Day 34 - Orsova to Calafat - 136.2 kms

The day started early again with us up and about at 5.30 am

The aim of the day was to ride to a bike shop in Drobeta to get a few things seen to on our bikes then move on for the red of the ride. The bike shop was at the 30 km mark

The first part of the ride was on a busy main highway with a lot of trucks. Later cycle.travel took us on some very seedy back roads to the bike shop. We arrived at the bike shop at 9.00 am and unfortunately it was not open.... we have been assured that it will open this morning so we found a coffee shop to have a coffee and wait in a more comfortable place.

After coffee we were in contact with the owner of the bike shop and were able to get our bikes serviced.

I must John did a wonderful job of checking brakes, wheels , chains, crank etc.He had a wonderfully clean workshop and was very thorough in what he did.

My big problem was not enough oil on the chain and I will need to get my crank checked when I get home.

The whole serving was about 2 hours and the bikes were a lot better for it...there should be a similar service for the riders!!!

After having a light lunch courtesy of the local supermarket we were on our way for the remaining 90 kms.... bearing in mind we started after lunch at about 1.00 pm ... this was gooto be a long afternoon. 

The ride was mostly on a major artery road and the surface was great... there was plenty of shoulder to allow us to be off the main part of the road but the traffic was terrible. For a Sunday the numbers of trucks was amazing.

Chris and I took turns on doing 5 kms each and as it was very hot ( early 30’s) we used the change over as a time to have a drink to keep the fluids up.

This worked really well on a very busy road and although the ride was challenging with a few short climbs, the time went well.

We arrived at the accommodation at about 7.00 pm completely knackered ( Aussie term for being tired) and checked in to our room. I would love to know how many times our room is not on the ground floor on this ride.... well for tonight we have a room the first floor which is accessed via a staircase outside the hotel much like a fire escape. The stairs themselves are probably spaced at normal height plus another half which after a long ride is the last thing you need.

Before we had a shower, the first thing we did was to down a soft drink.... I had 2!!!

Today was a good day of riding with most of the ride being done in the heat of the day 

Getting our bikes serviced by John was a real win for us both as the bikes rode well after their service 

Tonight it will be a quick dinner and bed!!!

Now for the photos.....

John and I in the work room getting my bike seen to!!!

Chris doing the same with his bike

All happy after the bikes were done

I would thoroughly recommend John!!

A view of the country we rode through in the afternoon 

3000 kms up.,.. time to celebrate... with more kms to come 

Accommodation for the night and stairs to climb!!!!!

Today’s ride

Day 33- Moldova to Orsova - 99.1 kms

Today started a little later as we had breakfast at the hotel at 7.00am.The breakfast was scrambled eggs but it was more like an omelette.

The morning was beautiful and the hotel we we’re staying at was perched on the top of a rise with a lovely view of the Danube. The Danube near here widens significantly to be more like a lake.

After saying goodbye to our very kind host Corina we were off on the ride at a little after 8.15 am.... gee a late start for a change.

The ride today took us through gorge country where the Danube winds it’s way through some hilly country with sheer limestone hills.

The gradients were not great apart from 2 hills towards the end of the ride.

Most of the day the weather was in the mid 20’s although on the climbs at the end it seemed that the temperatures were higher. 

We made very good time and were at the halfway point at about 50 kms in what seemed to be no time and celebrated with a drink and coffee at lovely restaurant on the side of the road that looked out over the Danube... the hosts were terrific and we enjoyed coffee ( tea as usual for Chris) and a freshly made lemonade... very refreshing.

After the break it was on further up the road where we saw plenty of the locals out enjoying the day. A big activity seems to be fishing where we saw mostly men seated on the banks of the Danube, camping and fishing.

Seems that there are very few women doing this.... 

The men seemed to be very relaxed often with a beer on the table at the early hours of the morning....

At the 90 km point we stopped for a drink and salad before tackling the big climbs. The cafe we stopped at seemed quite fashionable and in a quite up market area 

The climbs were quite short and sharp... about 2 kms for the first and about 1.5 kms for the second. In both cases there was a lovely downhill to cool off and get our breath back

We arrived at Orsova at about 3.00 pm and found a cafe for a drink( bitter lemon) and an ice cream.... I must admit I have never had so much ice cream and bitter lemon in my life but is sure refreshes on hot days. 

