We were refused entry to about 4 trains, then rode to the outskirts of Bratislava to buy a car….we were frustrated.

Bratislava has a rule that you need to have a local license to purchase a car so that was out. We then sprinted back to the train station and got the 11pm train (the first train we missed was at 8am). The 11pm train was coming from Germany and had a bike section so we were saved.

not looking good for the bikes

We got into Budapest, Hungary at some point (it is a but fuzzy) and then there were many backpackers all heading to Novi Sad, Serbia for the Exit Festival…..we were worried about the train and getting our bikes on.

So when the train finally arrived we ran past the guards and threw our bikes on. Then we chained them to the train so they could not be thrown off.

still smiling somehow...

The bikes stayed on and we were lucky to meet some English people who let us in their booth thing.

locked to the train

Ryan got hauled off by the Serbian Army at the boarder crossing as they took one look at him and instantly came to the conclusion he was running drugs…..forgivable mistake.

We finally made it to Novi Sad for a four day music festival in a castle on the Danube.

We headed off and managed to get out of the city more easily than we were expecting however this is where it got fun. The cycle way from Vienna to Bratislava was nothing like what we had been used to from Passau to Vienna along the Danube.

So we made a few wrong turns and ended up on an island in the middle of the Danube, then had to turn around, climb some steps to get onto a bridge and then continue to make our way up the river. There were also a few points where the cycle way disappeared, but appeared further down the road, it was not as well signed ether which made it more difficult. Either way we managed to make it to Bratislava which was quite different to Austria even though it was right on the boarder.

It was a bit longer ride than we thought it would be but this was ok as we left early in the morning and our hostel was in the center of town which was handy.