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Eastern Europe: For the Children of Chernobyl
With the dissolution of that old ideological barrier known as the Iron Curtain, travel restrictions have eased and Western bikers now enjoy much greater access to the roads in Eastern Europe. Even so, a tour of Ukraine and Belarus doesn't yet qualify as a care-free adventure, especially when your travel plans include a visit to Chernobyl. But going there was the whole point of the latest of our Eurobiker Association missions.
It's early, seven o'clock in the morning, when we gather in front of the Vienna Hofburg, the residence of monarchs during the Habsburg dynasty. The setting is great but the weather is just dreadful and I'm hoping the rain will end soon. But later on I realize that the morning had only given us a taste of what lay ahead.
Under a police escort 80 Eurobikers take their leave of Austria's capital. Our charity ride to Ukraine and Belarus has begun! As we reach the outskirts of the city the huge convoy splits up into small groups. A short time later we pass the Austrian-Slovakian border. Leaving the capital Bratislava on our left, we head east, and by lunchtime make a scheduled stop in Brezno, where we get a very nice reception from the Slovakian Motorcyle Association. We settle down to enjoy some good food and two hours of blessed sunshine.
The Rain in Ukraine Stays Mainly...
But as soon as we continue on, over nice curvy roads up to the mountains of the Lower Tatra, we're swallowed by clouds again. It's wet and cold and visibility is very low as we drive across the 3,000-foot ridges. We finally reach the Ukraine border at dusk, and Uzgorod, our stop for the night, is not far away – but to pass through customs requires some patience. Although the policemen are not unfriendly, the procedure is complicated and takes ages....
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