Although I found the "rolling hills" hard work I had a great time, the countries we visited were fascinating and I particularly enjoyed Cesky Krumlov where we were lucky enough to arrive for their medieval festival and Bratislava.
If you like historical buildings/towns this is a brilliant trip The cities, towns etc we visited were amazing. We started in Prague which is a popular resort, so popular I was glad to get away. But then on the first day we arrived at Cesky Krumlov, (didn't he use to play for Chelsea?) which is an amazing Gothic town and a UNESCO site, I'd never previously heard of , but could easily return to and spend a long w/end there imbibing some of the excellent Czech beer. There is an optional walking tour of the town which is well worth going on.
The next town we reached , Trebon, was also very interesting, and well worth a walk around.
And then came another UNESCO , Telc with yet another fantastic cobbled town square.
A couple of days later we arrived in Vienna which just shouts opulence. Do go on the optional bike tour of the city as it gives you a good idea of where to head to when you get free time. A couple of us went to a classical concert (not usually my kind of thing) in one of the large churches where they played classical music's greatest hits (Vivaldi etc) and where the acoustics are simply amazing. Oh, and don't forget the cakes to die for or of !
We then got to Bratislava, another interesting place where the leader takes you on another optional walking tour; worth taking again.
Eventually we arrived in Budapest and by this time I was beginning to suffer from cultural overload but managed to squeeze in a visit to the parliament building and the basillica before retiring to the bar.
Oh , I nearly forgot the cycling bit of the trip; it's graded as 3 but could easily be a 2 as there were very few hills ; a considerable amount of the time is on cycle-only tracks which is great if you want to natter to your fellow cyclists but does mean there is only a limited amount of vehicle support. The trip notes say there is only 10% without vehicle support but it was considerably more than that .
Fortunately, the vehicle war around when we rode through an almighty thunderstorm when the hairs on your head stand up , then curl, and possibly smolder, even for the'follickly challenged' like myself .
Also, there was the fact that there was no "tail gunner" mechanic, which meant that if there was a mechanical, the whole group had to stop whilst running repairs took place. The bikes themselves, were more "upright" than I am used to but proved to be very good for my back ; unfortunately they seemed to be prone to the chain coming off and jamming ; couldn't possibly be anything to do with the ability of the cyclists themselves !
This was my first Exodus trip and wasn’t sure what to expect. From the first day of arrival the Exodus team Peter and Danke were exceptional in every aspect of the planning, logistics and guidance through the trip. The equipment (cycles) and were high quality and fit for a dual on and off road experience. I’m so impressed by the trip and the support that I have plans for two further in the next 18 months. A truly inspiring experience.