The apartment we are staying in at Orsova is very large and spuwith 2 bedrooms, a kitchen and a family room.... such space we have never had before all for $50 Aussie a night 

After having a shower we organised to go on a boat trip up the river to have a look at the gorge and some of the sights. It covered some of the territory that we had covered on our ride , but it was good to see from the river.

The trip took about an hour and the speedboat was filled with local Romanians who were interested in what we were doing.

After the boat ride we found a local cafe beside the river for dinner.... we shared a huge mixed grill with chips which we both could not finish 

It was a good way to finish another day on the trip

Now for the photos....

Chris with our host ( Corine) in Moldova after breakfast...

Early morning on the Danube as we left our hotel 

A work boat travels downstream with 9 barges attached...

Another view of the Danube 

Our hosts at morning tea... a delightful spot in a newly renovated accommodation hotel 

I think this is a haystack????

This was carved out of stone and represents early settlers in the region... it took 10 years to complete 

Another view of the gorge 

Looking down river...

... at dinner contemplating the world!!

... asleep on the boat ride back to Orsova 

Home for night.... second top level with a view of the river

Unfortunately we had to climb a lot of stairs 

Today’s ride 

Day 32- Travel to Belgrade by bus then Kovin to Moldova - 95.3 kms

After a big night of sleep....I was in bed by 7.30 pm and woke up to have a brief chat to the passport guys back in Oz at 1.00am. The guys in Canberra we reassuring that my temporary passport would be issued today.... but you never know!

I was awak at about 7.00am feeling very apprehensive about the day because if I did not get the passport today I would not get it until after the weekend....if this were the case then my ride would be over for this trip and I would have to leave Chris and find my way to Bucharest 

So we had breakfast in the local bakery in Kovin and caught the bus in to Belgrade 

After reaching Belgrade I rang Biba at the Embassy and she informed me that the approval from the Australian authorities had come through and the passport could be issued....hoooooraaaay!!!!

We made our way to the Embassy by foot and had an orange juice and saw my dear friend Biba who issued me with my new temporary passport..... yehhh!!

We then took a taxi back to Kovin which is about 50kms from Belgrade with a cost of 72 Euros.... very cheap and quick compared to the bus 

We then quickly packed and were on the road by 1.15 pm...

Great to be on the bikes again after 3 days in suspense whilst the passport issue was resolved 

The ride that Chris had mapped out whilst I was sorting out my passport was to Moldova in Rumania 

The first few kms were interesting in that I had to get used to the new tyres which are bigger than normal road bike tyres and somewhat slower with big treads 

Anyway it was great to be back on the bike again ... we agreed that with busy roads we would do 5 km alternate leads as a way of making the ride a little more interesting. We also agreed to have some distance between us as the traffic was heavy and there were big trucks on the road.

About 25 kms in to the ride with me leading it was Chris’s turn to take the lead and I could not see him so I waited... and waited....and waited and he was not there. I then back tracked about 1.5 kms and there was Chris on the side of the road with a flat tyre. After fixing the tyre to the bike.... it went flat again .... so we changed tubes again... and blow me down if it went flat again. Luckily we had another tube so Gaya very good check of the tyre we replaced the tube successfully.... whew we had no spare tubes if it went flat again!

So on we went...

The next big challenge was the border in to Romania which required checkpoints from Serbia and in to Romania. I was told by the Embassy to present both my old and new passport at the Serbian checkpoint which worked thankfully. For the Romanian checkpoint I only needed to present my new passport which worked like a charm .... I must say I was  relieved that it all worked as the Embassy advised.... thanks Biba!!!

Shortly after crossing the border there was a relobig climb of about 7 kms.... much like the 1:20 back home. The ride down the other side was excellent with good speed being achieved on good roads

We arrived at Moldova at about 8.00 pm ( note there was a time shift of one hour when we crossed the border) and as the hotel we are staying at is out of town...we went a local supermarket to get some dinner.

Arriving at the “ big fish” hotel was a relief as a 95 km ride in 4 hours 30 minutes was a fairly fast ride after a break of a few days 

Today was a good day with much achievement 

Now for the photos...

Selfie with a rider from Morocco 

Interesting guy who won an ultra marathon and was a representative at the Sydney Olympics

A disused railway bridge in Belgrade we say on the way to the Embassy 

My new and old passport 

A man who was at the side of the road when Chris had his punctures ... he gave us coffee and water. The coffee cups had Marshal Tito on the side 


Above...Chris and I just short of Moldova 

Below- home for the night 

...with an interesting view of the river/ lake

Today’s ride

Day 32- Travel to Belgrade by bus then Kovin to Moldova - 95.3 kms

After a big night of sleep....I was in bed by 7.30 pm and woke up to have a brief chat to the passport guys back in Oz at 1.00am. The guys in Canberra we reassuring that my temporary passport would be issued today.... but you never know!

