Budapest to Bucharest

We had heard mixed reports about travelling to Romania, most of them negative but we decided go to Bucharest the capital as it was so close to our final destination, the Black Sea.

We travelled all day by train (with reserved seats) through very pleasant countryside, around or through mountain ranges and occasional meeting up in places with the Danube River and following along its banks for miles. The further east we travelled the more noticeable the decline in the peoples living standards. Homes and farms in the rural areas were at best rudimentary and farming practices, from what we could see from the train, were labour intensive with grass being cut by hand with scythes and hay being stacked using big wooden pitch forks. Obsolete, redundant infrastructure everywhere to be seen near, and in, the towns and cities. Where new factories had been built there was little thought, effort (and probably money) put into removing the old stuff. The railway station buildings were literally crumbling, tracks and sleepers covered in weeds and rusty and dilapidated rolling stock crowded the marshalling yards.

Mountain stream cascading down to the Danube River.

Traveling through the Carpathian Mountains on our way to Bucharest.

View from the train following the Danube.

We arrived in Bucharest close to midnight, we'd pre-booked a room in the Ibis Hotel close to the station. We'd been advised that many people were doing it tough and living rough in Bucharest and to be careful of pickpockets, people begging and even wild dogs that were said to be roaming around the seedier areas.Well we saw a few people begging and many people sleeping in cardboard boxes around the station area but no dogs to worry us.

The city of Bucharest turned out to be a pleasant surprise, we really enjoyed our time there looking around the historic buildings, learning a bit of the history (enough to wet our appetite to know more) and exploring the "old town" lane ways and street restaurants. Another city that we both agreed we'd like to revisit and to go further out into the country.

Ceausescu's (obscenely decadent) Palace. An iconic building in the centre of the city that led to his downfall and execution in 1989.

There are a number of YouTube clips showing the interior of the palace, it's worth having a look to see where the peoples money was spent.

Our final cycling destination was to have been the Black Sea Port of Constanta at the Danube Delta but now we're travelling by train we decided to head to Istanbul and head to the Black Sea by boat up the Bosphorus Straight between Europe and asia in Turkey.

Vienna to Budapest

We continue our Danube journey by train, about a 3 hour trip from Vienna to Budapest. The train carriage was great although crowded with students on their Uni' summer migration across Europe. Cheap with comfy seats and big windows to enjoy the countryside and the river. We were to learn though that a ticket to ride only allows you to be on the train, you pay a further fee for a reserved seat. After two hours some locals got on and demanded our  seats that we assumed were ours on a first-come-first-serve basis. Not so, as a local businessman sitting nearby explained; for only a few Euros extra you get a ticket with a seat number allocated. All turned out well though and we enjoyed the journey and an hours discussion on all things Hungarian with Istvan the businessman. The seat "stealers" were bit put-out and surly but we could live with that.

We loved Budapest from the moment we arrived, the architecture, the history and the friendly people.
We were to learn that it's really two cities combined, Buda on the hilly side of the river and Pest on the flat flood prone side (where all the action and nightlife happens). Every conquering army from near and far have travelled the Danube River over the past 2,000 years to capture and shape the two cities; the Celts, Romans, Austrians, Ottomans, Bulgarians and Communists have all had a hand in making it what it is today.

Heroes Square - Budapest.

We happened to pass this "beer bike" winding its way through the capital. It appears that a dozen or so drinkers get on and pedal while a nominated (and sober non-drinker we assume) acts as barman and steers the contraption. All year round apparently, in the winter time they serve mulled wine and hot cider. Our younger readers can check it out here: BeerBike, us older ones can be thankful we don't have to participate in such crazy stuff anymore!

Beautiful view, if you concentrate real hard you can see the the Danube River and the city of Budapest in the background I'm told.

We packed our bike panniers away, bought two big suitcases and hit the shops.

The Danube River through Budapest.

A couple of ex-cyclists.

Looking for a memento of our European adventure ( as if the sore legs and bruised backsides are ever going fade from memory ).

We've been booking our hotels along the way just a day or two in advance to avoid the pressure of having to pedal if the weather turned bad, problems with the bikes arose or lethargy took over. We use and recommend www.booking.com to search for the best locations, prices etc and any specials ( breakfast/wifi included etc). We've been lucky all the way since leaving Rotterdam but none more so than in Budapest.

We couldn't believe our luck when the taxi driver dropped us of at the Hotel Basilica in the heart of the city within walking distance to everything we wanted to do and see. We loved the shops the coffee strips, the market squares with live music, restaurants and food stalls. Compared to Australia, and Perth in particular, eating out is cheap in Budapest. They really do look after visitors here and getting around is easy using public transport, cultural and historical tours are well organised, the city feels safe to walk around and English is widely spoken and the people were friendly without exception.

