Located literally on the border between Croatia and Bosnia is Željava Airbase. It used to be one of the largest airbases in eastern Europe outside of Russia. Since the wars of the 1990s it lies abandoned. Unmarked minefields surround the airbase.
The road (E022/SH4) out of Greece towards Albania is large, deserted and unsignposted. Neither Albania nor any of the major cities that are reached along the main road are sign-posted. Thankfully we were using the Satnav.
Albania features two cities which have been awarded UNESCO World Heritage status, Gjirokastër and Berat. Both are located in southern Albania and it would be highly recommended to include them in any tour of the country.
Albania, previously closed off and still very different to the rest of Europe. It's one of the poorest countries in Europe, depending on how far east ones definition of Europe extends. Consequently its infrastructure still has a lot to be desired.
This low quality infrastructure includes hundreds of kilometres of unpaved roads. These are sometimes primary
Our own physical state is pretty critical too. Spending several hours per day for two or three weeks sat on the bike on often challenging roads, can be exhausting. Maybe less so for people who already spend a couple of hours everyday on their bike commuting, but I am a mere recreational user these days.
We have moved and taken our bikes with us. We are now living in Baden-Württemberg, Germany where we are a couple of hours from the Alps and have the Black Forest on our doorstep.
Crossing over one of Europe's great rivers, the Danube, we enter into Romania just south of Bucharest. The Danube runs along the border between Bulgaria and Romania, and we will revisit this river further upstream when we return to Budapest.
