Arriving in Vidin we were excited to see the Mighty Danube.
Sitting on a barge by the river enjoying a last Bulgarian beer. Sun is shining so what more do you want out of life?
Near the border there appeared to be a public holiday with lots of Bulgarian's in national costumes. They were singing, dancing and having a lovely time while we off loaded Sig's bike to take a broken spoke out.
Our bike mechanic in Negotin. He did a great job. His grandfather had been a professional bike rider between the two wars. He died 2 years ago at 93, still riding . His photo and bike were proudly displayed in the shop.Vidin to Negotin - Serbia (Thurs 4th, June: 49 km @ 16.2 kph)
We said our goodbyes to Maddy, and headed west towards Serbia and Belgrade. It was a day of stiff headwinds and some sizeable uphills. Before the border to Serbia, Sigyy unfortunately broke a rear spoke.The Serbian Immigration officials told us of a bike shop in Negotin, the first town across the border, 15km up the road.
We found the bike shop and the mechanic, the grandson of the original owner, stopped other work and set to it with Siggy's bike. He also replaced the chain which had started to slip a bit and the bike is now as good as new.
It all took a while so we decided to stay the night. Our bike man gave us route advice which was good as the road we had thought of taking was not a very good one according to him.
We had a pleasant evening on town sitting in the town square sampling their local wine and having the best pizza.
This town , Negotine, is on the trail people do when riding the Danube path. We can now see signposts for cyclistst. Apparently the Danube cycle path is now signposted from Germany to the Black Sea. That is amazing. Some of sections between here and Beograd are very scenic so we are looking forward to it.
Belogradchik to Vidin (Wed 3rd,June: 53.56 km @ 21.2kph)
After a late breakfast of coffee and a local version of a sausage roll we teamed up with Maddy and rode out of Belogradchik at about 10.30. Earlier we had gone for a pre-breaky walk to view the famous Belogradchik Rocks. The rain and mist of the previous day had lifted and it was a fine morning, excellent for sight seeing and bike riding. We had a scenic ride of mostly gentle down hills and flattish terrain ( Belogradchik is at 635 m above sea level) as we headed towards Vidin, situated on the Danube.
As we approached Vidin it looked as if it was going to be a boring industrial town but we had a pleasant surprise. There was a big beautiful park along the river where people of all ages were strolling, riding bikes and sipping coffee, beers and wine. It had a huge central pedestrian area with shops, statues and lots of people. Along the river were barges as cafes/bars. We enjoyed a couple of beers on one of the barges.
We found a hotel and Maddy took off on a ride to the ferry to check for a timetable. She was taking the ferry across to Romania the next morning and wanted to be sure. She came back 10km later but none the wiser: She was told "it goes when it is full - and not many people at the moment"
We had a pleasant last evening together.
We said our goodbyes to Maddy, and headed west towards Serbia and Belgrade. It was a day of stiff headwinds and some sizeable uphills. Before the border to Serbia, Sigyy unfortunately broke a rear spoke.The Serbian Immigration officials told us of a bike shop in Negotin, the first town across the border, 15km up the road.
We found the bike shop and the mechanic, the grandson of the original owner, stopped other work and set to it with Siggy's bike. He also replaced the chain which had started to slip a bit and the bike is now as good as new.
It all took a while so we decided to stay the night. Our bike man gave us route advice which was good as the road we had thought of taking was not a very good one according to him.
We had a pleasant evening on town sitting in the town square sampling their local wine and having the best pizza.
This town , Negotine, is on the trail people do when riding the Danube path. We can now see signposts for cyclistst. Apparently the Danube cycle path is now signposted from Germany to the Black Sea. That is amazing. Some of sections between here and Beograd are very scenic so we are looking forward to it.
Belogradchik to Vidin (Wed 3rd,June: 53.56 km @ 21.2kph)
After a late breakfast of coffee and a local version of a sausage roll we teamed up with Maddy and rode out of Belogradchik at about 10.30. Earlier we had gone for a pre-breaky walk to view the famous Belogradchik Rocks. The rain and mist of the previous day had lifted and it was a fine morning, excellent for sight seeing and bike riding. We had a scenic ride of mostly gentle down hills and flattish terrain ( Belogradchik is at 635 m above sea level) as we headed towards Vidin, situated on the Danube.
As we approached Vidin it looked as if it was going to be a boring industrial town but we had a pleasant surprise. There was a big beautiful park along the river where people of all ages were strolling, riding bikes and sipping coffee, beers and wine. It had a huge central pedestrian area with shops, statues and lots of people. Along the river were barges as cafes/bars. We enjoyed a couple of beers on one of the barges.
We found a hotel and Maddy took off on a ride to the ferry to check for a timetable. She was taking the ferry across to Romania the next morning and wanted to be sure. She came back 10km later but none the wiser: She was told "it goes when it is full - and not many people at the moment"
We had a pleasant last evening together.
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