Day 74 - 89 Berlin to Amsterdam. 870kms (Total 3905kms)

Hello from Amsterdam!!!  How long I've been waiting to say that :-)  3900km's done and the last major stop before reaching home.  So close to 4000km...I've even wondered whether we should do a small detour to reach the milestone...but I don't think our weary bones would be too happy & I guess we've already done 900kms more than we first predicted.  I can't actually believe we're here!  I think we need to look at a map of Europe to really take in what we've done.

After birthday celebrations & goodbyes in Berlin, we picked up the Europa Radweg 1 further south & once again joined more bicycle tourists plodding along between campsites.  We passed through many a beautiful town and lots of lovely forest, sipping large beers along the way.  For those of you expecting us to be fit, skinny minnies on arrival home will be disappointed - Germany made sure our fat supplies (well mine anyway!) stayed plentiful with amazing beers, breads & ice cream cafes throughout.

Crossing into Holland a few days ago meant we had to forget all our basic German & unfortunately reverted back to English...we're both so exhausted with (badly) attempting other languages that Dutch seemed just too ambitious, luckily everyone we've spoken to has near perfect English and with our broad smiles haven't been too annoyed.

We've once again met some wonderful people & been treated so well along the way.  Particular shout outs go to Mariam, Norma, Bob & Jim who were staying in a caravan next to us in Munster - they took pity on our cheese sandwiches & kindly cooked for us, as well as watering us with plenty of wine & brandy.  The cycling wasn't so easy the next day.  Also to Rolf, who offered us his garden to camp in & got a bbq & beers in especially.  The main thing I'll take away from this trip is the kindness of strangers, so please folks, if you see any tired, scruffy cyclists passing your way, do remember us & invite them in for a cup of tea - it might just make their day.

On a slightly more negative note, what's with all the bleedin' head wind?!  It wasn't until a couple of days ago when we raced along at 25kmph on the flat feeling super motivated that I realised what a difference it makes & how much its shaped our trip ...I think we'd have done the route a month quicker had we gone the other direction. All about the character building (or whatever they say) though...

Right, here's a few pics and then we're done....until next week, when we'll write our final update from Newcastle!  Thanks for all the support guys, still not sure how many or who is reading our blog but we appreciate it all the same.

Cycling along the Berlin Wall with Stephy Spaghetti

Fun times at late-night outdoor parties

A bike shop made for John

Birthday dinner in Berlin

A posh roadside lunch

The twin town of Skegness!

One of our fave camping spots

John was swept off his feet by our amazing host Rolf

These 45 cyclists were all cancer survivors doing a tour of German children's hospitals...very inspiring

Country number 10!  Holland!

SO excited to reach Amsterdam

     

Day 28 - 39 Bela Crkva to Budapest (Hungary)

Hello!!  It's been a few days since the last post & the best part of 2 countries, Serbia and Hungary.  With the deadline of meeting Mamma Pike in Budapest on July 3rd we had a goal in mind & so apart from an extra day in Belgrade were on a bit of a mission to make up the KM's in time. 

The ride has continued to be mainly flat (which has suited us greatly) and mostly followed the Danube all of the way.  We've tried to follow the Eurovelo 6 route as much as possible, although I doubt how often the organisers have cycled with heavy panniers considering it's taken us over two 10km stretches cycling on grass.  That said, it's helped us avoid the busier highways which is a blessing. 

John unimpressed by the route ahead

Once again the locals have been amazingly hospitable & we've been overwhelmed by the kindness of strangers.  Our first camping experience was with Dragan, right on the banks of the Danube in Serbia who let us camp for free in his garden (even though he advertised as a campsite) and kept us fed & watered with Schnapps for the evening. 

Tan marks starting to show!

As John mentioned, food has been a bit of an issue and it came to a head when hanging out with Dragan and his friends.....basically I'd been ravenous for weeks, feeling very unsatisfied and sick of living off bread, cheese and salad.  Dragan and his 6 friends were having a BBQ, and on hearing I was vegetarian kindly produced a plate containing a block of cheese, couple of tomatoes and a cucumber.  I nearly cried.  For the previous hour they'd been BBQing a whole bunch of fish they'd caught on the river and were whole heartedly tucking into the feast.  Peer pressure & pure hunger were just too much and eventually I caved....after nearly 13 years of being vegetarian (which I still like to think I am) I caved and ate some fish...and it was delicious.

