my wife had already been here last year, she knew a great restaurant that we naturally went to. It was delicious!!! We had a local tomato soup and as main courses chicken fillets with peanut sauce and with mozzarella and ham filled chicken fillet rolls and afterwards a great dessert. A chocolate souflett with a liquid center and ice cream. We took only one soup and one dessert and shared it. It would have been to much otherwise. After this exhausting menu we went back to our hotel and finished the day. In the following some impressions. Our bikes on the parking ground of the hotel. The city and also the whole country is a melting pot of different cultures and religions. Nearly on every second street you can find a building of an other religion. The restaurant in an old railway station.
Day 2: We started our day with a delicious breakfast and headed afterwards south of Banja Luka to a wonderful lake. After one hour of riding we stopped directly at the shore of the lake Pliva at a small cafe. Riding through Bosnia is a bit tricky! The streets/roads may have some unsigned big holes, hudge bumps and you can expect anykind of animals behind each curve. Today we had some fun with a heard of goats when we entered a village which were suddenly passing the road. At the cafe we got some delicious refreshments. Afterwards we rode another 1,5 hours back to Banja Luka along some other interesting roads. Back in the city we did some shopping (clothes are really cheap here) and had some pizzas in an other great restaurant. In the following again some impressions. A "4 in 1"-pizza. You get 4 different kinds of pizza on one combined. Delicious! Tomorrow morning we will leave and ride back home again. It is/was a short, but wonderful time in Bosnia again. The weather forecast is not so nice for tomorrow but we will see.
@Helmut Visor: It is a great trip. You are right too. The vast sums of foreign money, which were also used for reconstruction, are having an effect.
Day 3: After a horrible night triggered by extremely bad weather with torrential rain we started our tour back home after a delicious breakfast. The border to the EU (Bosnia-Croatia) was no problem. We were lonely at the border checks and passed through in just a minute. The weather was fine for the first hour. In some villages we were able to see some storks and their nests. In the area of Zagreb in Croatia we rode through the first rain of the day. After a few kilometers it stopped raining and was only cloudy. After passing the border to Hungary we would have needed some diving suits on our bikes. Incredible amounts of rain came down from the sky. This heavy rain lasted for about 20 kilometres. Afterwards it nearly stopped. To get us warm again we took some refreshments and a warm coffee at a fuel station. The rest of Hungary and the last hour in Austria the weather was switching between slightly and much rain. After 5,5 hours we reached hour home again and got us dry clothes. This short trip has been great! We experienced many new areas in Bosnia and enjoyed different kinds of tasty meals and drinks. All the locals we met on our tour were extremely friendly and helpful when needed. We rode 1.076 km through 4 countries and enjoyed every kilometre. Last input: Be aware of animals on the streets! Today we had two highlights with 4 little dogs which were running across the streets. Nothing happened and no one was hurt. But you must always be careful! In the following some pictures of our none motocross bikes! We were only riding on asphalted roads on our tour!
You didn't seem to go to the monument just south of Banja Luka. And, where were your Triumphs? THIS is dirty.....
Loved the travelog! I am impressed by the city photos and the photos of the mountain through which you rode! I am not impressed by the weather, though!
@blacktiger: In the moment all 4 of them are sold and we are using bikes of other manufacturers. In the future there may be a change back to Triumphs again.
I tend to avoid the wet weather as I tend to carry or trailer my bike (see photo) to a destination and ride from there when the weather suits. I've only been caught in the rain a few times in the last 29,000 kms (18,000 miles) on the Sprint GT. I just bought a 2013 Trophy SE, with excellent wind protection behind an electrically adjustable windshield (photo). I expect that, and the ABS and Traction Control will make rain less of an issue. But the scenery from your trip was worth the wet! Loved the photos!
Nice one Marcus, glad you had an enjoyable trip, looks like you both had a bit of cleaning to do when you got home. How you finding the BM overall. Thanks for posting.
@Rob the Scott: Thanks Rob! My wife and I discussed a trailer earlier this year. But for two bikes it must be a "big" one. In this case we run out of parking possibilities in the garage of our flat. We are already using/renting two additional parking lots to our official one for our cars and bikes.
@Bikerman: Thanks Bikerman for posting! - I love the power, torque and acceleration of it. It is a "big" and heavy bike in comparison to my wife's, but you don't feel it. You can ride it very smooth and slowly and when you get a "kick", like a track bike too. Long distances are no problem too. The fuel consumption on this tour went down to 4.7 l/100 km, including highway rides. When riding only on country roads it is possible to reach 3.9 to 4.2 litres per 100 km too. This with 136 HP, 143 Nm, 1250.ccm and about 250 kg of weight. It is the sport-tourer variant of the famous "GS". I don't need the off-road capabilities of the "GS" or the Tiger1200 I used in the past.
At the end of the day, it meets all your needs, and that's all that matters. I've a 650 V Strom, it's never going to set the world on fire, but for touring it suits me a treat. Fuel economy is in the 70 mpg range, or higher in Norway ( don't even think about speeding). Gets me around Europe and down to the South of France and Monaco 2 weeks Friday . But my Thunderbird is a different kettle of fish, it brings a smile to my face every time I go out on it. I've never even considered selling it. Well after 28 years with it now, it's part of the family
It sounds like a wonderful little trip, @Markus! Other than some of that torrential rain, that is. I laughed out loud when you said you could have used diving suits. You definitely saw some spectacular scenery and architecture...oh, yes, and food. Very important! Living in the U.S., it's hard to imagine a short trip encompassing 4 countries. It's not even that easy to ride through 4 states from where I live! Thanks for sharing your adventures and impressions!
@Sandi T:any thanks to you Sandi! The USA are sooo big. Some of your states would combine half of Europe!
