Forest path through sparse woodland
Cycling through the solitude

Baltica 2025

All my life I have dreamed of going on big tours by bicycle. In particular, the dream of reaching North Cape has accompanied me since my youth. But it took over 40 years...

By 2025, however, the time had come to set about making these dreams a reality. A busy working life and a large family leave little time for long cycling trips, let alone on my own. In my mind, though, I was constantly cycling my way to the North Cape. In reality, however, I never got further than Denmark (a family holiday by car).

It is only now, in the final stage of my working life, that I have been able to take three months’ unpaid leave and set off on my journey. What started as a vague idea two years ago has developed into a plan, thanks in part to the moral support of the best wife in the world.

The starting point

Nun, das Nordkapp würde es dieses Jahr nicht werden. Das muss noch warten. Denn ich war für Mitte August bei einer Sportveranstaltung in Tallinn (EuroHash 2025)  angemeldet und war daher zeitlich beschränkt. Ich hatte also ich nur ein Zeitfenster von Anfang Juli bis Ende September und damit schied das Nordkapp schon einmal aus.
Also Ersatzidee, ich radle im Uhrzeigersinn ab Hamburg um die Ostsee nach Tallinn. However, after giving it some thought, it turned out that this wasn’t feasible in terms of timing, due to the fixed date in Tallinn in mid-August. 

In the end, the plan took shape to cycle through Poland (it wouldn’t have been feasible to do this from Vienna) and the Baltic states, with the aim of reaching Tallinn by mid-August and then, after the event, cycling further north for the remaining five weeks, as far as I can get.

To my shame, I must admit that I have only been to Poland once (Krakow) and have never visited the Baltic States either. It was therefore high time to change that!

This specific idea then became the final tour described here.

The Planning

In the year leading up to the trip, I spent a lot of my free time planning. I looked into possible routes, read travelogues by other cyclists in that part of the world, researched potential or essential equipment, and so on. This eventually resulted in a packing list and the travel itinerary. I’ll talk about these things in more detail elsewhere.

First things first:
In the winter leading up to the trip, I actually found a direct train from Vienna to Warsaw that allowed bikes on board. This is important because, whilst you can easily book a train ticket with a bike space in advance in Austria, you cannot do so in the Czech Republic or Poland, which rules out connecting trains.
The only problem was that I’d once again left it too long to book, and by the time I tried to book (far too late), there were no more bike spaces available. A case of shooting myself in the foot, then.

So I was forced to look for alternatives, which is how I ended up on my first Flixbus journey. Until then, Flixbus hadn’t been on my radar for cycle trips, but it turned out that many buses on the Flix routes do carry bikes. In fact, it seems to me that across almost all of Europe, one in every two Flixbuses does. 
As a result, my cycling adventure began with yet another adventure: my first journey on the Flixbus!

The Journey

I was on the road for a total of 71 days, from my departure from Vienna on the evening of 5 July 2025 until my return on 14 September 2025 (including the 5 days spent at EuroHash 2025 in Tallinn).

Here is the key information in table form:

Total number of days 71 days Including 5 days in Tallinn at a sporting event, whilst the bike was stored at the hotel.
Number of days cycling 66 days  
of which rest days 17 days These are genuine rest days or days spent on the boat.
Cycling days 49 days These are the days on which I was travelling with luggage.
Total kilometres 4.012 km Calculated value (see the section on navigation and tracking later for further details).
Kilometres per day of cycling ca. 61 km/day Cycling days including rest days.
Kilometres per cycling day ca. 82 km/cycling day This is therefore the average distance cycled per day.
Longest daily stage 123 km Estonia, Haapsalu to Laagri
Shortest cycling stage 33 km Germany, Großhansdorf to Wilhelmsburg (Hamburg)
Exception: Transfer stages and routes on rest days without luggage.
Total nights’ accommodation 64 nights Excluding 5 nights at EuroHash 2025.
of which in hotels (incl. B&Bs) 15 nights (23 %) Defined by: Private bathroom and breakfast provided.
of which in hostels and B&Bs 13 nights (20 %) Defined by: Shared bathroom and/or no private kitchen (usually a communal kitchen)
of which in holiday apartments 12 nights (19 %) Fully equipped flats including private kitchen.
of which camping 20 nights (31 %) Campsite, wild camping, shelter.
of which other 4 nights (6 %) Ferry crossing, bus journey, family visits.
My weight on departure 98 kg  
My weight on return 90 kg (No, I haven’t shrunk!)

 

The journey took me through seven European countries. It was tough and exhausting at times; there were moments when I simply couldn’t be bothered any more and found myself looking for the next bus home. There were moments of weakness (cyclists probably call that ‘heavy legs’) and there were times when cycling felt effortless. I saw lots of wonderful scenery, battled against the wind and, in the north, against the cold too, and I revelled in the sun and warm summer temperatures.

I was alone and free, but never lonely.
I think that’s what you might call ‘being happy’.

I’ve spent the last few months compiling a travel diary based on my notes (in the traditional way, a little black notebook), my photos and videos, as well as my daily posts on Mastodon and my memories. 

Building on this, I’ll be reporting on the tour in detail on the following pages. Perhaps it will serve as inspiration for you.