I was awak at about 7.00am feeling very apprehensive about the day because if I did not get the passport today I would not get it until after the weekend....if this were the case then my ride would be over for this trip and I would have to leave Chris and find my way to Bucharest 

So we had breakfast in the local bakery in Kovin and caught the bus in to Belgrade 

After reaching Belgrade I rang Biba at the Embassy and she informed me that the approval from the Australian authorities had come through and the passport could be issued....hoooooraaaay!!!!

We made our way to the Embassy by foot and had an orange juice and saw my dear friend Biba who issued me with my new temporary passport..... yehhh!!

We then took a taxi back to Kovin which is about 50kms from Belgrade with a cost of 72 Euros.... very cheap and quick compared to the bus 

We then quickly packed and were on the road by 1.15 pm...

Great to be on the bikes again after 3 days in suspense whilst the passport issue was resolved 

The ride that Chris had mapped out whilst I was sorting out my passport was to Moldova in Rumania 

The first few kms were interesting in that I had to get used to the new tyres which are bigger than normal road bike tyres and somewhat slower with big treads 

Anyway it was great to be back on the bike again ... we agreed that with busy roads we would do 5 km alternate leads as a way of making the ride a little more interesting. We also agreed to have some distance between us as the traffic was heavy and there were big trucks on the road.

About 25 kms in to the ride with me leading it was Chris’s turn to take the lead and I could not see him so I waited... and waited....and waited and he was not there. I then back tracked about 1.5 kms and there was Chris on the side of the road with a flat tyre. After fixing the tyre to the bike.... it went flat again .... so we changed tubes again... and blow me down if it went flat again. Luckily we had another tube so Gaya very good check of the tyre we replaced the tube successfully.... whew we had no spare tubes if it went flat again!

So on we went...

The next big challenge was the border in to Romania which required checkpoints from Serbia and in to Romania. I was told by the Embassy to present both my old and new passport at the Serbian checkpoint which worked thankfully. For the Romanian checkpoint I only needed to present my new passport which worked like a charm .... I must say I was  relieved that it all worked as the Embassy advised.... thanks Biba!!!

Shortly after crossing the border there was a relobig climb of about 7 kms.... much like the 1:20 back home. The ride down the other side was excellent with good speed being achieved on good roads

We arrived at Moldova at about 8.00 pm ( note there was a time shift of one hour when we crossed the border) and as the hotel we are staying at is out of town...we went a local supermarket to get some dinner.

Arriving at the “ big fish” hotel was a relief as a 95 km ride in 4 hours 30 minutes was a fairly fast ride after a break of a few days 

Today was a good day with much achievement 

Now for the photos...

Selfie with a rider from Morocco 

Interesting guy who won an ultra marathon and was a representative at the Sydney Olympics

A disused railway bridge in Belgrade we say on the way to the Embassy 

My new and old passport 

A man who was at the side of the road when Chris had his punctures ... he gave us coffee and water. The coffee cups had Marshal Tito on the side 


Above...Chris and I just short of Moldova 

Below- home for the night 

...with an interesting view of the river/ lake

Today’s ride

Day 31- Rest day again!!

Today was supposed to be the day I collected my temporary passport from the Embassy in Belgrade so we awoke early had breakfast at the local bakery and readied ourselves for the bus trip. But alas .... I received a phone call from the Australian Embassy to say that they had not received the official permission from Australia to issue the passport so our plans went out the window 

Instead we spent an hour or so reorganising the rest of the trip recognising that I will have to “peel off” at Bucharest and not go all the way to the Black Sea. That of course assumes that I can get a passport and not be stateless as I am now!

I must admit that when I saw the Embassy staff member cut off the magnetic strip off my passport it gave me a sinking feeling of being out of control of my life.... I am in the hands of the beauracrats to move out of Serbian soil!

To get a feeling of moving ahead I said to Chris that I would return to Belgrade to get a new rear tyre, having only purchased the front tyre yesterday.

So I caught the 11.40 bus and after catching a taxi, I managed to find the ProBike shop in Belgrade. The weather was quite hot at about 35 degrees so having plenty of water was important.