Another clone of our lovely Roo

Another stroke of luck came our way a few hundred kilometres down the line when we were trying to find a place to camp for the night.  We'd set our sights on the small village of Bac Monostor and amazingly it turned out there was a free reggae festival with camping on while we were there.  We met a great bunch of Serbian young people and had heaps of fun dancing into the small hours (well, 11.30pm actually when we both hit the deck with music still blasting in the background) and got back on the bikes with fuzzy heads the next morning.

Hungary has been equally as hospitable and after a hardcore couple of days we finally made it to the capital city.  What a luxury it has been to have 4 days off the bike, see family, have an apartment to stay in and somewhere to cook hearty meals of our choosing.  John's first port of call was the local supermarket to buy cereal & soya milk - something he's been craving for months. 

Hurray for bike signs!

SO!  We're basically half way through the trip.  It's great to have reached a real milestone and we're very excited about the next few weeks, meeting up with friends and family along the way.  Unfortunately our computer that tells us how far we've gone seems to have broken but we've done about 1700km so far and are feeling slightly proud of ourselves.  Now all we need is to reach our sponsorship target (we're not quite half way yet) so it would be amazing if you could spare even just a couple of pounds to help us support New Life Foundation.  Our fundraising page is here:  www.simplygiving.com/istanbultoamsterdam

Next stop Slovakia!  The 2nd half of our trip should be great fun and takes in some amazing cities; Bratislava, Vienna, Prague, Dresden, Berlin and Amsterdam.  Bring it on!!!x

One of the many sunflower fields we passed along the way

A well needed afternoon nap

Waiting for the fun to begin at the Bac Monostor Reggae Festival

Crossing the border into Sebia

A couple of days in the not-quite-so-beautiful Belgrade

Kicking back with Dragan and friends near the Danube.  Not sure where the women are?!

Happy to finally meet up with mum in Budapest

Day 5 to 14 - Vize to Veliko Tarnovo (Bulgaria). 357km (Total - 547km)

What a difference a border crossing makes!  It definitely feels like we're back in Europe now - the mosques have been replaced with churches, the European Union flag is pretty much everywhere and tea drinking on the street seems to have been replaced by a 9am beer o clock - by the locals that is, not us. :-) 

Enjoying a LARGE bottle of Bulgarian beer

We've been in Bulgaria just over a week now and unfortunately the hospitality we experienced in Turkey seems to be a thing of the past - as we pass through the small hamlets and villages en route, we are met more with suspicious glares than friendly greetings.  That said, we had a wonderful couple of days with our friend Simon's in-laws, Keith & Sue, who moved from Lancaster to the small town of Granitovo, just north of the Turkish border, a few years back.  Having tried unsuccessfully to master Bulgarian, it was wonderful to be amongst English speakers again & felt like we'd known them for years.

Arriving in Granitovo for a well needed rest

Apart from the odd busy stretch, the route has been pretty great & taken us through lots of countryside & rolling hills.  The last 60km crossed a mountain range & thanks to a tip-off from Keith we managed to follow the river and therefore avoid the steepest routes.  That said, we still felt the strain & the reality of getting on the bike & cycling every day has really kicked in.  We're now resting up in the peaceful city of Veliko Tarnovo - a beautiful old city that apparently was once the capital of Bulgaria.

There are many horse and carts along the way

Beautiful wild flowers en-route

We've tried unsuccessfully to camp along the way - there's been no camp site so far & when we ask locals about pitching up on their land their reluctant faces tell us its best to move on.  Luckily the hotels here are very cheap, but we can't wait to get the tent up, especially after carrying it up all those hills!

One of our road-side supporters

First 500km on the clock, yay!

