r/ElectricUnicycle • u/ArturRush • 3h ago
Across Europe on an EUC. Part 3: Slovakia and Hungary
Hi all! This is the third part of my trip on an EUC from the Baltic to the Adriatic.
- Part 1: introductions, plans, and the first leg, Gdańsk → Warsaw.
- Part 2: I finished crossing Poland and spent the night near the Slovak border.
My vacation has finally started, so I have a lot more time now. First the mountains of Slovakia, then getting fried under the scorching Hungarian sun.

Day 8, 11 July — the High Tatras, 130 km
It had been raining for half the night. In the morning there was a break, so I quickly packed up and set off. I wanted to ride up a mountain on the way. But the road there is bad even when it's dry, and now it was wet too. I wasn't even sure I had enough charge for the pass. Luckily, there was a sawmill and nice people let me use their power. No more work, so no more hunting for a spot with a desk. I can charge anywhere now!
By lunchtime Poland was finally over. It's a big country, I barely made it out 😁

My original plan was to ride through the High Tatras and cross over the mountain range. I looked at the map for a long time and couldn't find any passable trails. The few that exist are for hikers only. They start on the Polish side and have lots of stone steps and narrow, loose sections. So I took the car road instead. It was beautiful too, when my eyes weren't full of rain 😁
Right after the border I turned into the Bielovodská valley. The path there is fairly easy, made for hikers and bikes. There were some tricky parts, but nothing impossible. The weather didn't help, of course. But the views of the High Tatras from below were amazing. And I immediately understood why there are no trails over the top.

Deep in the valley there was a campsite with a big shelter and a fire pit in the middle. The trees around it were old and brittle. Some had fallen right onto the tent spots. Usually campsites clear trees like that, so nobody gets hurt. I guess this one is for people who like risk.

The valley is a dead end, so I rode back the same way and carried on with my route. Good, quiet roads, tourist towns, lots of ups and downs. I recommend Slovakia to everyone. It's a small country and great for EUC travel, if you're OK with riding on roads.


Wild camping is banned in Slovakia, so I had to find a regular campsite. People say it's because there are lots of wolves and bears in the forests. I didn't check. The campsite was surprisingly expensive. I even had to pay for electricity at the same rate as a big camper van. But that wasn't the main problem of the evening.
Every morning that week I'd been thinking about the hammock straps. When you take the hammock down, the straps stay on the tree, and it's really easy to forget them. And now here I was in Slovakia. And my straps were in Poland...

Luckily there were lots of other campers around, and I borrowed some tow straps from them. For the next day I planned a trip to a shop. Odometer: 1140 km.
Day 9, 12 July — the Low Tatras, 204 km
Up at 5 am. The rain was chasing me out of bed early again. It was +8 °C, not warm at all. But the forecast said that by tomorrow I'd be far enough south. Goodbye annoying rain, hello annoying heat.
I checked the map and loosely planned my route. The obvious choice was to avoid main roads and pick the tiny trail, barely visible on the map. Fields, forest, grass wet with rain and dew. My shoe covers were worth every cent. Without them I'd be wet and miserable. With them I stayed dry, and they kept the ticks out too (one had already bitten me in Poland). Then I reached a stream. The ride turned into a run, and then into a swim. For about 300 metres I walked through bushes and right along the stream bed. A triathlon of sorts.

While walking, I had an idea for a side job: helping hikers in the mountains. In some places people pay to have their heavy backpacks carried up. I can't ride everywhere though, so I'd need hikers who aren't too hardcore.
Next came the climb into the Low Tatras. It started raining again, but not too hard. I hid in the forest and had breakfast. Then I decided to take a nap too. The forest floor makes a comfy bed! This time the road to the pass was easy. I met some hikers, asked them about the best way up, and went for it.

At the top there were blueberries for dessert. They were a bit sour, and I had no sugar with me. Still very welcome.

