I saw a lot of people on bike tours, including this guy in Pula, Croatia as we explored their Roman ampitheater. (Photos: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
Hi everyone. I’m back in the Shed after two weeks away. I haven’t had a break that long from BikePortland in 19 years. I didn’t even bring my laptop! If you know me, you know that’s a very big deal. I had a really nice time away. We visited family (my wife Juli was born in Budapest, Hungary and still has family there) and we also spent much-needed time together as our own family. With daughters 21 and 19 years old, and a son who is 13, it was very special for all five of us to be on the road in such close quarters for two weeks.
Before I dive into the regular routine, I figured I’d share a few bike and transport pics. Keep in mind I was intentionally not focused on taking photos of this stuff because I wanted to be fully present with my family; but when opportunity arose I indulged myself with photos of people on bikes and street scenes.
Join me for a little taste of my time spent in Budapest (capital of Hungary), Bálaton (largest lake in Hungary), and Pula, Croatia…
Fashionable Budapest resident rolls by the Hungarian National Opera House on Andrassy, Utca. Notice how she’s on the sidewalk because the on-street cycling conditions in Budapest are not very safe.
Left: A cool, three-wheeled pedal trike to get around Margaret Island on the Danube River. Right: A dedicated, two-way bike lane across Margaret Bridge.
A woman rides a bike-share bike across Margaret Bridge as the Hungarian Parliament Building looms in the background.
A couple hangs out along the Danube River under the moon on a warm summer night.
Lake Bálaton is extremely bike-friendly with a well-signed and popular bike route around the entire lake and lots of solid facilities, like this covered bike parking. As a result, many folks use bikes to get to the water and do overnight trekking trips.Few more from Bálaton. Classic old bike across the street from my father-in-law’s house. Bike parking outside a pub advertising my favorite drink, fröccs (white wine with soda water). A very popular type of business sign in the town of Tihany.Scenes from the amazing city of Rovinj, Croatia. I was really impressed with Ilica street in Zagreb, Croatia. Transit vehicles dominate, there are very few cars, it’s at-grade with adjacent sidewalks, it’s quiet and safe.
Thanks for taking a look at these. It feels good to be home and I appreciate your patience and support while I was gone. Here’s one last pic of the fam and I up in the Castle District in Budapest.
Founder of BikePortland (in 2005). Father of three. North Portlander. Basketball lover. Car driver. If you have questions or feedback about this site or my work, contact me via email at maus.jonathan@gmail.com, or phone/text at 503-706-8804. Also, if you read and appreciate this site, please become a paying subscriber.
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Welcome back and I love your cityscape pics! It just looks so gorgeous, colorful and full of life. I really enjoyed the pics without cars in the small streets with bollards unmolested and all the foot traffic. It must have taken a strong will to come back after such a lovely time and seeing such beautiful scenery.
Yes I saw a ton of stuff that had me very envious. The one big takeaway that wasn’t exactly infrastructure-related was how Hungary and Croatia regulate driving in general. That is, everyone has a very legible license plate and there are speed cameras and license plate readers everywhere. In Hungary, there is a zero tolerance policy on drinking and driving! That was really amazing. And not only is it a national law, people actually care about it and obey it. I realize the socio-political context is very different over there, but it was interesting nonetheless to be in a place where folks simply do not drink and drive – given how normalized it is in the US.
There are other places in Europe with similar views on drunk driving. I used to drive after drinking frequently, like everyone else. I lived in Iceland for 3 years where they have a zero-tolerance and regulated driving. My first week back in the US I went to a happy hour and was horrified. I now have a similar zero-tolerance on drinking and driving. It’s actually the reason I got back on a bike!
The Foibe massacres and the ethnic cleansing of Istria after WWII completely eradicated the Italian population in Istria but guilt-ridden Croats still recognize Italian as a national language even though only something like 0.5% of Croats speaks Italian as their first language.
However that doesn’t stop Italians from visiting their fellow EU countries like Croatia where their Euro goes further, especially when the country is next door.
And the Euro was probably being widely used for many cash transactions even before then, much like in Northern Ireland and Sweden today, or the US dollar in Canada.
resopmok
1 month ago
You can take a person from their bike, but you can’t take the bike from their soul!
