All in Natural Park
We continue to enjoy the outgoing friendliness of so many folks in Romania. Shouts of “hola!” and “hello!” follow us along the road. And in the small town of Suhaia, we stayed in one of the most welcoming guest houses we’ve ever experienced - where the proprietors went out of their way to ensure we were comfortable and well fed. The contrasts continued, as we cycled through towns sprinkled with gypsy mansions, while sharing the road with even more horse-drawn carts.
We took a few wrong turns, but eventually made it out of Belgrade, and back onto the rough-surfaced, but peaceful Danube levees. Before long, we had crossed the river, and were entering the stunningly beautiful Iron Gates. Through a series of tunnels and cliff-side roads, we cycled past the gorges that slice through the Carpathian Mountains, finally landing in Romania.
Over the course of three days, we cycled through parts of Hungary, Croatia and Serbia. Along the EuroVelo 6 route, the three countries have very different personalities. Hungary provided tranquil riding along remote sections of the Danube levee. The route in Croatia was all along busy roads, lined with signs welcoming visitors to each small town. And Serbia was the most developed, including the country’s lively, second biggest city, Novi Sad.
Heading south out of Budapest, EuroVelo 6 enters a broad plain dominated by agriculture. We cycled for several days on mostly unpaved levees, through fields of sunflowers, corn, and the Hungarian national spice - paprika. With few lodging options before Baja, wild camping was the way to go. So we spent several peaceful nights sleeping on the soft grass that borders the levees.
We rode eastward from Bratislava, brushing past the northwestern Carpathian Mountains, and out onto the Great Hungarian Plain. The route alternated between excellent paved sections, deep wet gravel, and phenomenally potholed roads. But we eventually reached Budapest, the Pearl of the Danube, with its fascinating history and culture.
It took just one day to cycle between two of Central Europe’s most enchanting capitals. But the route from Vienna to Bratislava was not all smooth sailing. We had to maneuver around a number of obstacles along the way. It was worth it, because we thoroughly enjoyed our stay in Bratislava, a truly vibrant and lovely city with a unique history.
We’ve started the final leg of our journey, heading downstream with the Danube River. Cycling through the Donautal Gorge, a steady rain soaked us as we rode past Hapsburg castles perched on the cliffs. Dozens of shrines along the bike route provided a constant reminder that we are still traveling on a pilgrim’s path to Santiago, through villages and forests that were once part of the Holy Roman Empire.
Cycling EuroVelo 6 is all about following the great rivers of Europe. We rode our last few days along the emerald-green Rhine River, and crossed the Swabian Jura Mountains to meet up with the Danube River. For the first time since leaving Nantes, France, we’ll be traveling downstream (and downhill) as the Danube flows eastward. Charming riverside towns, lush forests, and chocolate milk have been some of the pleasures along the way.
We cycled our last day in France, and we’ve been biking back and forth between Germany and Switzerland along the beautiful Rhine River. After a brief, urban ride through the industrial waterfront of Basel, our route cruised past thickly wooded hills and quaint riverside villages. We’re even learning a few words of German, like “radweg” (bicycle route).
We’re discovering many facets of Scotland, beyond sea cliffs and castles. Of course, we’re cycling past plenty of those. But now we’ve also met Scotland’s favorite cartoon character, we’ve admired a famous St. Bernard midshipman, we’ve seen how to run a North Sea oil rig, and even learned a few words of Scots.
Cycling through the Kingdom of Fife, we circled the region’s tallest hills and its biggest lake. Castles haunted by the ghost of Mary Queen of Scots lined our path, as we negotiated our way through the hills, and back to the coast. There, in the birthplace of golf, we got stuck in a cycling sand trap at St. Andrews Links, one of the oldest golf courses in the world. The rest of the road to Dundee went more smoothly, except for that incident on the bridge over the River Eden. Let’s just say, you don’t want to get too close to a flustered swan.
It didn’t take us long to reach Scotland. As the northernmost nation that we would visit on this tour, Scotland holds a special allure. We’ve finally reached the land of bagpipes, tartans, deep blue lochs, and those adorable highland cattle.
We cycled through Dunbar, birthplace of John Muir, one of the great early leaders of the U.S. conservation movement. The John Muir Way took us most of the rest of the way to Edinburgh.
This leg of our journey took us along the wild and scenic reaches of the Northumberland Coast. For the better part of several days, we cycled on sandy, muddy and gravelly paths along the rugged North Sea coast. We enjoyed the sense of adventure, soaking up the gorgeous views and taking our time as we bounced along the rural paths. Biking past four of the region’s iconic castles, we could appreciate how their inhabitants incorporated the extra defenses offered by the coastal cliffs. We also took a day to celebrate our namesake birds - Atlantic Puffins - with a boat trip out to the seabird colonies of the Farne Islands.
Along the Northumbrian coast, we passed through dozens of coastal hamlets, as well as the industrial cities that line the banks of its major rivers: the Tees, the Wear, the Tyne and the Blyth. The trail rolled across a series of unique and iconic bridges, over grassy sand dunes, and past rocky shores. And every once in a while, just to make sure we don’t lose our climbing legs, the route would launch up a steep cliff face, for a panoramic ride along the bluffs overlooking the sea.
