After two eventful days it’s time to share again.
We left Veliko Gradiste, where we had our rest day, and followed the river Donau towards Kladovo. We initially tried to get to the other side, so that we had the chance to bike in Romania, but without any luck. However, as we were biking along the Donau in Serbia, we had the pleasure of witnessing a rally of Supercars by Dutch and German nationals. We have seen Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Porches, Bentleys and so on… A pleasure to watch (and to hear…)!
Once we arrived in Donji Miholvac we then decided to take a short cut through the mountains so we could reach our planned camping spot in Brza Palanka. What we didn’t know was that we first had to climb a steep hill for 8km (8-13%) on perfect tarmac, and then got confronted with an excruciating road downhill that didn’t allow us to go faster then 20 km/h. Once we reached the camping spot we were told that we can only use the showers in combination with a room that included breakfast for less than 16€… An offer we couldn’t resist of course.
This morning, on a full stomach, we headed towards the Romanian border as we were determined to get familiar with the Romanian people. After Maurice broke his chain between the border control of Serbia and Romania (trying to outrun a group of wild dogs) we were kindly welcomed by the Romanian customs. They offered us a spot in the shadow to repair the bike.
We then headed towards Calafat and enjoyed all the small villages in between, with always a warm welcome of the locals. The contrast with the modern Supercars the other day couldn’t be bigger, as the main mean of transportation in this part of Romania is still the horse…
The mean of transportation not only are horses over there, I’ve also seen lots of (mostly elderly) women, carrying twigs and logs on their back alongside the road.
Just told Dirk yesterday that I felt like thrown back in time for a hundred years, driving my Gold Wing through that poor country.
But you’re right, the locals are warm and welcoming, and if you need help and have some small giveaways with you, they are the happiest people in the world to give you a hand. I think this makes Romania a very inspiring country. Small things are worth so much. Enjoy!!
We have of course the famous “Demaco klompjes” with us, which are very much appreciated by the locals?