1 Month down, 11 to go!

In this editıon:
The perils and pleasures of free camping, powdered milk, Agents for change, Dogs, Horns, A brief summary of the first month on the Rd. Attempt at translation of the blog (using babelfısh)

The perils and pleasures of free camping...
Much to my delight i found out that there are few rules governing camping ( other than common sense) in Serbia and Bulgaria. Germany and Austria have very strict laws on such things. A big thank you to Marco in the hostel Belgrade for telling me this. Since leaving Belgrade i have therefore had some amazing camping experiences while also managing to keep my budget intact. A cowherd even gave me a sausage and a loaf of bread while i was camped next to a river in the valley south of Sofia! Likewise a delightful young Serbian man and women were very happy for me to camp on their farm, furnishing with apples for dessert! A big thank you also to Hassan and his extended family for their hospitality and kindness.

Powered Milk.....
While it may seem small the benefits of powdered milk are immense to the bike traveler. Unfortunately it is very hard to come by in Europe. it was much to my delight that i managed to find it in a health food store in Belgrade. Thank you again to Marco, hostel master in Belgrade for this one.

Dogs
On a bike one very quickly learns to spot an angry dog! i am steadily loosing count of the fast sprints away from angry farm dogs! it is not the strays that are the problem. They sadly have been battered enough to shy away from people. it is, for the most part, the owners of dogs who should know better. They haven`t managed to get me yet and i have had my rabies shot so i will just keep watching out!

Agents for change....
i first had the pleasure of meeting this nice bunch of Canadians (with a few ring in Americans) after entering Bulgaria. There are 20 of them and each has raised $4000 to fund sustainable micro credit businesses in developing countries. in support of the cause they were ridding from Amsterdam to Istanbul. We met again and following day and it was nice to have some company in the crazy outskirts of Sofia. Thank you guys, keep up the good work.

Horns....
Like the dogs one quickly learns to recognize different horn blasts. There is the friendly toot from a long way off, usually from trucks, to let you know they are coming. There is also the friendly toot of encouragement, often from close range, which is also nice. Then there is the, get the f^+% out of my way, toot. Usually done from close range and often accompanied by a truck passing within a hairs breath of your backside. Sometimes there ıs a bit of the latter two together. The toots, waves and cheers of encouragement, especially in Turkey, have made a few days of pretty average ridding a little more pleasant.

The first month...
it has been one month now on the road and for the most part the trip has been going great. There have been a few hard mornings and whole days sometimes. These have been balanced by some amazing scenery and, more importantly, some incredible hospitality, which has taught me so much about the places i have been too.

Where too.....
İ have a day or two here in instanbul to get my shit together and start the visa train for the countries ahead. its also a chance to give the body a little time time to recover. From here ı will follow the black sea coast of Turkey toward the Georgian border and then into Azerbaijan. Now the fun really starts.



German translation

In diesem editıon:
Die Gefahren und die Vergnügen von, pulverisierte Milch, Mittel für Änderung, Hunde, Horne, a-kurze Zusammenfassung frei kampieren vom ersten Monat auf dem Rd. Versuch an der Übersetzung des Blogs (unter Verwendung des babelfısh)

Die Gefahren und die Vergnügen von frei kampieren…
Viel zu meiner Freude fand ich heraus, dass es wenige Richtlinien gibt, die das Kampieren regeln (anders als gesunden Menschenverstand) in Serbien und in Bulgarien. Deutschland und Österreich haben sehr strenge Gesetze auf solchen Sachen. Ein großes danken Ihnen zu Marco in der Herberge Belgrad für das Erklären mir dieses. Seit dem Lassen Belgrad, habe ich folglich etwas überraschende kampierende Erfahrungen beim auch erreichen, meinen Etat intakt zu halten gehabt. Ein cowherd gab mir eine Wurst und ein Laib des Brotes sogar, während ich nahe bei einem Fluss im Talsüden von Sofia kampiert wurde! Ebenso waren ein herrlicher junger serbischer Mann und Frauen sehr glücklich, damit ich auf ihrem Bauernhof kampiere und mit Äpfeln für Nachtisch versorge! Ein großes danken Ihnen auch zu Hassan und zu seiner Großfamilie für ihre Gastfreundschaft und Freundlichkeit.

