Vélo le long du Danube – Le film complet (Bâle – Belgrade)

Je vous emmène pour un voyage à vélo de Bâle à Belgrade sur l’Eurovélo 6 à travers 6 pays, la Suisse, l’Allemagne, l’Autriche, la Slovaquie, la Hongrie et la Serbie. Au programme un fabuleux partage européen et la découverte de 4 capitales : Vienne, Bratislava, Budapest et Belgrade.

[Sous-titre français et anglais]
[French and English subtitles] – Cycling along the Danube – The full film

00:00 – Introduction
00:27 – Allemagne & Suisse – De Bâle au Danube / Germany and Switzerland
02:19 – Allemagne le long du Danube / Germany
06:37 – Autriche / Austria
10:08 – Slovaquie / Slovakia
10:58 – Hongrie / Hungary
15:53 – Serbie / Serbia
19:50 – FIN / END

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I take you on a cycling trip from Basel to Belgrade on the EuroVelo 6 through six countries, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary and Serbia. On the program is a fabulous European experience and the discovery of 4 capitals: Vienna, Bratislava, Budapest and Belgrade.

We will start along the Rhine before joining the Danube which will be our common thread. After experiencing a storm for my first night, waking up in Switzerland east of Basel was very peaceful. Here we go ! The Rhine marks the border between Switzerland and Germany. I can move from one country to another.

As a river of a developed country, the Rhine does not escape the proximity of transport infrastructures and nuclear power plants. But the EuroVelo 6 offers diversified atmospheres. From the start I cross forests, rural areas, vacation spots, tourist must-sees such as the Rhine Falls.

Or small towns like Schaffhausen and its fortification. But also unknown buildings like the covered wooden bridge of Diessenhofen, nice reception areas such as this farm with its self-service store which has a location for cycle tents. The beginnings are difficult. My bottom bracket is cracking and has play.

Everything has to be taken apart. It’s Sunday, Monday the shops are closed and I have to cycle like that for 2 days hoping not to damage anything. I’m in a transitional section. I left the Rhine at Lake Constance, and I am heading towards the Danube.

There are few climbs and descents in this part and I like it. I’m in Tuttlingen where there is a bicycle manufacturer who replaces the Pegasus bottom bracket, so I spent several hours on the central square of the city.

I feel really happy, I got Pegasus which flies like the wind in a magnificent landscape. After crossing the section of the Upper Danube Natural Park particularly pretty, I arrive at Sigmaringen, where I learned that its castle hosted Pétain and his ministers in exile. Another discovery during this period, the MayPole.

It’s a competition between Bavarian villages to have the biggest and most beautiful tree. In Baden-Württemberg, there are storks everywhere. In Bavaria, many farms and restaurant-hotels offer tent sites. It’s nice to be in the middle of local life,

And even more so on Ascension Thursday, which is celebrated with beers and music. It was also in the meadow of one of its farms that I met two French people who left St-Nazaire on foot to reach Jerusalem. To pitch the tent, there are also nautical clubs along the Danube.

But back to our trip… I arrive in the city of Ulm with a cycling network that is still at the top. In the town of Ulm, there is the highest main bell tower in the world, with 161.5 m! And at the exit from Ulm, the Danube has widened.

It’s impressive, it’s starting to look like a big river. At few kilometers from Kelheim, there are the Danube gorges as well as the Weltenburg Abbey. Its brewery is one of the oldest in the world. It began its activity in 1050.

After I opt for the left bank by taking a ferry. Without a motor, it moves with the force of the current with a cable placed sometimes on the lef, sometimes on the right, depending on the desired direction. And now direction Kelheim. Then I go down to the city with colorful houses,

So typical of southern Germany. But now I am already on the 11th day of this journey … And for this 11th day my body is asking for a break (the first). The opportunity to visit the pretty town of Regensburg which has two millennia of history, and preserves monuments from ancient Rome.

I’m leaving Regensburg, and this is the first steel monster I see. The Danube continues to widen. I learned to deal with it, but it has rained almost every evening. I do everything sheltered in my tent, including the meals. For the rain to stop, maybe I should stop singing? Danube oh my Danube

You are water, you are life. Show me the path to my dreams. So this is a typical stop, a pee stop. Personally I find it rather pretty, and of course I’m talking about the cycle route. And this Pegasus, he still had to come to the forefront.

The city of Passau is located at the confluence of the Danube and the Inn, but it is also my last big German city before the border. At the border Germany-Austria , a spoke on my rear wheel broke. Knowing that my wheels are old, I had carried a spare spoke in my bags.

Stopping for repair is therefore quick. A little more, it would have been necessary to rename “72 rays of hope into 71 rays” [french play on words] What a joy to see that in Austria too there are really nice spots to pitch the tent.

So yesterday at the farm, every 15 minutes there was a peacock parading in front of my tent. And today because there are a few ladies in the area, there are men who pass by shirtless, inflating their pecs. Austria, up to the gates of Vienna, I saw it with a Danube winding through

Steep reliefs. This is the most beautiful section I have seen since I left, because until now the steep sections were never long. The Danube Cycle Route in Austria is very well developed. Maybe too good, because with asphalt everywhere, I miss the small gravel tracks. But nothing too bad. Especially with unexpected surprises,

Such this private campsite with very pleasant surroundings, or even remarkable sites, such as the city of Linz. It is the 3rd most populated municipality in Austria, and for food lovers Linz is famous for its tart, the “Linzer Torte”. I visited the Mauthausen concentration camp. This is the first time

That I visit a concentration camp. I feel terrified. I realize how fragile peace is, and that it is our responsibility to maintain it. I feel grateful to live in a unified Europe, and this trip across countries and our history reinforces this feeling. In Austria, as in Germany,

There is a trust with self-service stores like this one. I buy two apples for 40 cents. I am located in the Wachau valley which is classified as a world heritage site for its castles, vineyards and abbeys. Castles which are full of stories of love and heartbreak from medieval times.

