Oh yes, the past couple of weeks have been good to me. Maybe too good, because my last post was over a month ago. My plan was to blog every two weeks or so and I will try to stick to that schedule from now on.
Sooo what happened since my last post? The short answer is: a lot. The longer version is as follows:
I enjoyed Italy just like I did every time I went there, but the problem is that I have been there so many times that nothing really excites me anymore (except the fact that the majority of people living in such a modern and wealthy country still don't know how to speak English or how to drive … but I still love them 
).
During my two weeks in Italy the weather changed for the better and I realize how I am getting more and more used to the fact that I am on this crazy adventure and not just on another trip until the next semester starts. Aside from changes to my mental state (I even stopped talking to myself outloud) I can also see and feel the way the past few weeks changed me physically. My average speed is slowly increasing without conscious effort and my legs keep getting bigger and bigger (unfortunately the same cannot be said about my upper body).
Aaanyways … you probably all know the feeling when you are having a really good time and you just wanna freeze time an stay like that forever. Now every time I have that feeling I have to remind myself that there is no need to freeze anything, because it is going to stay like this for as long as I want and that makes it even better.
Slovenia
I have never been to Slovenia before and I have to admit that I didn't know much about the history and about the country in general (in my defense it is a very small country with only two million people). I expected it to be as one would imagine an Eastern European country, but it turns out Slovenia is quite special and not at all stereotypical (maybe because Slovenia is Central European …).
Instead what I experienced was a modern country, with warm and friendly people, beautiful nature and long empty roads (and good drivers!). The country in general makes for a good ride, especially after almost being killed a dozen times by Italian truck drivers . Also staying in Ljubljana I have met more Vegetarians/Vegans in a single day, than I did in the rest of my life, which is another plus 
.
Hungary
Oh how I love this country. Hungary for me has always been sort of a gateway to the East This time it was also a gateway to a nicer climate and cheaper living. So the days on the road became longer and hotter and my only worry was/is that I was/am going too fast. I solved that problem by zick-zacking along the Danube from East to West. After a while I realized that while I enjoyed my time in Hungary, more intersting countries are still ahead of me (except maybe Croatia). And so the journey continued …
Croatia
I've been to Croatia many times when I was "travelling" with my parents as a child, but since you won't learn anything about a country by simply hopping from one hotel to another I decided to revisit the country. Contrary however to almost every other country I have visited on this and other trips I didn't enjoy cycling in Croatia as much as I thought I would. The reason for this is mostly that there isn't anything special about Croatia. Sure I enjoyed cycling through the beautiful countryside up North and I also liked Zagreb, but somehow all that didn't win me over. Thinking back it might also be that fact that the prices in Croatia are ridiculously high (even higher than Italy and France I believe), while the quality is still low
So much for my first few steps in Eastern Europe. Since more than a week now I am in Serbia, but I like the country so much that I feel it deserves a post for its own (or maybe I am just being lazy at the moment).
For my next couple of weeks I am going to ride up and down the Balkan, starting with Bosnia and moving on to Montenegro, Albania and Macedonia. And somehow I already feel like the summer is too short …
Again sorry for the being such a lazy bastard and I will leave you with a teaser for my next post about my crazy days in Serbia:
(for those who know me it is obvious that the picture is staged because I neither drink nor smoke)