Angetriebene Milch .....
Während sie klein scheinen kann, ist der Nutzen der pulverisierten Milch zum Fahrradreisenden unermesslich. Leider zu kommen ist sehr hart, vorbei in Europa. es war viel zu meiner Freude, dass ich erreichte, sie in einem Biokostspeicher in Belgrad zu finden. Danke wieder zu Marco, Herbergemeister in Belgrad für dieses.

Hunde.....
Auf einem Fahrrad erlernt man sehr schnell, einen verärgerten Hund zu beschmutzen! ich löse ständig Zählimpuls vom schnellen sprinte weg von verärgerten Bauernhofhunden! es ist nicht die Umherirrender, die das Problem sind. Ihnen traurig sind weg von zerschlagen worden Leuten zu werfen genug. es ist in den meisten Fällen die Inhaber der Hunde, die besser wissen sollten. Sie Hafen `t erreichten, mich zu erhalten, dennoch und ich habe meine Tollwut schoss gehabt, also halte ich gerade, heraus aufzupassen!

Mittel für Änderung….
ich hatte zuerst das Vergnügen des Treffens dieses netten Bündels Kanadier (mit einigen schellen Sie auf Amerikaner), nachdem ich Bulgarien betreten hatte. Es gibt 20 von ihnen und jedes hat $4000 angehoben, um stützbare Mikrokreditgeschäfte in Entwicklungsländern zu finanzieren. zur Unterstützung der Ursache reinigten sie von Amsterdam nach Istanbul. Wir trafen uns wieder und folgender Tag und es war nett, irgendeine Firma in den verrückten Stadtränden von Sofia zu haben. Danke Kerle, mach weiter so.

Horne….
Wie die Hunde erlernt man schnell, verschiedene Hornböen zu erkennen. Es gibt den freundlichen Toot von einem langen Weg aus, normalerweise von den LKWas, Sie zu informieren sie kommen. Es gibt auch den freundlichen Toot der Ermutigung, häufig vom aus nächster Nähe, das auch nett ist. Dann gibt es, erhalten das f^+% aus meiner Weise, Toot heraus. Normalerweise getan vom aus nächster Nähe und von einem LKW häufig begleitet, der innerhalb eines Haaratems Ihrer Rückseite überschreitet. Manchmal dort ıs eine Spitze der letzten zwei zusammen. Die Toots, bewegt wellenartig und Beifall der Ermutigung, besonders in der Türkei, hat einige Tage recht vom Durchschnitt gebildet, der ein wenig angenehmeres reinigt.

Der erste Monat…
es ist ein Monat jetzt auf der Straße gewesen und in den meisten Fällen ist die Reise groß gegangen. Es hat einige harte Morgen und ganze Tage manchmal gegeben. Diese sind durch etwas erstaunliche Landschaft und, wichtiger, etwas unglaubliche Gastfreundschaft balanciert worden, die mich soviel über die Plätze unterrichtet hat, die, ich auch gewesen bin.
Wo auch .....
Ich habe einen Tag oder zwei hier im instanbul, um meine Scheiße zusammenzukommen und des Visumzugs für die Länder voran anzustellen. sein auch eine Wahrscheinlichkeit, dem Körper eine wenig Zeitzeit zu geben zurückzugewinnen. Hier vom ı folgt der Meer-Küste von der Türkei in Richtung zum georgischen Rand und dann in Azerbaijan. Jetzt die des Spaßes Anfänge wirklich.

