The End of the EuroVelo 6

We rode up a slight incline and suddenly between the buildings there was a glimpse of water. "The Black Sea", we both yelled as we wobbled with delight into the next corner.

"It's not even black", called Judy. And it wasn't. It was a sparkling, delicious blue that couldn't help but make us think of sand between toes, sunburned necks and dripping ice creams.

The blue Black Sea on a sunny afternoon.

After 2,641 kms of riding along the Danube River from Germany to Constanta, Romania, it was a wonderful moment - some real water. It wasn't New Zealand with the Pacific on our doorstep, but not bad. The moment lasted only a second as we swept round the corner and the view was lost behind a crumbling high rise block - the sort of post communist sight we have come to expect in this country.

These buildings are on Constanta's restaurant row. Others are being bowled or renovated, still others have been given new life as cafés and occasional boutique shops. The overall impression is of dust and grime as pedestrians tread warily so as not to twist an ankle. Pic: J Yeoman

Selfie in front of Constanta's most spectacular building. A casino built in 1910, it was a gamble that in the end did not pay off. It has fallen into disrepair and has been closed for some years. It is badly overdue for an investment by an oil rich sheikh.

Romania via the Danube has been a fascinating ride, if not a fair representation of the country as a whole. The economic gains made since 2000 are not obvious in most of the places we visited, and the tourism infrastructure is laughable. While the six other countries we visited on this trip have EuroVelo 6 signs on every corner - Romania has none. Not one. While in other countries, large parts of the EV6 are on dedicated bike/pedestrian paths, here in Romania it is entirely on roads. Fortunately, that's not a problem. Traffic is light most of the time and a good cycle map makes it easy to find the way.

A last glimpse of the Danube as we turn away from it and head directly to Constanta on the Black Sea coast.

Finding accommodation can be harder. It requires careful planning to hit a town at the end of each day where a hotel or guesthouse is guaranteed. For budget conscious cyclists, costs go up because there are no campgrounds. Those rooms that are available often seem expensive for what they offer - dodgy electrical wiring and plumbing, half hearted air con and views, if they exist at all, of dusty concrete edifices crumbling under years of poor maintenance and neglect.

Constanta street scene. Pic: J Yeoman

That's the down side. The upside is the cycling. 

Over the past few days the terrain has become more varied. There have been some hills - ok, not big ones, but hills all the same. And we have ridden up onto the occasional plateau, where the surrounding countryside has fallen away until the sky seemed huge. Away to the South lay the mountains of Bulgaria and to the north the horizon disappeared in a pale blue haze. 

Light traffic most of the way has meant pleasant cycling.

We cycled between vineyards, and fields of corn, sunflowers, watermelons and bales of hay. Occasionally we overtook a horse and cart - a picturesque moment but a reminder too that not everyone can afford modern machinery.

Mostly we do the overtaking - until the farmer urges his horse into a canter.

The days have remained hot - well into the 30s, but an easterly headwind has helped cool us even if it made the cycling harder.

When we asked permission to use a seat, this man in the village of Greaca invited us into his garden, set up a table and chairs and put out a plastic tablecloth. He came back with plums from his own garden and water from his well. All we could offer was a sweet biscuit which he devoured with such enthusiasm he left a ring of crumbs around his mouth. We had no common language and never learned his name.

Finding shade for our lunch stops each day has not been easy. We love a park bench but the smaller towns don't have them. Instead, most homes have a bench by the front gate - clearly on private property. In desperation, we have asked permission to use them and have ended up making new best friends. Out has come watermelon and plums and tablecloths.

The people have been the best thing about Romania.

Another lunch stop, and we were treated to a paper table cloth and napkins before the man of the house retired to leave us in peace.

We are taking a few days off to rest and plan the route ahead. That will involve cycling South down the coast from Constanta. Let's hope it's not as frenetic as the ride in - 20 kilometres on a narrow four lane highway with no shoulder and an abrupt drop where the seal ended on the side of the road. Drivers brushed past us too fast for comfort and some tooted threateningly. And there was not even one EV6 sign to say,"Congratulations - you've done it."

At least as we leave town we will have the blue Black Sea for company.

This is "Titi" real name Nitu Dumitru, who was another wonderful person we met along the way. He answered the door at Barlogul Sacalului Mincinos Pensiunea at Ostrov, and gave us chilled water, beer and later stewed grapes for our breakfast. He described himself as a plumber and would have been about 25 when communist rule ended. "Under communism", he said,"I had lots of money but there was nothing to buy. Now I have no money and everything to buy." 

Some people still looked back fondly on the good old days of communist rule. "When I ask them what was good about them, they can't answer." Pic: J Yeoman

Judy on Goose Patrol. Somewhere in southern Romania.

Tandoids

Total Distance on Tandem: 18,822 kms

Distance this Trip: 2,641 Kms

Punctures this Trip: 1

Maintenance: New chains required

Bum Status: Mike the Captain: "Bloody sore, Miss Brooks is never coming on another long trip."

Judy the Stoker: "It's a 7 out of 10 with the gel cover but a new seat is required for the next trip."