After successfully getting my new rear tyre I managed to find a nice bakery for a sandwich lunch. I must admit the cost of living here in Serbia is very cheap with sandwich rolls only costing about a dollar or so....

After the lunch it was time to find a taxi back to the bus depot for the bus ride back to Kovin where we are staying 

I arrived back at the hotel where we are staying at about 5.15pm

I am hoping that the passport situation gets sorted tomorrow as it is Friday and being stuck here over the weekend would be very frustrating....

I must say that both Chris and I are getting to know Kovin quite well

The town is about 50 kms from Belgrade and it seems to have a real family friendly feeling about it. The families are out at night for dinner in the town square and everyone seems happy 

Anyway that’s enough for today.... hoping for better news tomorrow 

Now for some photos .... not many today 

Local bike culture 

..... and again 

Tram in Belgrade 

Another tram in Belgrade 

They remind me of the trams you see in Jason Bourne movies 

Day 31- Rest Day to sort out my passport!!!

Today was a compulsory rest day courtesy of my lost bag yesterday 

After confirming last evening that the efficient lady at the Australian Embassy had canceled my passport we awoke early to take the bus ride back in to Belgrade to visit the Embassy to get a temporary passport 

The Embassy hours on the website said they were opening at 8.00 am so we resolved to catch the 6.00am bus in to town not knowing how long it would take us to get to the Embassy or how we were going to get there.

The bus ride went over much of the territory we covered yesterday including passing by the scene of the second set of tyre punctures I received after riding on the very overgrown track!

The trip in to Belgrade was interesting in that we picked up a lot of the locals who were either on thoway in to the big smoke to shop or to go to work....all very interesting.

We arrived at the bus station in Belgrade which is an old railway station and got our bearings for the walk to the Embassy which was about 2 kms. We arrived only to find the Embassy opened at 9.00am. Fortunately there was a good cafe outside the Embassy building where we had breakfast of a coffee and fruit jogurt.... very good after an early start. 

When I went into the Embassy at 9.00 I was informed that Biba the lady in charge of passports was out for the morning and would be back at midday or thereabouts. Having to wait was not a real problem as we had brought my front wheel to see what could be done about changing the tyres to a more robust tread. We walked to 2 bike shops without success....

Facing another challenge we decided to have a coffee in a cafe and consult google for an answer... and we found a possibility on the other side of the river....

As the day was getting hot we took a pink taxi organised by the cafe owner to the shop... fare was very cheap.

The shop owner was just what was needed to advise me on the best options for new tyres and I settled on a Shauble delta cruise plus. It will make the going a bit slower but hopefully better on the unmade roads and bike tracks.

The shop is called ProBike and I would recommend it to anyone in Belgrade. The owner speaks very good English.

In the meantime the lady at the Embassy had called me on my mobile and advised me to get a passport photo and be ready to have an appointment at 1.30pm. 

We returned to a shopping mall recommended by the Embassy to get the photos organised and had lunch in the food court.

After lunch it was off to see Biba at the Embassy....

She confirmed that my passport had been canceled and that I needed to get a temporary passport.

I filled in all the forms to do this including a statement on the circumstances surrounding the theft of my bag.

Biba was very helpful and said that the passport would be ready tomorrow afternoon. I must say the Embassy was very friendly and helpful in my predicament and I could not be more happy to have a way forward.

Filled with jubilation Chris and I made our way to the bus station and caught the bus back to Kovin arriving back at about 5.00pm

In preparation for the next stage of the journey, we cleaned our bikes and riding bags and started to think what the next few days would bring.... on bikes!

I think I will struggle to get to the Black Sea so I am thinking I might travel by bike to Bucharest then catch a plane to Paris for the return home. This will have given me well over 3000 kms of riding so I won’t be disappointed 

Anyway as I have learned over the past few days planing ahead can be a curse as challenges crop up all the time, particularly in 2 nd world countries like Serbia 

The day was a pleasing one for me as we resolved the problems regarding my passport and sorted out a resolution to riding on unmade roads....

Now for the photos.....not many today unfortunately 

Me outside the Embassy....with wheel in hand

Tomorrow I take the back wheel to get a new tyre 

Getting my photo taken in the shopping mall 

Chris at the bus station looking after my wheel with new tyre 

The information about the new tyre.... for those technically minded.....

