ST2 Sultans Trail Section 2: Bratislava – Budapest

Public transport

Public-transport-friendly

This book examines protected areas from a fresh perspective, linking colourful local highlights with glimpses of folklore and lesser-known moments of local history. It takes us on a fascinating journey down the Danube from the Black Forest to the Black Sea. Amid the diversity we encounter along the way, one message remains clear: if we want the Danube region to stay a healthy environment for future generations, we must face the challenge of preserving its natural heritage. Download here

Finkel, Caroline. Osman's Dream. (New York: Basic Books, ISBN13: 9780465023974). “The Ottoman Empire was one of the world's largest and most influential empires. Its reach extended to three continents, and it survived for more than six centuries, but its history is too often coloured by the memory of its bloody final throes on the battlefields of World War I. In this magisterial work-the first definitive account written for the general reader-renowned scholar and journalist Caroline Finkel lucidly recounts the epic story of the Ottoman Empire from its origins in the thirteenth century through its destruction in the twentieth century.

Martin Zinggl (2025). Das ist kein Spaziergang. Auf dem Sultans Trail zu Fuß von Wien nach Istanbul. (München: Knesebeck Verlag, ISBN 978-3-95728-857-8)."Schneller als der Sultan – zu Fuß von Wien nach Istanbul.  Martin Zinggl sucht einen Ausweg aus der Krise – und macht sich zu Fuß auf den Weg von Wien nach Istanbul. 2400 Kilometer, acht Länder, alte Pfade, neue Begegnungen. Der Balkan empfängt ihn mit berührender Gastfreundschaft und skeptischen Blicken; die Straßen erzählen Geschichten von Flucht. Hoffnung und Alltag. Eine Reiseerzählung mit Tempo und Tiefgang – über das Gehen, das Staunen und das Fremdsein."

Ivo Andrić. The Bridge over the River Drina, (originally published in 1945), ISBN 978-1-860-46058-6. A sweeping historical novel tracing four centuries of life in the Bosnian town of Višegrad, centred on the iconic Mehmed Paša Sokolović Bridge. The novel uses the bridge as a powerful symbol—of connection, division, endurance, and the passage of time—while portraying the intertwined destinies of Christians, Muslims, Jews, and others living in the region.

Robert Dankoff & Sooyong Kim. An Ottoman Traveller. Selections from the Book of Travels of Evliya Çelebi. (ISBN 978-1906-07758-1). An Ottoman Traveller is a curated English-language selection from the Seyahatname, the vast ten‑volume travel narrative of Evliya Çelebi (1611–c.1685), the most celebrated traveller of the Ottoman Empire. Dankoff and Kim’s edition distils thousands of pages of lively, humorous, and richly detailed observations into an accessible volume that captures the spirit of a man who spent over forty years journeying across the empire and beyond.

Patrick Leigh Fermor trilogy. A Time of Gifts (ISBN 1-59017-165-9), Between the Woods and the Waters. (ISBN 0-14-009430-X). The Broken Road. From the Iron Gates to Mount Athos (ISBN 978-1-84854-754-4). Patrick Leigh Fermor’s trilogy is one of the great achievements of 20th‑century travel literature—a luminous reconstruction of the 18‑year‑old author’s 1933–34 walk across Europe toward Constantinople. Each volume captures a different stretch of the journey, blending youthful immediacy with the older Fermor’s erudition, humour, and reflective depth.

Freizeitkarten, downloadable OSM maps for Garmin, PC, and Android. Download here