In this issue: The 'short' run to the Serbian Border. Angry Gypsys. Getting Hungry and finally getting to Belgrad

I had camped on the Tisza river with the intention of following it all the way down to Belgrad. Alas it wasnt to be! When i arrived at the border i was kindly informed by the rather burly guard that this crossing was only for EU and Serbian citizens. She pointed in the vauge gernal direction of where the next border crossing would be. Clearly she thought i could fly! The crossing she pointed to meant a 110km circuit into Romainia and then into Serbia. One cannot aruge with such things so it was a scowl and a curse ( she couldnt speak english so she couldnt understand) and it was back on the bike.
On the upside i did get to visit Romainia. After a murderous run on the Hungarian side- Chasing the while line with trucks going at blinding speed in both dircetions. Not much fun at all. For the most part though everyone was pretty friendly. I certainly got some funny looks in some of the villages.Clearly there is not a huge influx of crazy cyclsits going through northern Romaina.
I made the mistke of trying to take a photo of one of the really cool looking Roma caravan. Pans on the roofs etc. I got an angry finger from the man and a women jumped off and demanded money for the privallage. Which i didnt have ( as i hadnt planned on being in Romainia for Very long). Someone embarressed i put the camera away and hopped back on the bike.

While the traffic and roads in Hungary were pretty average to say the least the condtions in Serbia proved a breeze in comparison. Trucks tooting some distance behind you to warn of thier approach and then, where possible, pulling into the other lane to give you room. Despite the rather damp conditions yesterday i mannaged to do around 130km and get into Belgrad late in the afternoon. I have lashed out someone and am having a rest day in Belgrad. I had a great night sleep in a bed ( the first in a while) last night after disscussing Serbian and Australian life with Marco the night manager in the hostel to the wee small hours.
After a rest day today i plan to tackkle one of the hilly roads the lead to Bulgaria. Have been more or less on the flat since leaving Germany and figure i am up to the challange.

In this issue: Nearly getting shot.

Well i guess it had to happen sometime. Was bush camping last night and was just cooking dinner when i heard shots in the distance. They got progessivly closer and i got a little more nevous. I began reading though my hungarian pharsebook for 'stop, please dont shoot'. Eventually all went quiet and i was ableto set up the tent. Made the mistake of not putting the fly on however. Murphays law says that that is when i will rain and sure enough it did! Lesson learned.

Am now moving towards the Serbian border. Hope to make it there today so as i dont have to change any more Hungarian money. Bike going ok though a little damp and a little gritty after a hard run on the sand this morning. Giddy Up.

Still on the banks of the Danube

In this issue.



Austrians and nudity, Slovakians and Sex, Dirt Roads



As mentioned in the previous edition the Austrian attitude to nudiny it up was rather refreshing. And i cant say that i may not have enjoyed several episodes of skinny dipping in the Danube while i was there! The Slovakian attitude to shameless loud public sex was perhaps not so refershing. In a rather seedy campground on a lake on the outskirts of Bratislave i had the plesure of being woken by such activity next to my tent at 3 in the morning. Perhaps you can put a few things down to the dark but going for it at at 8 in the morning......

That aside Bratislava, the old down anyway was rather nice. It was an afternoon bolt to get thier after having a wonderful time but blowing my daily budget on musems and the like in Vienna for the previous 5 days.



Dirt Roads.

Igor, as i have called the bike and bob (the trailer) have been copping a bit of a pasting since leaving Vienna. For the most part they have formed a somewhat uneasy tri-patriate alliance ( Spot the historical anolgy). The trailer tends to catch a little so you have to wait for the bump when you go over anything. I have been following some cycle paths and some roads as well as dirt tracks Both the Hungarian and Slovkian Roads makers have a dislike for sloping the gutters when you are crossing the roads however. This is not really a problem going down but trying to mount the kerb with close to 50 kgs on the top is no easy task.



At present i am in Budapest in a rather overcrowed and expensive campsite. A little dissapoiting as i have had some great camps up to now. I plan to get some maps here as the bike path is apprently less maked and there is nothing once i head into Bulgaria.