We enjoyed our time in Split with its bustling street life, tiny lanes full of all kinds of shops and cafes and a well-preserved Roman palace and fortress. It’s a lot more laid back than Dubrovnik and prices were far more reasonable. Once again our Airbnb abode was excellent. Central to the main area, stylishly appointed, and with all the...
It was time to depart mainland Croatia and see what their famous islands had to offer. First up Korcula, then Hvar. Simply stunning. Worth every pedal stroke! And there were quite a lot. The Islands: Korcula/Hvar Our journey to the island of Korcula involved taking a car ferry from Ploce to Trpanj, a small village on a long spit of...
After downtime because of rain, we were psyched up to continue our bicycle journey along the Adriatic. With rain clouds still threatening, we carefully guided our bikes down the steep, winding lane to the waterfront of Herceg Novi. From there, the road was flat around the bay and the route helped us avoid the narrow, one-way street we had thought...
The 12hr train journey from Belgrade to Bar, in Montenegro, averages 10 tunnels an hour. Needless to say, it was quite spectacular (when we had the sky over our heads!). It was also a little nerve-wracking when the “Old Clunker” crossed the seemingly endless, deep valleys over ridiculously high, narrow and spindly rail bridges that always seemed to dip away...
The overnight train from Sofia to Serbia’s capital Belgrade was old, crappy and smelly. No one seemed to have consulted the EU on this one! A Chinese guy approached us on the dimly lit platform with a worried look on his face. He couldn’t believe this graffiti-covered Soviet relic was really our train. He took one look at his cabin...
It was a short comfortable ride from Ruse, and once again we were thankful we’d decided to put the bikes on public transport. Narrow, crowded roads, with next to no shoulder would have made cycling a nerve wracking proposition. And the detour off the main freeway through steep inclines would have tested our endurance. As it was, we arrived in...
After a fabulous three weeks of Romanian hospitality, it was time to get back on the bikes and move on to Bulgaria. Our route from the heart of Bucharest to the Bulgarian border town of Ruse looked relatively straightforward, but it wasn’t to be without its challenges. The bridge crossing the mighty Danube at Ruse was under repair, but still...
After two months our cycling adventure of Scandinavia and Eastern Europe led us to Bucharest in Romania
The central bus station in Brasov is small and crammed next to the train station. There’s not much room in between buses which makes it challenging to retrieve large items. (like touring bicycles and large Chinese shopping bags full of panniers!) The task is even more difficult due to the constant wave of people squeezing through every possible gap. We had to ferry each...
After the protracted border crossing, it was 10:30 p.m. before we arrived in Iasi (Pronounced Yash). Catalin, our Warmshowers host, had ridden his bike down to the station to meet us. Just as well! We only had about 15 minutes to retrieve the bikes and luggage from the train, and the train dudes still weren’t helping! Catalin enthusiastically boarded the...
