We took it easy today and caught the train from Vrsac to Pancevo and cycled for only the last 18km. We arrived in Belgrade after lunch and went to explore the city, Leo went on the communist tour and I went on the free walking tour. Both started at Republic Square, near statue of Prince … Continue reading EU Day 47-48: Riding Pancevo (SRB) to Belgrade (SRB) plus rest day
Today's ride was split in half by a nice ferry trip, where we met a group of British cycle tourers, going in the opposite direction to Turkey. It was quite hot and the ferry left at 12.15 so we were keen to cycle quickly to our accommodation. We arranged an airbnb booking and stayed with … Continue reading EU Day 46: Riding Vinci (SRB) to Vrsac (SRB)
It was a lovely day on the Danube River, but the scenery was completely different, there were plenty of sheer cliff faces with a mixture of colours and shapes. Luckily there were tunnels to take us through the mountains rather than over them and the roads were so smooth and quiet. There was one climb … Continue reading EU Day 45: Riding Drobeta-Turnu Severin (ROM) to Vinci (SRB)
Strava's Gran Fondo challenge for August is to cycle 150km in one ride, or you could do it over 24 hours, but I prefer to just knock it out in one go. Leo was happy to pass on this event, so we rode to the first checkpoint at 55km, then split our paths afterwards. It … Continue reading EU Day 43-44: Riding Zajecar (SRB) to Drobeta-Turnu Severin (ROM) plus rest day
Today's ride was particularly scenic, at times it felt like I was in New Zealand again, surrounded by sheer cliff faces while cycling alongside running water. We started our day with some borek, a common breakfast food comprised of pastry and a filling of ricotta cheese and spinach, plus other sweets from the bakery. It … Continue reading EU Day 42: Riding Pirot (SRB) to Zajecar (SRB)
We were still feeling a bit sore today, so we decided to get a taxi since the train from Sofia to Pirot only runs at night time. None of the taxis wanted to cross the Bulgaria/Serbia border and we understood why. It took over an hour and a half to get through passport control, meanwhile … Continue reading EU Day 41: Riding Sofia (SRB) to Pirot (SRB)
The big quarter century! I woke up at 4am to the sounds of thunder and heavy rain and went on the balcony to fetch our drenched laundry. Leo woke up too, wished me happy birthday and played the "Lisa it's your birthday" tune from The Simpsons, while we wrung out our wet clothes in the … Continue reading EU Day 39-40: 25th Birthday, Riding Blagoevgrad (BUL) to Sofia (BUL) and Rest
We hoped today's ride would be easy, but we braced ourselves for the worst, since we had to cross the ridge between Macedonia and Bulgaria. It was a cool morning and we eased into the ride nice and early. We had lunch at the midpoint in Delchevo, but it was a dud restaurant which took … Continue reading EU Day 38: Riding Lake Berovo (MKD) to Blagoevgrad (BUL)
I've probably said this before, but this was by far, the hardest ride on the tour. Initially it was straightforward, but we knew there was going to be a tough climb after the petrol station at the 12km mark. The climb took me two and a half hours and at one point, I got off … Continue reading EU Day 37: Riding Strumitsa (MKD) to Lake Berovo (MKD)
Today's ride was easy, we left before 8am and had plenty of time to ride before it started getting hot. We finished before lunch time and it felt strange to be in a bigger city, but we arrived during the Strumitsa Open Festival, so there were activities at night. After dinner, I went for the … Continue reading EU Day 36: Riding Star Dojran (MKD) to Strumitsa (MKD)
Jenny on Wheels 