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Anna Posyniak‑Dutka Discover Europe with EuroVelo

EuroVelo is a network of 17 long distance cycle routes connecting places of cultural, historical, and natural interest all across Europe. Here are four of them.

A)        The Baltic Sea Cycle Route is a 9,000‑km‑long scenic route that goes along the Baltic Sea coast crossing beautiful beaches, thick woodlands, and impressive cliffs. It is also cultural since you will visit 5 capitals. To mention just a few places of interest, you will be able to see the UNESCO World Heritage SiteUNESCO World Heritage SiteUNESCO World Heritage Site shared by Lithuania and Russia, the amazing Curonian SpitCuronian SpitCuronian Spit. This 98‑kilometre long sand‑dune spit separates the Curonian Lagoon from the Baltic Sea coast and offers breathtaking views. Cycling along this route you will be able to admire the highest moving sand dunesmoving sand dunes [moving sand dune]moving sand dunes in Europe. They are between 35 and 60 metres high. For history buffshistory buffs [history buff]history buffs the Hanseatic city of Lubeck with its landmark seven towers is an absolute must‑see. It’s equally famous for its marzipanmarzipanmarzipan.

B)        If you choose the East European Route you can start your trip in sunny Greece and finish at the northernmost pointnorthernmost pointnorthernmost point of Europe accessible by car, which is the North Cape. You will need a good variety of outdoor clothing in your pannierspanniers [pannier]panniers, as you will be exposed to all sorts of elementselements [element]elements cycling 6,550 kilometres from the Mediterranean to the North Sea. Passing through Greece, don’t forget to consult the local oracleoracleoracle, Pythia, whose seat has been in Delphi for centuries. Further north you will cycle through Belgrade, Skopje, the Tokaj Wine region, and the Wieliczka Salt Minesalt mineSalt Mine. The last attraction is a whole underground infrastructure, including a chapel and many statues, carved in rock salt. You will have a chance to rest a bit from cycling while crossing the Gulf of Finland from Tallinn to Helsinki by ferry. Finland and Norway are areas with extensive woodlands and crystal clear lakes, so don’t forget your insect repellentinsect repellentinsect repellent as there are many hungry mosquitos there!

C)   If volatile weathervolatile weathervolatile weather does not put you offput you off [put someone off]put you off, the North Sea Cycle Route is for you. The diversity of landscapes and historical richness of this expedition will make up formake up formake up for all the inconveniences which you may experience from the wind or rain. You’ll set offset offset off from the northernmost part of the United Kingdom, the Shetland Islands. This subarctic archipelagosubarctic archipelagosubarctic archipelago has been inhabited since the Mesolithic period and offers unique archaeological sites such as Norse settlementsNorse settlements [Norse settlement]Norse settlements or prehistoric ruins of a temple. The islands are also packed with sites which are a photographer’s heaven. From there, you will cycle all along the British east coast down to the English Channel. Don’t spend too much time in the big cities on the way as they are easily reachable in the form of city breaks. Save time to explore the pristinepristinepristine south‑west coast of Norway: small towns with white wooden houses, fishing villages, and a glittering seaglittering seaglittering sea. And just like in Great Britain, here too you will experience some unforgettable close ups withclose ups with [close up with]close ups with the forces of nature.

D)   EuroVelo 2, the Capitals Route, takes cyclists across six European capitals and a huge part of history. From Dublin to Moscow you will explore the essence of the Old Continent’s culture. There are so many attractions to sightsee that you need to plan carefully. The terrain is very cyclist‑friendly as this route is mostly marked along local cycle paths or dirt roadsdirt roads [dirt road]dirt roads on European lowlandslowlands [lowland]lowlands. Most of these places nowadays have a fairly good network of cycle pathscycle paths [cycle path]cycle paths. However, the further east you go, the more careful you need to be while cycling along with the motoristsmotorists [motorist]motorists as bikers are not always considered welcome participants in the local traffic. You will witness the differences between western and eastern Europe from the perspective of two wheels.

1 Źródło: Anna Posyniak‑Dutka , [na podstawie:] https://en.eurovelo.com/about-us [dostęp 10.02.2022], https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curonian_Spit [dostęp 10.02.2022], https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4BPv1PfVEw [dostęp 10.02.2022], licencja: CC BY-SA 3.0.