Cycling from London to Istanbul - Leg 4

Guest Blogger Ben Wade is cycling from London all the way to Istanbul. Here is the fifth of his dispatches, documenting the leg from Budapest into Bulgaria (via Croatia and Serbia):

Breathtaking view of the Danube in Serbia. Photo: Ben Wade

You may be surprised to read that I managed to cycle from London to Vienna without the use of a proper map. A sketch I copied from the Internet got me to Amsterdam, the signs in Holland directed me to the Rhine, a compass pointed me towards the Danube, and the second longest river in Europe led me all the way to the centre of the Austrian capital. I’m not recommending this technique for everyone, especially if you have a tight time scale to stick to, but it was certainly quite an adventure rounding every corner or riding into each new town. The truth is it’s actually relatively easy to follow the Rhine and Danube Cycle routes. The numerous signs and well-maintained paths flow from one section to the next and if you ever lose sight of the river, a local passer by can always point you back in the right direction. In Vienna however, I decided it was time to get serious and prepare myself properly for the days ahead. So in an excellent Vienna bookshop I purchased a road map of Eastern Europe and the Donau-Radweg 4 guide, by Bikeline (in German). Using these, I was soon very lost in the Vienna suburbs as having a specific route to follow took a bit of getting used to, but the maps came good, and led me along a picturesque route into Budapest. It certainly wasn’t the only time they were required.

Green living in Hungary. Photo: Ben WadeThe official Donau-Radweg (Danube Cycleway) follows the river all the way to the Black Sea, but since leaving Budapest the cycle paths have almost completely disappeared. Instead, the route follows the relatively quiet roads closest to the river, with a few deviations to avoid motorways, factories and the occasional house with a tree growing through the roof! With the help of my Bikeline ‘Bible’, as I am now calling it, I plodded along the Hungarian side roads, crossing the river occasionally on small car ferries that had a habit of not going anywhere until more than one passenger was aboard. In Hungary this often meant a very long wait. At the Croatian border patrol my bike was eyed suspiciously by one of the guards as I stood and worried about having to unpack my smelly tent in his office. Turns out he was a keen cyclist and couldn’t believe that my skinny road bike was going to make it all the way to Turkey. I replied by saying that if it didn’t, I might just stay on in Croatia. That didn’t seem to go down too well for some reason.

Peaceful cycle route in Croatia. Photo: Ben WadeCroatia was a real bonus, especially as I initially planned to miss it out completely, staying on the other riverbank in Hungary. The people I met there were really friendly and so proud of their country. Bullet ridden buildings were a stark reminder of recent conflicts but everyone was warm and welcoming, with one family even letting me pitch the tent in their front garden. The threat of landmines meant wild camping in the woods was a risky way of finding accommodation. According to locals land mines are not a problem these days, but areas are still signed with warnings and should definitely be avoided. Avoid them I did, and I thoroughly enjoyed my Croatian leg along the Danube, dodging tortoise and eating fish caught in the river.

Wild camping on the riverbank in Serbia - Not an official campsite but Ben got permission from the beach owner. Photo: Ben WadeSerbia was the 10th country I pedalled through and has had some of the best cycling so far. They have embraced the bicycle tourer here, and although dedicated cycle lanes seem some way off, the quiet side roads pass through some stunning scenery and are perfect for long relaxed days in the saddle. Check Ciklonaut for photos and information about cycling in Serbia (in Serbian). Novi Sad and the capital Belgrade both have a small amount of cycling infrastructure in place and were fun to explore in the sunshine. The cycle between the two however involved a section of main road that was busy with beeping cars. At first I took offence, wondering when the local authorities would come and tell me to get out of the motorists way. But as yet another car went screaming by with two kids hanging out the back, I realised they were shouting encouragement, not abuse. This is a trend that has continued, made more memorable by the comedy horns they seem to fit to the front of trucks here. The Danube was out of sight for a while as I followed the hilly main road away from Belgrade, but when I rejoined it at Golubac the roaring traffic disappeared, replaced instead by the roaring of water through a steep gorge. Perhaps spurred on by a newfound confidence in my maps, when I emerged at the end of this ravine, I left the recognised route and struck off on my own for a couple of days. Following the white sections on my road map I pedalled away from the river and into the town of Negotin, ready for an early outing through Bulgaria to the Romanian border. As I crossed another dotted line on the map, my final Serbian cycle sign read, ‘You are leaving Serbia. Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.’ Don’t worry, I did.

A short dash across the far northwest corner of Bulgaria has bought me back to the Danube, looking across at Romania on the other side. There is a ferry from here over the river, which I am waiting to catch in order to continue my journey east towards the Black Sea. The boat is in bad condition; dirty, smoking and run by burly men content on kicking various bits of machinery to keep them working. It’s going to be an interesting trip across, but at least I have a map now, right?

Cycling along the river in Serbia on a sunny day. Photo: Ben Wade

Read Ben's previous missives:

1. The Preparations
2.  Leg 1: London to Amsterdam
3. Leg 2: Amsterdam to Stuttgart
4. Leg 3: Stuttgart to Budapest

You can follow Ben's route from London to Istanbul on this google map of Ben's route.

For a wide selection of unique and adventurous cycling holidays, see greentraveller's Cycling holidays in Europe reachable by train.