It’s fair to say that Vidin (Bulgaria) isn’t going to win many beauty contests. In fact, it would struggle to win even if the only other contestants were Luton, Krivoy Rog and my brother. However, having cycled here through 70 km of rain, I’m happy to be here and warm and dry again.
Tag: cycling (Page 2 of 5)
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.
Last night was probably the most comfortable night’s sleep I’ve had since leaving Kyiv last Sunday. The room was modern, clean and air-conditioned and the bed was comfortable. So, I slept like a baby and woke up feeling rejuvenated. Breakfast was the usual eggs, ham and cheese and after a large coffee we were on the road by 08:00.
I’m still travelling with Dylan, the other Brit I met on the first day of my trip just south of Budapest and I’m glad I’ve had company for this first week as I get used to cycling long days through unfamiliar places.
Leaving Osijek was easy. We were up early, had breakfast at the 24 bakery opposite and then hit the road. It was an easy morning and as day 5 without a break it was to be a short day and just 50km to Vukovar.
Arriving in Vukovar
We stopped for an ice-cream in one on the small villages on route and an exceptionally friendly old man (also on a bike) stopped to talk to us and ask where we were going. He was interested in where we were from and where we were going and as he left he explained that he was Croatian, but an (Serb?) Orthodox and not a Catholic. It was a throw-away comment, but nevertheless a sign of the complicated and perhaps sensitive issue of identity in the region.
Szia Hungary, Hello Croatia.
Starting early today, we made good progress along the remaining 40(ish) kilometers of the route out of Hungary which is, pretty much, smooth tarmac paths all the way to the Croatian Border. The border crossing was ridiculously easy and we breezed through without any trouble at all. In fact, everyone was very friendly and the border lady sheepishly handed us some leaflets in English and then smoked a cigarette as we quizzed her and her colleagues about the best place to eat.
“How many Eggs do you want? 2, 3, 4, 5?” The waitress asked me as a walked into the dining room at 07:30am.
“three would be enough” I said, as I piled bread, ham, cheese and cake onto my plate.
After munching through the lot, I loaded the bike, thanked the staff and met Dylan at today’s supermarket of choice which was SPAR. I got lucky with the water again, filled up my water bottles and we set off.
It was so hot last night that my deodorant melted. This was a sure sign that it’s too hot to be cycling, but I wasn’t about to let that stop me. So at 06:30 am I crawled out of bed, had a shower, dried myself in front of the fan (for some reason my B&B didn’t provide a towel) and then loaded my stuff into my panniers and onto the bike.
All weekend I had been quite stressed. I didn’t really notice just how stressed until Anna (who was visiting for the weekend) told me how tense I looked. Then I realised how much I’d let work, life and this trip wind me up. It’s unusual for me to g