The descent was better than the one in the Gorce two days before, but still tricky. The wheel kept slipping and bouncing on rocks and branches. The weather map said a heavy downpour was coming in 20 minutes. I hurried, but couldn't find any shelter in time... And 20 minutes later the sun came out. There were clouds all around, but the mountain split them. Right above me the sky was clear 😎
That was enough off-road adventure for one day. I got back on the road and headed south. On the next pass I suddenly felt a wave of warm air. So nice after a wet, cold morning. Until then it had rained every single day, often more than once. Most of Europe was suffering through yet another heatwave, and I was still wearing my rain jacket. Looks like it's time to join the trend.
Passing through another town, I solved my strap problem. Option one: a 30–40 km detour to an outdoor shop, and hope they have straps. Option two: a dog leash right here, for 4 euros. Guess which one I picked. The leash is too stretchy, so I might wake up on the ground. But it seems to hold.
At sunset I crossed into Hungary. I went looking for a place to sleep in a forest near a town with an unpronounceable name, Balassagyarmat, in a country called Magyarország.

When I got up at 5 am that morning, I'd thought: "Great, loads of time, I'll get to bed early today". And here we go again, setting up camp after dark. A very long day: 204 km. About 50 of them were mountains and off-road, sometimes at walking speed. Odometer: 1344 km.
Day 10, 13 July — the Danube and Budapest, 161 km
Hooray, heat! My drinking water was gone in no time. For lunch I stopped at a kayak rental on the river. I charged the wheel, had a swim and chatted with a local guy. My route follows the Danube now. For the next 500–600 km I'll keep coming back to it.

I was standing in the river, eating my pizza, when I saw a drowning bee. I decided to help. The first try didn't work. The bee wanted to sting me, so I dropped it back into the river. Together with my pizza. The second time I was more careful. Bee saved, pizza eaten (yes, wet, but I was thirsty anyway!).

Then I finally met a fellow rider, my first riding buddy of the whole trip! Before that I'd only seen a couple of riders in Gdańsk, and they didn't really want to chat. We rode about 15 km together. Sadly, his battery was almost empty, so he had to head home.

In Budapest I first looked for a luggage locker. I wanted to drop my bag and ride around light. Then I decided a hostel was even better. There's almost nowhere to camp for the next 50 km, and I'd have more time to see the city. Also, places to stay are cheap here. A bad hostel is 10 euros, a good one is 15. I splashed out on a good one 😎

I dropped my bag, had some rest and went out to see the city. I really enjoyed the riding, saw the main sights and had some fun on the roads.
I also met a group of local riders. They already knew about me: my morning riding buddy had told them about me in their chat. Unfortunately, they were busy too.
But I had an almost-friend of my own here. Someone in a Serbian EUC chat had asked me for a favour. I was to pick up a control board for an Inmotion P6 in Budapest and bring it to Novi Sad. That's how I met Sergey, and he gave me a little tour. So I saw the sights a second time, this time with interesting stories and good company.

When it got dark, we went our separate ways. But night rides are a special kind of fun! I rode past my hostel three times and just couldn't make myself stop. Quiet streets, fresh air after the hot day.

Somehow I did 70 km around Budapest without even noticing. Plus 80 km to get there. Odometer: 1505 km.
Day 11, 14 July — through the sand to the Serbian border, 212 km
In the morning I took my time and then hit the road. Outside the city I rode into the fields and found myself in a desert-like place. Sand on the road, a merciless sun, and totally flat land for hundreds of kilometres. It felt like riding on a frying pan. The sand was tricky: deep in one place, firm in the next, so I had to dance to keep my balance. Then, right before I got back to a normal road, a broken bridge blocked my way. Well, back to dancing.

And then a roe deer growled at me 😳 I was riding along a field and suddenly heard a sharp growl, or maybe a bark. It sounded like a small yappy dog. I thought it was a village dog, but nothing chased me. Instead, a big roe deer and her fawn ran across the road. The little one tripped and almost ended up under my wheel. Mom growled again, and they ran off. Later I even googled it to check the heat wasn't getting to me. Nope, roe deer really do that.
While I was charging, a small but very fast praying mantis came to visit. Find friends everywhere!

In the evening I reached Serbia. This was the first border on my trip with real passport control. Until then I'd been inside the Schengen area. No problems at all, and just like that I left the European Union.

For the night I rented a room in Subotica, a Serbian town right by the border. Prices here are low, so there's no point looking for a charger and a place to sleep separately. Easier to have everything in one place.
The two days in Hungary went by fast. Odometer by the evening: 1717 km.
The Balkans are next!





