Day 30 - Belgrade to Kovin- 76.5 kms

Today was probably the worst day for me on the ride as it presented some interesting challenges in many respects 

My mother always said bad things come in 3 and today was certainly that and the 3 bad things were as follows: 

1. We had another 10 kms of unpaved roads which were badly overgrown and were as slippery as anything given the rain of the past few days
2. I had another 2 flat tyres as a result of thistle thorns getting in my tyres 
3. I left my backpack at the stop we had in a place called Benatski Brestovak ( BB from now on) which had my passport, money ( about 200 Euros) and one of my credit cards 

So.... it was not a good day 

The good news is that we met a fellow at BB at our drink stop who was simply marvellous in sorting out a local policeman who found the bag minus the money but everything else was fine.... sometimes there are good people who can be the good Samaritans when the time comes 

Chris has also been a great help today in my time of difficulty and I thank him for his friendship and support in this trying day 

Chris even wrote part of my blog today and I will copy his comments as follows :

Not one of our better days yet it will probably be the day we most remember...

A good start getting away from and out of Belgrade something I would not have been wanting to do any later once the city workers began pouring in to work. 

We had the Danube to cross at one of the many bridges. Our navigation was not the best at getting on to the bridge and so we were on the narrow footpath facing the oncoming traffic (now quite busy). These bridges are looking too, however we successfully made it across thr river and then head the challenge of getting across the on and off ramps plus a double train line in the middle!!

We  weren't keen to make a run for it so an alternative track down and under the bridges was located and off we went. Like bridges and the areas under them all around the world this was no different except probably worse in that the local demolition and trucking firms treated the area as their own private waste dumping ground and where the track should have been we had truck loads of rubbish to get through. 

We pushed on and eventually did get to the right trail in the other side if the bridge. 

Away we went until the closed flooded road sign called for a committee meeting. The decision was to proceed. With frogs jumping out of my way  I made it to the other side of the flooded road and carried on. 

Shortly after this the track became "unpaved" and after all the rain we were a bit dubious about following it however the alternative wasn't really an option as that was quite a busy road. 

The track followed thre top of the stop bank which ordinarily is a good choice. However today not so.  It was covered in looking grass and vegetation and clearly didn't get much use. We had 10 km of track to ride so push on we did with a drink stop along the way. 

At the next town we stopped for a drink. Cappuccino for Peter and a cup of black tea for me. My Serbian was about as good as the cafe ladies English and so to help I produced a "English Breakfast" tea bag having learnt earlier on that "black tea" over here results in one getting served "Earl Grey" with a slice of Lemon!

No tea like I had but I did manage to order a cup of hot water into which I can put my own tea bag. Great. 

However when it arrived i had a glass of cold water and an empty mug! At that point I accepted that a glass of cold water will be fine...

On our way again. 

 

Then at about the 40 km mark Peter pulls up with a flat tyre! Bugger. But the good news was there were some shade trees just across the road and no mosquitos. 

Thre packs come off Peter's bike and her sets to replacing the tube. In thre meantime I go to check his rear tyre on the bike for thorns (the culprits this time) only to find that had a puncture as well. Gotta hand it to Peter he doesn't do things in half measures....

Both punctures were repaired and we were on our way again. Came across a village and decided a drink wad in order so we pulled in for a cool one. Had a good chat with three of thr locals and fit under way again. 

Then at the 50 km mark I hear Peter getting am upset. "Why you stopping? What's up mate I said"

"I've left my back pack back at the last cafe"!

And that's how I come to be sitting by myself under the shade of a tree on a Serbian roadside waiting while Peter rides back to collect his back pack.....

Oh Dear...

This is me writing again 

After getting back to the cafe not finding my bag it was time to sort out what needed to be cancelled and it was credit cards first then my passport 

As I said we had a Good Samaritan in Zoran who was helpful in contacting the police who later found my bag but unfortunately I had canceled my passport so will need to sort out a temporary passport in Belgrade in the next day or so

After thanking Zoran and the police it was off to our new closer destination for the night at Kovin. In all the mucking around at BB Chris sorted out revised accommodation.

So it was on to Kovin up the road about 20 kms to finish the day 

We are now staying in a comfortable hotel in Kovin which has towels and air conditioning and we were able to wash our clothes..... small things that go positive in a day like today are appreciated 

Now for the photos...

The road ahead.... we had 10 kms of this yuck!

......and 2 punctures courtesy of thistle thorns 

I have decided to get more robust tyres in Belgrade as the normal road tyres really struggle on unmade roads 

The policeman who found my bag.... his name was Johan

Me thanking Zoran (left) and Johan

Our home for the night.... maybe 2

Today’s ride.... very short unfortunately