The Basilica just outside our hotel.

The Hungarian Parliament building after being renovated and surrounded by scaffolding for thirty years.

We make no apology for sounding like travel agents, Budapest is our favourite city so far and one that we'll definitely come back to.

Next destination - Bucharest, Romania.

Passau to Vienna

We both agreed that the river between Passau and the city of Linz in Austria was the most scenic of all.

Navigating the cycle path over bridges that cross the river and canals a number of times in Passau.

Passau, Barbara feeling sorry for those on a luxury, fully catered cruise ship with their own state room and balcony when, with a bit more effort, they could have been cycling and staying in a tent.

The cycle paths are wider and well maintained in Austria and the camping grounds have better facilities.

We decided to cross the river on the ferry to our next camp.

I jokingly asked the Skipper if there was a bar on board where I could get a beer and he reached down to to his secret stash and gave me an ice cold one.

The overcast weather made for cooler cycling as we headed for the city of Linz. We'd booked into a nice hotel in the city and arrived early to find a place to watch the World Cup Soccer Final. We had been barracking for Germany since the Aussie team was knocked out in the first round and found a great place in to watch in a Greek Restaurant with a big screen outside in the city square; Germany beat Argentina 1 - 0.

Another old relic.

Old relic close-up!!

We had been cycling for over seven weeks and notched up over 2,000 kms since leaving Rotterdam along the Rhine, Neckar and the Danube Rivers. We loved exploring Linz on foot for a few days and decided that we should do more of it in the cities further downstream.

It was time to off-load the bikes.

We were pleased with how far we'd pedalled (for non-cyclists) and although we were tired and sore we were were happy to quit while still uninjured and feeling good. We decided to take the bikes on the train to Vienna where they were sure to be snapped up by other "wanna-be" cyclists.

Linz

Vienna

We cycled through Vienna to our hotel not too far from the historic centre, cleaned the bikes up a bit and printed some "For Sale" signs (in German) that we hung of the back and front. We went into the city proper and parked them in full view of every one passing outside various cafes and tourist spots - never even got a bite.

We consoled our selves with shopping for clothes that we knew we'd need to start looking like regular tourists and decided to try selling the bikes at the main railway station the following day where we new there'd be plenty of student backpackers keen to have a bike to get around on. 

By chance the next morning, on the way to carry out our plan, we walked past a group of American construction workers having lunch at a cafe - they were working on the roof of the American Embassy nearby. They were thinking of buying bikes to save money on cab fares to get around in the evenings and within minutes we negotiated a price and we walked back to the hotel unencumbered and ready to plan our next stop down the Danube - Budapest in Hungary.

The Americans that came to the rescue!

Ingolstadt to Passau

We continue to enjoy the beautiful river Danube as we head further east toward Austria. The river narrows considerably in places and speeds up as it winds its way through high white sandstone and granite cliffs.

No room for a cycle track through the narrow sections and we had the option of pedalling an alternative route over some high hills to get to the city of Kelhiem or take a twenty minute relaxing boat ride through the gorges - the boat trip was good!

In the wider sections it becomes still and tranquil.

The Mains River and Canal connects the Rhine River with the Danube River, the confluence is at the city of Kelheim.

Having a navigable waterway from the Atlantic to the Black Sea has been on the to-do list of many rulers and engineers dating back to 793. The project had many starts and stops over the centuries as rulers came and went, wars took priority, plague and disease wiped out the workforce and concerns over environmental impacts were raised in the last 30 years or so. The waterway finally opened in 1992 and now allows thousands of freight carrying barges to travel between Rotterdam and Istanbul and huge cruise ships to carry hundreds of thousands of tourists.

The city of Kelheim

Sheep and goat herder near Regensbug

We have, since starting in the Netherlands,  cycled through beautiful agricultural land and watched the  harvesting. We've had the opportunity to buy summer fruit and vegetables from the roadside stalls and have often found cherries and apple trees growing right alongside the track on public land and in camp grounds. Blackberries are everywhere but still a few weeks away from being ripe as is the corn.

Came across a gardening exhibition in Deggendorf.

Barbara checking out our location on the map at the gardening show.

We had hoped to have lost some weight by now but the benefit of exercise is hampered by all the good foods we keep finding. The portions in some of the German Restaurants is ridiculous, the bratwurst, schnitzels, bread and cheeses are everywhere and even the smallest village has a bakery with fresh pastries in the window that make it hard to cycle past.

If we have lost any weight we certainly haven't lost any shape, and the padded bicycle pants don't help either, they just move all the bits that don't fit in up and over the top. I'll spare you the photos but picture the 'Michelin Man" in black lycra (with a hi-viz gusset) and you'll have some idea. The legs are getting stronger now but the backside is never going to like sitting on a saddle for six hours each day.

Our last town in Germany is Passau.