Because we were well rested and because we had everything for breakfast in our apartment, we left early today and we were on the road by 7:30am. Finally the sun had returned and as we rolled through early morning Bulgaria we enjoyed a few hours of smooth tarmac, quiet villages. The countryside in Bulgaria is strangely like the UK with rolling hills and tree/Bush lined roads and fields.
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Now a tad over half way and with 1,104km behind me, the ‘rest day’ today was much needed and as often happens when you stop exercising, the tiredness caught up with me. I was knackered.
Thankfully, Kozloduy, famous because of its nuclear power plant, is a small, quiet and relaxed town and I was able to wander around, buy a few essentials and get my brakes serviced. This routine task was a mini-adventure in itself as the owner of our hotel/apartment led me there on his own bike and then tried to explain what I wanted to the mechanic. This was all done in very broken (and inadequate) Russian, but somehow mechanic understood and told me to come back at three O’Clock.
We stayed in a nice and friendly hotel in Vidin and because we ate when we arrived we didn’t go out to see the city. It was raining and we were cold and tired. So, I can’t say much about the city, other than the fact that it was uninspiring. The weather hasn’t been good since we entered Bulgaria, but it’s not a place that’s won me over …not yet anyway.
After 13 days of almost constant cycling, today I rolled past 1,000km and across the halfway point for the trip.
Since arriving in Budapest at 7:00am on Monday the 11th August, I’ve pedaled across five countries and through hundreds of villages, towns and cities. I hurt, but I’m enjoying it and I’m looking forward to another 1,000 kilometers back into Romania all the way to the black sea and back home to Ukraine.
HOWEVER… I’m not doing this so I can avoid work, drink Lemonade and hangout with friendly Serbs. There’s a serious side to this challenge and if you click on the link below you can help me raise money for a Ukrainian charity that needs you help….
As we didn’t quite make it to Orsova on Thursday, our day started with a long, steep climb up the hill to the west of the city. Once that was out of the way, the road into Orsova is one of the nicest roads on the whole trip – it’s basically one long, steep descent all the way through the town and down to the riverfront. Every cyclists dream.
It has to be said – drivers in Romania are some of the worst in Europe. They drive fast and take very little notice of cyclists and/or pedestrians and totally ignore all speed limits. In fact, I’d say they are even worse than Belgians.
Leaving our super-friendly guesthouse by the Danube, our friendly hosts and their two crazy dogs behind, we left a little later than usual today (it’s hard to leave warm bread and home-made jam) and headed for Romania.
Andreja was an excellent host and great company (as usual), but I’m afraid Belgrade didn’t win me over. Although I’m sure it is, it just doesn’t feel