Next stop Romania, possibly in 3 or 4 days time, depending on where we decide to cross the Danube.  Big thanks to everyone who's sponsored us so far, the folk at New Life Foundation are in touch regularly and very grateful for all contributions :-)  www.simplygiving.com/istanbultoamsterdam 

      

Week 1 in Pics...

Day 1...leaving Istanbul at 6.30am

One of many roadside chai's along the way

Hiding from the rain

One of our host family's along the way

Cycling through the Turkish countryside

Lots of beautiful mosques

Arriving in Bulgaria

Day 1 to 4 - Istanbul to Vize (Turkey). 190km

The bicycle tour has begun, and what a start.  Leaving Istanbul at 6.30am on Tuesday with our saddle bags packed , we began our long ride home and it's been a great first few days.   It's been a loooooong time (over a year!) since either of us have done any exercise so we've been easing in gently with about 50km a day.  I'd convinced myself we'd somehow manage to avoid hills along the way but unfortunately was proven wrong - thank goodness for gears.  That said, we've enjoyed every minute & it's been beautiful scenery the whole way.

Everyone's taken great interest in our trip - whether it be beeps from passing cars to people waving us down to stop for a cup of tea.  We've been overwhelmed by the kindness of the Turkish people we've met & have barely spent any money in the past few days - cups of tea, beer, meals & even accomodation has been plentiful.  We've stayed with a farmer, his brothers and herd of water buffalo in the town of Islikar, camped in a picnic area near Alakan & stayed with Atim & his family in the village of Safaalan.  None of Atim's family spoke a word of English but we still managed to get our own room, 2 hearty meals, a tour of the village, the local Mosque opened up especially for us so we could look round, introductions to all of the neighbours & an endless supply of tea.  What more could you ask for?!  Last night we 'couchsurfed' in Vize, despite the fact that our host has gone away for the weekend - he just left us his keys & told us to make ourselves at home. 

The route has been great so far, despite the hills, one torrential downpour & our map being slightly out of date.  Today we're heading onto the town of Kirklareli and in 2 or 3 days expect to be in Bulgaria. Sorry about the lack of photos, I'm just about ready to throw this computer out of the window so better sign out before that happens.  Until next time... 






  

   

England Here We Come!

The time has finally come.....bikes have been bought, panniers packed, camping equipment assembled & our things have been reduced to 1/3.  After a wonderful couple of weeks with family, friends & strangers we're ready to set off on our next adventure.  At dawn tomorrow we'll leave the centre of Istanbul & head westward towards Bulgaria, beginning the long journey home.

The Blue Mosque, Istanbul

We're so excited to finally be heading off on the bike trip - something we've been planning & looking forward to for a very long time.  It finally became real when we bought the bikes - there's no turning back now. :-)  Lots of people have shown great interest in our trip & we must say a HUGE thanks to everyone who has visited our fundraising page so far & made a donation to New Life Foundation.  It's been a great motivation and we've been overwhelmed by the support that's been shown.

Tasty Turkish Treats

The past couple of weeks have been really wonderful & we've had such a great time seeing family & meeting new friends.  It's fair to say we've been spoilt rotten - first by John's cousin & family in Hong Kong, then by our various couchsurfing hosts and this weekend by John's folks in Istanbul.  We've also been pretty astounded by the kindness of strangers - Istanbul has no shortage of friendly people wanting to say hello and help where they can.  Yesterday on a stroll through the park, we noticed an amazing coal-fired water heater being used to heat a kettle - I asked if I could take a picture & the next thing we knew we had 4 cups of tea in our hands & a large family stood around smiling & chatting away in Turkish.  Even though neither of us could speak the other's language, it really didn't matter - we were all happy to have met the other & somehow managed to establish who was who.

Our new couchsurfing friends

Like Father Like Son

It's been a great week in Istanbul - a wonderful city rich in history with a west/middle eastern blend & plenty to see & do.  It's been great to see John's parents & although we're still loving the travels has made us excited about getting home & seeing everyone again.  First things first though - we must saddle up & be on our way.  Wish us luck!x

Goodbye Istanbul, it's been fun!