Bikes Gone, Movin' West

Well, it certianly has been a long time since my last writing, and much has happened. So, i will get started:

i last left you with us in Bulgaria, preparing one more ride to Russe, then across the border into Romania. Our 100km+ day to Russe was hot, but otherwise not bad, and we found a nice place to stay. The next day, we crossed the Danube on one of only two bridges that cross the river from Bulgaria into Romania, and made our way to Bucharest. It was something like 80 km, really flat. We made good time, and made it into Bucharest.

Bucharest, put simply, is huge. There are six lane roads that intersect with another six lane boulevard, and the intersections are humongous. There are many roundabouts as well. i hate the things in a car, and despise them even more on a bicycle, particularly considering i almost got a quick end to my trip while trying to go through one (thankfully, all i got was the sound of skreeching tires and a honk).

Greg left us after one night in Bucharest. His last meal on the bike trip was appropriately Pizza Hut, as he was always on the lookout for pizza throughout our trip. In his defense, though, it was the first (and only time) we settled for an American Pizza place. The rest were all European, of varying quality, of course.

Fitz and i spent two more nights in Bucharest. It was extremely hot, but good times. We hit the night life a bit harder than we had previously the rest of the trip, basically meaning we stayed out really really late, but for whatever reason managed to stay pretty sober. Our last morning in Bucharest, we awoke to rain, which was nice because it meant the 100 degree plus days were coming to an end, but was a bummer because in a 15 minute ride to the trainstation from the hostel, we got soaked.

We took a train to Brasov, which is on the edge of Transylvania. We got into town and found it actually quite cool. We were able to walk around with a long sleeved shirt for the first time in a while, and the weather felt quite nice. We spent two nights in Brasov, visiting two smaller towns not far away for their castles and landscapes.

We got up early to leave Brasov in preparation for our last ride, a 115km journey (according to the map) to Sighisoara, another quaint and pretty Transylvanian town, rumored to be the birthplace of Vlade the Impaler (more commonly known as 'Dracula' (insert deep, scary laugh)). The ride turned out to be just over 120km, and quite honestly, probably the best ride of the trip. Definitely my favorite. The weather was perfect: partly cloudy, not rainy, not windy, relatively cool, but not cold. The terrain, rolling, with some hills but nothing too terribly steep or overly long, also perfect. The scenery was Transylvania at its finest. The pace was great. The road was good, though a bit busy with traffic (and a bit unnerving with signs that plainly said no bikes. The cops didn't seem to care, though). We got into town much earlier than expected, and felt good about a really great ride.

Left Sighisoara, and made it to Cluj, where we met officially Fitzy's second cousin-once-removed or something like that. Her name was Lynn, and her husband's name was Jim, and they were two of the most fun people we met on our trip. Cooked us plenty of great meals, helped us sell our bikes (which made the rest of our travels so much easier), and let us relax, while sharing lots of good jokes and stories. They are both Peace Corp Volunteers, working with a variety of projects in Cluj ranging from prison ministry of sorts to work with stray dogs. It was great to enocunter again such great enthusiasm, and wonderful to meet such friendly people.

From Cluj, we trained it to Budapest, a city both Fitz and i had already visited during Christmas. The city was certianly very different with green all around, no snow, milder temperatures, and of course, no Christmas Market. We had a pretty good night, until the end, when we encountered some older ladies who really took us for fools and left us with a huge bill for only wine and schnapps. Was the most expensive bottle of wine i have ever bought, and certainly the least fulfilling. An unfortunate ending to our trip, but does little to shade the overwhelming light of kindness and hospitality we encountered throughout the Balkans by locals and ex-pats alike.

We made our way back to Prague to again meet up with Greg and help him move some of his (and our) stuff out of his apartment. Then, we took an overnight bus to Germany, where we are now staying with Christian, a friend of Fitz's from his winery days in New Zealand. Christian has hooked us up big time with an incredible place to stay and tastings all around the area. We have met some great people, very passionate about the wine they are creating, and tasted some great wine, not the least of which has come from our host's family winery. Greg left today for Ireland, and Fitz and i will leave tomorrow, i for France and Fitz for another short stint in Prague before finally returning home after a year abroad.

Fall is here, which is kind of nice. My travels are half over. The east of Europe has produced many great memories and experiences. We shall see what the west has to offer.

JC