The last leg of our journey, the final stage to Constanta, is before us.
For me, this day was the most strenuous and probably one of the most beautiful. It turned out to be 120 kilometres, far more than 1,000 metres of height difference and wind coming from the opposite direction all the time.
The way to the “Danube-Black-Sea-Channel” was just beautiful! Then the hard work began, because from there we had to go 15 kilometres on a street that looked a lot like a German motorway to us.
One thing that was different from a motorway was the many cherry vendors at both sides of the street. Many drivers stopped their cars and went for a chat with the salespeople, also buying cherries, of course. For the biker, this did not make life any easier, because we always had to turn to the left lane, which was not at all my idea of a good joke.
On arriving in Constanta, we went in the direction of Maiama and found the hotel Bulevard. Unfortunately, the hotel wireless is out of order, but my UTMS stick works just fine (next morning, wireless, too, was fine).
Again, we had a day full of special adventures. When we left Dervent monastery, the monks were at their prayers (as they had been when we arrived). As earlier, the sound was enhanced by loudspeakers and transported to the outside world from the interior of the church. Add idyllical scenery, and you get the picture.
It reminded me of my cyclist tours through Tunisia and Morocco. There, too, the Muezzin prayers were always enhanced by a sound system (or seemed to come directly from a record player). What would religious sects today do without technical advancements?
Tomorrow is “leisure day”. We will take a swim in the Black Sea and pack our bikes. On Saturday morning, the taxi will pick us up at 4 a.m. and take us to the airport. The “Carpat Airlines” flight to Munich departs at 6.10 a.m. and we have to change planes in Romania. Originally, I had planned to go to Bucharest by train and then take the night carriage to Munich, but this is no longer possible for cyclists.
What a pity. Now I wonder what the Carpat Airlines turboprop is like. I will take pictures for Felix.
With this, the “official” part of the travel journal Budapest-Constanta is finished. In my next article, I will give a short summary on my experiences during the “River Danube” bike tour. Then I will turn back to the more important things in life!
RMD
(translated by EG)
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