For my first bike tour, I once had big dreams: What about the North Cape? And could I bring my cat?! Unfortunately, realism caught up with me soon enough. After some (failed) attempts at getting Georgia used to a bike trailer, it was pretty clear: this would have to be a solo adventure.

Since I also didn’t want to be away from her for too long, I decided to pick a slightly more humble goal: let’s start flat and easy, simply following the rivers, from my hometown close to Munich all the way to Budapest.

For someone who has never ridden more than 45km in her adult life, that actually seemed ambitious enough.

Bike travel is (apart from river touring) one of the few modes of transport I haven’t tried yet in my years of traveling. I’ve walked thousands of kilometers, but cycling was new for me. I wasn’t sure how far I’d make it or whether I’d even enjoy it.

But there was only one way to find out.

The Bike Route: Munich to Budapest

To keep things simple – after all, my priority was to simply get going – I decided to start from my hometown south of Munich.

The plan was this: I would follow the river I’ve known all my life, the beautiful Isar (Isar Cycle Path), until it meets the Danube, then continue on the very popular Eurovelo 6, also known as the Danube Cycle Path.

Theoretically, you could follow it all the way to the Black Sea, but for a first bike tour, I’d be more than happy to reach Vienna, and hopefully even Budapest. (Spoiler: I did reach both!)

Preparing for the bike trip

The entire end of June was rainy as hell, so while part of me already wanted to get going, the extra time was useful to „perfect“ my gear. I already had all the camping gear from my long-distance hikes, but now I needed to figure out how to fit it on a bicycle. And get myself some of those very sexy padded shorts.

Somehow, I managed to strap everything onto my bike. Not the most elegant setup, I am sure, but functional. I didn’t want to spend weeks and weeks trying to get the perfect setup, spending even more money than I already had, just to then realize summer had passed and/or I didn’t even enjoy bikepacking (or bike touring, the internet nerds seem to have a bit of a debate about the appropriate terms, ha).

Training for the bike trip? You could confidently say zero. I have never cycled much, and probably have only sat on the bike a few times this year before heading out. Due to the rain, I only did a single test ride, but it was enough to learn that I could at least move the loaded bike. That’s all I needed to know.

Finding wild camping spots along the Isar & Danube

An adventure wouldn’t be an adventure without wild camping, right? Partly it’s my inner low-budget traveler I can’t get rid of, partly my genuine love for being alone in the middle of nowhere, and of course the challenge of never knowing where you’ll end up that day.

Luckily, finding beautiful spots along the river was fairly easy. Only on one day I had to ride much further than I had wanted, until sunset, before I finally found a spot. Most days, however, I had found something by 5 pm, just in time to settle in, stretch my tired legs, and feast deliciously on the food I would have bought earlier.

Something that surprised me – in comparison to my hikes – was how close I’d always be to civilization. I usually feel most comfortable wild camping far away from everything, but many days that wasn’t possible. Still, all the spots felt really safe.

Once I had switched from the Isar Cycle Path to the Eurovelo 6 along the Danube, camping was also surprisingly loud: suddenly, huge cruise ships and boats were passing in front of my „bedroom“! And many nights, there would be a massive road passing on the other side of the river, so it was never really fully quiet. Thank god for earplugs!

Still, just sitting by the river each evening felt really peaceful. Another thing I loved about camping by the rivers was that I could „shower“ every evening. Washing off the sweat of the day is such a relief. Each evening, I went to bed tired, clean, well-fed – and happy.

Oh, and did I mention that I even slept on my own private islands at times? Very luxurious indeed.

Part 1: Munich to Passau

Starting in familiar territory always feels nice. Somehow, it’s easier to head out on an adventure when you know you could just turn around and be home within a day if all else fails (I famously had to do so once when I headed out on a camino without tent poles, oops).

I was too impatient to wait for the rain to stop. Or, well, it was forecasted to stop, but when I found myself cold, drenched and miserable two hours into my trip, I knew the forecast had not been correct.

This was definitely not just a drizzle.