Rod B.
1 month ago
Thanks for the pics. I was in Croatia last year and loved Rovinj – its built environment definitely has reminders of its historic ties to Venice. One thing that struck me was how vibrant its public places were (as was the case with other towns), with no homeless camping, despite Croatia being a much less wealthy country than the US. Talking to locals, it was clear they had more public supports for housing and mental health care (and it helps that they have a national approach). However, they also were strict about not allowing camping on public streets and squares – which approach I know would not pass muster in Portland. It does make for very vibrant and enjoyable public places. We can’t have great public places in Portland until we (and the entire West Coast?) get our acts together in terms of housing and access to behavioral health and drug addiction services. Croatians I spoke to who had been to the US were amazed that such a wealthy country had so many destitute and mentally unstable people living on the streets of our cities.
Vans
1 month ago
Welcome back to the deep end my friend.
Hope you got some recharge while away.
Basiluzzo
1 month ago
Welcome back! Your reportage was missed but it looks like you had a wonderful time away. Congratulations for successfully disconnecting!
Thanks for reading.
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Please subscribe today to strengthen and expand our work.
Welcome back and I love your cityscape pics! It just looks so gorgeous, colorful and full of life. I really enjoyed the pics without cars in the small streets with bollards unmolested and all the foot traffic. It must have taken a strong will to come back after such a lovely time and seeing such beautiful scenery.
Hi Jake9,
Yes I saw a ton of stuff that had me very envious. The one big takeaway that wasn’t exactly infrastructure-related was how Hungary and Croatia regulate driving in general. That is, everyone has a very legible license plate and there are speed cameras and license plate readers everywhere. In Hungary, there is a zero tolerance policy on drinking and driving! That was really amazing. And not only is it a national law, people actually care about it and obey it. I realize the socio-political context is very different over there, but it was interesting nonetheless to be in a place where folks simply do not drink and drive – given how normalized it is in the US.
There are other places in Europe with similar views on drunk driving. I used to drive after drinking frequently, like everyone else. I lived in Iceland for 3 years where they have a zero-tolerance and regulated driving. My first week back in the US I went to a happy hour and was horrified. I now have a similar zero-tolerance on drinking and driving. It’s actually the reason I got back on a bike!
Oh and welcome back!
Love the bilingual signs in Croatian and Italian, as well as Hungarian and German.
The Foibe massacres and the ethnic cleansing of Istria after WWII completely eradicated the Italian population in Istria but guilt-ridden Croats still recognize Italian as a national language even though only something like 0.5% of Croats speaks Italian as their first language.
The_Foibe_massacres:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Istrian%E2%80%93Dalmatian_exodus
An example of a Foiba that was filled with the victims of these massacres:
However that doesn’t stop Italians from visiting their fellow EU countries like Croatia where their Euro goes further, especially when the country is next door.
Croatia adopted the euro 1/1/2023.
And the Euro was probably being widely used for many cash transactions even before then, much like in Northern Ireland and Sweden today, or the US dollar in Canada.
You can take a person from their bike, but you can’t take the bike from their soul!
Thanks for the pics. I was in Croatia last year and loved Rovinj – its built environment definitely has reminders of its historic ties to Venice. One thing that struck me was how vibrant its public places were (as was the case with other towns), with no homeless camping, despite Croatia being a much less wealthy country than the US. Talking to locals, it was clear they had more public supports for housing and mental health care (and it helps that they have a national approach). However, they also were strict about not allowing camping on public streets and squares – which approach I know would not pass muster in Portland. It does make for very vibrant and enjoyable public places. We can’t have great public places in Portland until we (and the entire West Coast?) get our acts together in terms of housing and access to behavioral health and drug addiction services. Croatians I spoke to who had been to the US were amazed that such a wealthy country had so many destitute and mentally unstable people living on the streets of our cities.
Welcome back to the deep end my friend.
Hope you got some recharge while away.
Welcome back! Your reportage was missed but it looks like you had a wonderful time away. Congratulations for successfully disconnecting!