Best Coffee East of Budapest: Still looking.

Hot contender for Best Coffee. At a cake shop in Constanta. Hot and strong and cakes with enough calories to suit a pair of cyclists.

Keen gardeners have been at work in many of the villages we passed through. Pic: J Yeoman

The Danube - Black Sea Canal, which was partly excavated by political prisoners during the years of communist rule.

Constanta skyline

Judy dips her toes in the Black Sea, more than two years after we rode the first half of the EV6 from the Atlantic in France to Vienna.

Where's the War?

The cobblestones rattled the bike and threatened to chip our teeth as we bounced our way down a 10% hill into the town of Batina, Croatia.  When we arrived, we wondered why we had bothered.

                                       Houses lay abandoned.

It was a ghost town. Houses were abandoned, windows and doors sagged. There were hardly any people, no children on bicycles or in school groups, not even any cars parked on the overgrown verges on the long road into the "centre" of town. A couple of tiny shops were open, one sold groceries, the other bread.

Across the Danube lay Serbia. Three barges were tied up against the river bank.

We found our way to the edge of the Danube - Serbia lay on the other side - and discovered just one sign of life. Among the empty buildings, a cafe had its sun umbrellas out. A couple sat at one table, a solitary man at another was drinking beer. We wanted to join them, but without an ATM in town we had no Kunas, the Croatian currency, having just crossed the border from Hungary.

We sat on a concrete table to eat our lunch. A bus without passengers was one of the few signs of life.

We found a concrete table in the shade and pulled our lunch of bread rolls, tomatoes, cucumber and tinned sardines from a pannier. Our water bottles were nearly empty.

 The far horizon was obscured by a smoky haze, far away something was burning.

Someone wanted a party, but it was hard to imagine who would have turned up despite the suspenders.

Overheard the sky was a glaring blue and swallows darted and swooped across it chasing insects invisible to the human eye.

Once upon a time... Now broken glass panels indicate no-one cares anymore.

From somewhere, a house, came a raised male voice - was it man and wife arguing, or the rantings of a politician on a too loud television? As quickly as it started, it stopped and we were left with the chirping of the swallows.

                      Beside our picnic spot this house lay in decay.

There was a low rumble. "Was that a bomb going off in the distance?"

"No, it was a roller door," said Judy the Stoker. Clearly my imagination was running away with me.

We ate our lunch in peace. None of the usual stares from passers by. There were no passers by, though a white bus drove up and did a u-turn before it disappeared. There were no passengers.

We cycled out the way we came and I looked for signs of fighting, bullet holes and bombed out buildings. They weren't obvious. We chose a route to the next town that avoided the land mines our Eurovelo guide book warned still lay about in wasteland nearly two decades after the civil war of the 90s.

Aleksandar shows off the equipment he and his family use to make wine - including a very passable Reisling. We spent a thoroughly enjoyable night at the "pansion" Bike 2 Bed run by the family in their home at Knezevi Vinogrado, not far from Batina and the borders with Hungary and Serbia. During the Civil War of the 90s Aleksandar and his mother, brother and sister were sent away to Zagreb, where his father thought they would be safer. His father stayed behind and looked after their house. Aleksandar did not see his father for five years. 

This evening we quizzed the man at the house where we have a room for the night. "Where are all the people in Batina?"we asked.

He shrugged. "It's the end of the road."

"What about the (civil) war? Did the fighting force them to leave?"

He said,"before the war there were many people. It used to be a tourist town. Now..." And again he shrugged. 

                               Judy samples a fruit liqueur.

From what we have been able to discover using that well known researchers' tool, Google, Batina had a strategic bridge and during the war tensions were high. The Yugoslav Army had a permanent tank base a few hundred metres from the bridge and at one point UN peacekeepers were stationed nearby to keep the warring factions apart. Whether the fighting overflowed into Batina itself has been difficult to find out, but certainly it was a town threatened by the war - perhaps enough to turn its residents into refugees.

Liqueurs made from sour cherries and walnuts.

On a bike exclusive path on top of a wall designed to stop the Danube from flooding.

Notes from the Road

It's with regret we cycled out of Slovakia and now Hungary. The cycling has been perfect, if not challenging. The past few days in Hungary we have been riding for most of the time on bike-exclusive paths, usually sealed and often on top of the dykes that hold back the Danube. 

                            Fields of sunflowers beam at us.

The scenery has been of crops, wheat and maize and sunflowers tilting their heads to follow the sun each day. The occasional thunderstorm has happened at night when we have been curled up in our tent.

Having crossed into Croatia the EV6 now runs on generally quiet country roads.

Since our arrival in Croatia we have noticed a change. Our route - on the Eurovelo 6 - now runs on roads, fortunately they are quiet with little traffic. But gone are the campgrounds and suddenly we are having to find budget accommodation in "pansions" or in a rented private apartment as we are doing for the next two nights. Suddenly our budget is under severe strain, but our plan is to be in Croatia for only a few days and maybe our costs will reduce when we cross into Serbia.

                 Mechanised might harvesting wheat in Croatia.

              While on the other side of our path, a horse and cart go by.