The first day wasn’t fun, at all, and had I not known I had a friend waiting in Munich for me – where I could stay the night, dry and warm – I might have just turned around.

But after that tough first day, everything got so much better.

The joys of exploring a new form of traveling

I soon learned that bike touring was easy. Of course, it’s physical, but compared to the hikes I had done, it felt like a walk in the park.

Extra weight matters so little. Another kilo of food for a luxurious dinner? No problem. Bring your laptop? You could. Stop three times a day for bakeries and cafés? Oh yes.

When it comes to balancing physical challenge and comfort, bike touring might be one of the best forms of travel. With long-distance hiking, I never could see myself doing this for more than a few weeks or maybe months, but I now understand how people can spend years on a bike.

Of course, the route I had chosen also made things easy for me: It is incredibly flat. I mean incredibly flat: I think all the way to Budapest, there were about 3 hills. Perfect for an untrained beginner cyclist like me!

The first days flew by. The bike route along the Isar was stunning, and I was happy to discover more of the river I grew up with. Where I live, the Isar still feels wild and alive. Only later on, it becomes more tame, neatly pressed into canals and streamlined for easier handling.

After the initial bad weather, we were now in full summer mode: 30°C plus and full sunshine every day, so I was happy whenever the trees provided shade.

Somewhere between the Isar and the Danube, the discomfort kicked in

After the first enthusiastic days, I wasn’t having as much fun anymore. My body now complained loudly that this is an activity we are so not used to.

The fun side effects of bike touring I encountered were:

• butt pain (mostly the tailbone)
• wrist pain (I got very creative with my handlebar-holding methods)
• a beautiful butt rash (likely sweat + friction)

And, of course, the appropriate dose of soreness in my legs. Still, by week 2 and 3, I could feel myself getting stronger, especially after some much-needed rest days. I tried to fix the pain by eating as many croissants as one possibly can.

Reunited with Passau

Something I had especially looked forward to, apart from exploring many other lovely towns along the way, like Landshut and Deggendorf, was seeing Passau again. It’s where I had studied, but I had not been there in years.

My time there was full of sweet nostalgia. I no longer have any friends living there, but I strolled through the city reliving many moments I had not thought about in years.

Another thing I relived, so to speak: Since I got my van 3 years ago, I haven’t really used Couchsurfing anymore – but this was the perfect opportunity to do so. I found some lovely hosts, both also keen cyclists, hikers and climbers; one of them even accompanied me the next day, cycling the first kilometers on Austrian ground with me.

Part 2: Passau to Vienna along the EuroVelo 6

Now we’re in absolute classic territory: Passau to Vienna is an incredibly well-known bike tour, and it showed in the number of people on the route.

Where in the previous days, I had met a few long-distance cyclists here and there, I was suddenly surrounded by dozens of bikers. Many of them in groups, and rental bikes, some even coming from cruise ships – obviously rather tourists than travelers.

If you know me, you know I’m not a fan of anything too crowded or “mainstream”. But one cool thing to see was the accessibility of this section: Since it’s so flat and completely paved, you could see all kinds of people and bikes: Older people on e-bikes. Families with kids. Disabled people on modified bikes. The Eurovelo 6 between Passau and Vienna really is for everyone.

Summer, sun, swimming

On my trip, I learned that there are basically only 2 sections in the entire Austria where the Danube flows naturally. So, it was actually harder than I had imagined to find good swimming spots – which was a shame, especially since the temperatures were climbing higher and higher.

Cycling in 30°C is still okay, especially when there’s shade, but then there were many sections, just forever straight, on asphalted dams without any shade. When the temperatures rose to 35°C, I struggled with headaches and a general sense of exhaustion, so I often spent the entire afternoon lying somewhere by the river in the shade, waiting for it to get cooler, before I would cycle my last kilometers of the day. The pros of these temperatures: Washing my thick cycling pants and drying them on the bike every day was no issue at all, and I really did not have to worry about being cold at night.

One of those rare natural Danube paradises is the famous Wachau – I had never been there, yet everyone had told me about it as soon as I mentioned I wanted to cycle to Vienna. And yes, it was indeed very beautiful, but what made me happiest in this heat: Gravel banks everywhere, meaning super easy access to the river.