The entrance to the city of Vienna is marked by the incinerator with atypical architecture. A good night between 4 walls, a good meal, and I’m ready to go sightseeing! Vienna is beautiful with historical monuments and palaces on every corner.

The city is full of history, and has retained the best of influences, both from an architectural and cultural point of view. Thanks to Christine for her visit to the city. And of course to the other members of the ÖMCCV, the Austrian equivalent of the AFA Crohn

RCH Association of which I am a member. I will never forget the friendly moments spent together. And now I’m going to Slovakia and its capital Bratislava. You are not dreaming. There is a flying saucer on the bridge pier. It is actually an observation tower, a humorous note

From a Soviet construction. If the city center is small, it is really very beautiful. The life of a cyclist is hard. But I don’t have to hang around, because it’s already time to meet Veronika, president of the Slovak Crohn Club. Being ill myself, it is with a heart full of hope that

During this trip I experienced fabulous associative meetings across Europe. I decide if I continue to Croatia or if I go to Hungary. And it will be Hungary with the town of Cunovo. In Hungary I have the feeling that I am moving away from the

Standardization of the Western world. I must admit that I am delighted because the dirt tracks, and other small imperfections make my cycling life less monotonous. The cycle route is reappearing. I am approaching Budapest. On my bike I can see the city differently, crossing its bordering districts.

In Hungary I see a lot of watermelons for sale. The purchases finished, I arrive in my haven of peace for 2 days and 3 nights. A perfect setting to rest and restore myself. It’s not a museum, but the Café Gerbeaud, an institution in Budapest. But it’s not time for celebration,

Because at the back of the synagogue, the largest in Europe, a metal weeping willow recalls the past of 600,000 Hungarian Jews, victims of Nazism. Bye bye Budapest. I cycle towards Belgrade, the final stage of the trip. It’s false start from Budapest, because I had to make a round trip,

For a t-shirt forgotten that was drying. And since I left Budapest, I perceive Hungary with a more authentic side, with more rurality. It’s very hot. I have 33 degrees in the shade. 10 degrees warmer in the sun. And after having cycled along the Danube for so long, I decided to change my

Point of view with a kayak descent of around thirty kilometers. I think it’s the best idea I’ve had, because I’ve seen the Danube so much by bike. Especially after Budapest the river regains a wild appearance. I arrive at the small town of Kalosca. Exceptionally, I booked a

Hotel room for €22, because I didn’t find a good bivouac. I think I would have been bothered in the night. And severe fatigue with stomach ache. An effect of the illness, and perhaps the prolonged exertion of the journey.

But after lows there are highs, and the next day I get back in the saddle on roads with little traffic, or designed for local cyclists. I am 3-4 km from the Serbian border wich will mark the exit from the European Union.

And there’s absolutely no one there. I can do slaloms in the middle of the road. After the border, I am out of the European Union. This barbed wire wall makes me sad. It was built in 2015 in response to the migratory flow. So Serbs are known for not being very friendly with bikes,

And for riding fast. I confirm to you that it is true. But sections of busy roads are limited, and I alternate with other quieter moments, during which I can feel Serbian rurality. And if the bees also have their collective habitat bars, the communes in the countryside are less dense in habitats.

I stopped off in the city of Novi Sad, the second largest city in Serbia with more than 300,000 inhabitants. I appreciate his its historic center. At the exit of Novi Sad there are several buildings with facades decorated with sculptures. Some are deteriorating, but it gives a certain character. On the way to Belgrade,

I see a Serbia which is modernizing with a new railway line. The landscapes change. The plains disappear, and reliefs begin to form. My activity is also a good ice cream, a little break from the heatwave. I cross rural communities, and very pleasant paths when

I improvise an alternative route in search of tranquility . I like when I enter a big city, like here in Belgrade, with the bike I cross the suburbs. It allows me to have another vision of the city. I barely have time to discover the view from my room, before meeting members of UCUK,

An association committed to the fight against inflammatory bowel diseases, After the meeting I visit Belgrade. But the end is coming. After washing and drying my hiking equipment, I collect an empty box from a bike shop. I dismantled lots of things: the handlebars, the pedals, the stand, the wheels. I lowered the saddle,

The front rack. Pegasus was made very small to fit in this box. I return by plane to France, and then I took the Paris-Dijon train. Like the Danube which grows with water, I grew in new knowledge. In my search to understand countries around us, I have become more open to differences.

A human wealth which should unite us, rather than divide us. I will continue this trip, or will undertake another in Europe. I hope that you too, with this film you have found a dose of escape. On my Facebook page “72 rays of hope against Crohn’s Disease”, you can read the story

Of this bike trip and the sharing of my other traveling trips on foot, on snowshoes with the tent in the snow, by bike and by kayak. You will find a link to a collection page for the benefit of the “François Aupetit” Association, recognized as being of public utility in the fight against

Chronic inflammatory bowel diseases. See you soon for new adventures. Danube oh my Danube you are water, you are life. Show me the path to my dreams.