Garmin Activity: https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/2247878799
120km, 5h52, 452m
We woke up in this little place in Romania and it seemed that it would be a wonderful day. We spent some time chatting with the wonderful people who took us in, we also left them a small present underneath the pillows, and eventually we took off.
They built this house themselves. They said they did not have a lot of money but they could survive like this. Actually, I really admired them. Their kindness was worth more than any material possession.
Roger and I slept in this bed that night
The rest of the house was still under construction. I hope they will be able to finish it fast!
If everything went smooth, we would enter Bulgaria today
There was only one major name on the map for us today: Calafat. That is the border town with Bulgaria, where we can cross the Donau for the last time.
From there, we will bid farewell to this perennial river that kept us company for nearly three weeks. We will move inwards to the Bulgarian mainland on our way to Turkey.
It was yet another of these magical quiet moments. We had a breakfast outside and we talked a lot about that troublesome night which we survived. This filled us with courage to carry on.
Horse wagons... the traditional side of rural Romania. Definitely has its charm
We were navigating on GPS mode, with Calafat as the point of reference.
Roger and Bart on their 3rd Sunday of the trip. For Roger that meant roughly the halfway point
Romania seemed to defend the European colors with pride. Every town had a reminder that this was part of the European Union.
Roger making his way up the slopes
We passed through a tiny village where I saw one Belgian car after the other. I started speaking with the people who lived here and they were a whole village of 300 Romanian nationals who lived and worked in Belgium. They happened to be home for their annual vacation but would be going back soon. They were very friendly and even treated me to some bread and tomatos. They spoke fluent Dutch and French. This was truly a bizarre experience for me.
At some point, we connected to a bigger road which left us with two options. We came from the west, so that meant a turn to the right. Calafat
This was a very big road with a lot of traffic so we had to ride behind each other and be careful.
We reached the town of Calafat, but we first went for lunch and a break in a small restaurant. I had some Romanian Lei I had to spend before crossing the border. We had a spaghetti meal and uploaded our pictures to Facebook. Then, the time came to cross the border...
Our tasty lunch
Taking off the cycling shoes for a while is not bad
Our tasty lunch
Taking off the cycling shoes for a while is not bad
Vidin, Bulgaria was our destination for the day.
The Romanian and Bulgarian border posts were right next to each other and we only had to cross the bridge to enter Bulgaria. There was a dedicated cycling lane for this. Not bad!
Bart and Roger into the very last Donau crossing of the entire journey
I could not believe it! I cycled from Belgium to Bulgaria!
Country 1! of the trip, Republic of Bulgaria
Strange to see that cars can ride 140kmph on the freeways.
We cycled to the town of Vidin, where I got some Bulgarian Leva and then we started brainstorming about our evening plans
We first found road side restaurant, where we had food. Then we realized there was a beach side next to the river where we could camp. We would have one last night of camping near the Donau.
This idyllic place was perfect for our last night of Donau camping
The house over there was a small cafe and the owner shouted that we could camp there no problen. We could even use his toilet for basic needs. We went upstairs and joined him for a drink. We had a nice chat with him and another Bulgarian truck driver
Our idyllic camp site that marked the beginning of Biking in Bulgaria
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