Tandoids

Current Location: Osijek, the Slavonian capital in Croatia.

Total distance: 17,586 km

This Trip: 1,405 km

Longest Day This Trip: 100 km

Punctures This Trip: 0

Favourite experiences: Drinking fröccs (spritzers - a mix of white or rose wine and soda) near Deak Ferenc, Budapest; free walking tours in Bratislava and Budapest; free concerts in St Martin's Cathedral, Bratislava and in the square in Gyor, Hungary; and the Albertina Art Gallery in Vienna (all those impressionists).

Soviet era memorials still litter the landscape. This one is in a small town in Hungary, where the Soviets are still remembered as the "liberators who forgot to go home."

               Ok, we get the message. Campground sign in Hungary.

These two German cyclists were making a three week dash from Vienna to Istanbul. We felt exhausted just thinking about what lay ahead of them, but they were cheerful and fast, as we discovered when they swept past us a few minutes later.

Church without a steeple. Built in 1822, it's called St Peter and Paul Church and lies just inside the Croatian border near Topolje.

       We've been spotting these straw inspired bicycles in fields in Croatia.

Life's a Breeze

    Mike with Exped air mat. When size is everything this packs up small.

Laughter spilled from the tent. "I feel like I'm crushing a small child. I want to apologise to it".

I peered inside and there was Judy the Stoker rolling up my new air mattress. This is version three and at last I've found one that meets our criteria. First of all it packs up small - much smaller than even a small child - and on a bike, size matters. It's also comfortable, and quick to inflate and deflate.

The mattress is just one of several changes we've made to improve our equipment for this trip east along the Danube to the Black Sea and hopefully beyond. A new iPad Mini is lighter and smaller than its predecessor, a Kindle has gone and we have shed some clothes. Somehow our front panniers are half empty so when we stock up on food each afternoon we have somewhere to put it. It may be our imaginations playing tricks, but the tandem feels lighter too.

We arrived at Munich airport on a cool, cloudy afternoon and found a quiet spot outside the terminal (to the right as you exit), under cover and with a couple of steel benches - perfect for assembling the bike.

    Assembling the tandem outside the

   terminal at Munich airport. 

By the time we had done that, plus changed money, drank coffee and climbed into our cycling clothes, three hours had vanished.

                 Judy with Jasper, our Airbnb host at Erding, near Munich.

 But the GPS worked and led us the 15 km to our Airbnb accommodation in the town of Erding. We spent a couple of nights there, just enough time to explore Munich before we headed off to join the Isarradweg, the cycle path alongside the Isar River which runs north to join the Danube.

It was perfect cycling - a path mostly for bicycles and pedestrians, lots of "nature" as the Germans say to us, and plenty of places to buy food, even if we did have to leave the cycle path for a couple of kilometres.

    Landshutt, Germaby, where we met a man who told us it was 3,333 km

   by road to Tiblisi, Georgia from Passau, Germany. He knew - he had 

                                            driven it.

We have slipped back into touring mode as though we never left it. Once again we are governed by life's essentials - food, water and somewhere to sleep. 

                                             Ferry across the Danube.

For those contemplating the route, there are campgrounds near Eching (Kurz Welher), at Piflas in Landshut (shown on our map but unsighted by us), at Mamminger-Schwaigen and at Rosshofen near Osterhofen, despite what the Tourist Office people may tell you in Munich.

On the fourth day we lost the Isar as it drifted through wetlands and emptied into the Danube. 

            First Eurovelo 6 sign of this trip - we are on our way east.

Suddenly we saw our first Euro Velo 6 sign, then the Danube itself and knew we were back in familiar territory, having been this way two years ago. Hopefully these EV6 signs will help guide us for the next 2000+ kilometres to Constanta and the Black Sea.

With the Danube came cyclists - dozens of them. The next stretch from Passau in Germany to Vienna in Austria is the most popular section of the ride. 

    French solo cyclist Maud at Passau. Her trailer is called Froggie and

    she is carrying several cuddly animals to give to children in Romania.

We've already chatted at length to an Aussie/Kiwi couple (Chris and Margaret from Oamaru) and to a solo Frenchwoman (Maud) who has been collecting snails off the bike path and dousing them in water for five days to cleanse them before cooking them with garlic, butter and herbs. She's towing a trailer called Froggie, and like us is bound for the Black Sea. Maud spent a year in New Zealand and summed it up this way - beautiful, a good place to retire to and have a garden. As for us men - we are "gumboot men", which I took to mean lacking in sophistication. 

                     Fellow cyclists in the campground at Passau.

If the cycling sounds fun and idyllic it is - Germany must be one of the easiest countries in the world to tour by bike. But this is just the start. The weather will get hotter and we expect the EV6 will deteriorate the further east we go. After that, who knows what will lie ahead.

Tandoids at 8-6-2014

Location: Passau, Germany

Distance this trip: 255 km

Total distance: 16,436 km

Backsides: Mike 6 (when 10 is bliss), Judy 1 and going in search of a gel cover for her saddle.

Quotable Quotes from Judy the Stoker

"My bum's got bother. My 18 month golden run appears to be over."