Swimming three times a day? Don’t mind me if I do.

Hello, Vienna – the first big milestone

I didn’t spend much time in Linz, but I did want to explore Vienna properly. Even better, I was spontaneously joined by a friend, so we treated ourselves to a rental apartment and I could wash all my clothes (and myself!) properly. Any accommodation, no matter how basic, feels wildly luxurious after having spent many nights in a tent.

I was a little bit proud of myself for having made it so far. Yes, the route is as easy as it can be, but my bike is heavy, and I had not trained one bit. It’s amazing what our bodies can do.

So I celebrated, mostly with lots of delicious food (that’s one of my favorite parts of long-distance adventures: the insane amounts of food you can eat). The weekend in Vienna flew by, but I greatly enjoyed it. A stunning city, for sure.

Part 3: Cycling from Vienna to Budapest

After Vienna, the bike path became noticeably quieter. Not on a Sunday, since plenty of local people were out as well, but on weekdays.

There were fewer people, but the people I did meet were more “my kind” now: people on epic tours spanning months or years, solo travelers, fellow wild campers – the adventurers.

I had a few really wonderful conversations, and even ended up camping next to the same couple twice (once, they joined my camp, the next day, we bumped into each other by coincidence while looking for a spot). As lovely as it is traveling by myself, it always lights me up meeting people who share the same love or adventures as I do. And especially when following the same route (like on a trail or pilgrim route), there is this sense of shared experience that instantly connects you.

Slovakia = Fewer people, more mosquitoes?

Soon, I crossed the Border to Slovakia. Now, I was in unknown territory. Not only did I no longer speak the local language, I had also never been to this part of Europe.

Bratislava was only a short stop. The old town is nice, but there isn’t too much too see; the highlight were the absolutely divine croissants, slathered in pistachio and white chocolate cream.

Afterwards, the route was basically one long, straight line, for roughly 70-80 km. Wild. Luckily, the tailwinds helped me to cross this boring section a bit faster.

However, the worst part about Slovakia were the mosquitoes. What the hell? It was so bad. You could not sit outside your tent for one minute, or you would get eaten alive. They even managed to sting through my bike pants, giving my already-sore butt more pains to worry about.

So, the rhythm of the days was this: Cycle, cycle, cycle to keep the mosquitoes away. Find camp spot, pitch tent instantly, hide inside.

Luckily, the route only crosses a small part of Slovakia. After the long, straight stretch, there was little route left until I would already be in Hungary.

And, as if mosquitoes really cared about the country, the mosquito inferno did indeed stop once I crossed the border.

Arriving in Budapest

Just one more night on Hungarian ground before I would make it to Budapest. In a way, I was relieved, because I knew I needed a break. On the other hand, part of me really wanted to just continue cycling (but at this point, I couldn’t – bureaucracy & my cat were waiting for me).

After weeks of full-on sun, my last day was just like my first: Rainy. I cycled most of the way to Budapest, then decided I was not put on this earth to suffer, and took a train for the last 15 km into the city, which would have just been along city roads anyway.

So here I was, all of a sudden: I had really cycled all the way to Budapest. It took a moment to sink in, but yes… it felt pretty, pretty good. 🙃

The next days, I stayed in a cheap hostel, hung out with some fellow travelers, and explored the city on foot and by bike. It’s a little shabby, but with buildings that still speak of the beauty of the past, exactly the kind of combination I like. I was happy to be there, and what a journey it has been!

The verdict: Would I cycle all the way to Budapest again?

Absolutely! It was the perfect summer adventure.

I didn’t want this trip to be super hard – I had done enough of that over the years. Sure, everything hurt a little. But it still felt miraculously easy-going? Biketouring really has its charms, especially on a well-maintained and wonderfully flat route like this. If my next tour leads me through the mountains, let’s see if I still enjoy it as much 😉

The only complaint I have, really, is that it passed too quickly. But I’m sure more adventures on a bike will come.