866 miles (1,385 km) 31st August to 23rd September 2017
The third leg of our ride took us through the Balkans, along the Danube from Budapest to Constanta on the Black Sea, the end of Eurovelo 6.
This was a more intrepid ride, with plenty of adventure. Strange languages to try to learn, with Cyrillic scripts. We could no longer rely on people speaking English, German or French.
We had been concerned about our safety & being robbed, after being told horror stories whilst riding in Hungary on our previous ride. But instead we discovered the joyous & friendly welcome of the peoples of Serbia & Romania. But we did have a few very challenging canine encounters.
Our original plan was to ride Eurovelo 6 to southern Romania, then cycle South East across Bulgaria into Turkey, ending the ride in Istanbul. But our ride had to be revised when Alysun received the news that her father had passed away, so we headed to the end of Eurovelo 6 and flew home early from Bucharest.
There is a Flickr Album of Tim’s photos here…
Alysun’s diary of our ride….
- DAY 01… Budapest to Ráckeve
DAY ONE… 28.5 miles (45.5 km) Tim is in the shower having totally rearranged his pannier bags. There’s no milk so we are having ginger oatcakes and tea with coffee… - DAY 02… Ráckeve to Kalocsa
DAY ONE… 51.5 miles (82.5 km) We rose early today. The Slovakian men’s choir, camped near us are flat out in their sleeping bags under a tarp. We left the… - DAY 03… Kalocsa to Mohacs
DAY THREE… 54 miles (86.5 km) We so enjoyed staying in our little apartment that we are fantasizing about abandoning the tent and just having a luxurious time staying in… - DAY 04… Mohacs to Apatin
DAY FOUR… 54 miles (86.25 km) Today we are off to Serbia. There is a wonderful looking cycle motorway for 25km to the border to get us started, after that… - DAY 05… Apatin to Bač
DAY FIVE… 54 miles (86.25 km) Our first night on a Serbian campsite. All clean. It was noisy with some kind of huge party of a friend/family member of the… - DAY 06… Bač to Begeč
DAY SIX… 46 miles (73.5 km) Our route continued again through nature reserves, along raised dyke paths. So many bee hives, all painted different colours, so the foraging bees know… - DAY 07… Begeč to Novi Sad, then train to Belgrade
DAY SEVEN… 17 miles (27.5 km) 12.05pm…. We have managed to get tickets for the train from some bad-tempered ticket office official and have even found a train with a… - DAY 08… Belgrade to Malo Bavanište
DAY EIGHT… 46.5 miles (74.5 km) The first 11 miles of our journey today I lost the will to cycle to India. The route was bad, BAD, i.e. poor, unpaved… - DAY 09… Malo Bavanište to Baziaș
DAY NINE… 53 miles (84.5 km) Having told me that tomorrow will be a rest day, Tim now announces no rest till the day after, making that at least eleven… - DAY 10… Baziaș to Cetatea Tri Kule
DAY TEN… 55 miles (88 km) So we learn from the pension where we are camping about the special wind that blows against us from the South. This wind, once… - DAY 11… Cetatea Tri Kule
DAY ELEVEN… Rest Day Day of rest at our little cabin house. It’s a lovely spot but the wind is still fierce. Our hostess, the mother of the owner of… - DAY 12… Cetatea Tri Kule to Orșova, then train to Drobeta-Turnu Severin
DAY TWELVE… 35.5 miles (56.5 km) We cycled on down the Danube away from our little house, after a night of violent storms. Our movement sensitive light outside kept switching… - DAY 13… Drobeta-Turnu Severin to Port Cultural Cetate
DAY THIRTEEN… 64 miles (102.5 km) Feeling very vulnerable, we set out again on the road, … What else was there to do? My brother told me not to return… - DAY 14… Port Cultural Cetate to Zăval
DAY FOURTEEN… 61.5 miles (98 km) I had pepper spray in my trouser pocket as we cycled up past the place where the dogs had been. But thank God no… - DAY 15… Zăval to Turnu Măgurele
DAY FIFTEEN… 58 miles (91 km) An easy ride from the campsite after a rather disturbed night wondering if the Romany folk had spotted us and might attack us. Aside… - DAY 16… Turnu Măgurele to Pietroșani
DAY SIXTEEN… 48 miles (77 km) 10.30am… We are sitting in a children’s play area, near a town hall. We often sit in children’s play areas or churches as we… - DAY 17… Pietroșani to Ruse
DAY SEVENTEEN… 34.5 miles (55.5 km) The wedding did indeed go on all night as promised, but although I woke frequently to hear roars of delight or singing, it didn’t… - DAY 18… Ruse
DAY EIGHTEEN… Rest Day Temperatures were very high again today and I felt my legs collapsing under me. We managed to change money and restock some of our provisions, then… - DAY 19.. Ruse to Tutrakan
DAY NINETEEN… 40.5 miles (65 km) An early start to avoid the heat, but it turned out to be pleasantly cool. However, as soon as we got up, Tim noticed… - DAY 20… Tutrakan to Călărași
DAY TWENTY… 46.5 miles (74.5 km) Turns out the proprietor was willing to go to extraordinary efforts to provide porridge for me. She phoned her daughter as I carefully described… - DAY 21… Călărași to Constanța (by train)
DAY TWENTY ONE… 3.5 miles (5.5 km) The train is due to leave at 7.36am to take us the last leg of our journey to the Black Sea. We are… - DAY 22… Constanța to Bucharest (by train)
DAY TWENTY TWO … 11.25 miles (18 km) The journey home began with a train journey to Bucharest, ready to fly back home early the next day. Our train arrived…