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Belgrad - Kubin

Unfortunately, I could not exchange my remaining forints in Serbia and had to withdraw money. Only Euros, US dollars and sometimes Swiss francs are accepted at the exchange offices.

I started in the morning over the fort and visited the city until noon. Outside Belgrade the air was very bad due to oil refineries and at some point the road stopped and ended at a highway exit. In order not to end up as a ghost driver and to get out of the industrial area I then had to take the highway access on the other side and make my first highway kilometer until the next exit.

The road that followed was an uneven gravel road, which lead through a beautiful nature park. So I drove carefully and a little slower, because I was exhausted from the day before anyway. Today I met the first other bicycle tourists since Budapest. During the day it was very hot and dry and there were only few possibilities to fill up my water supplies. Towards evening I could observe, how the shepherds rounded up their cattle. I stayed overnight for the first time without tarp after I was of course well bitten by mosquitos again.

Today I had to clean my bike bottle more exactly, because I noticed that it starts to mold from the inside. As I get further and further east the sunset appears constantly 5-10 minutes earlier night.

Cozla - Statue of Decebalus - Iron Gate (Border Romania/Serbia) - Border Serbia/Bulgaria - Bregovo

In the morning, I still felt some soreness in my legs but started the day cycling smoothly along the road toward the impressive statue of Decebalus. Today to prevent a potassium deficiency and to consume all my reserves until Constanta, I increased my electrolyte intake. The traffic became quite heavy as I approached the Iron Gate. After crossing into Serbia, I continued through the Cyrillic part of Serbia towards Bulgaria.

At a bakery stop, I missed out on sweet croissants, ending up with one croissant filled with a soft sausage and another with something that had the consistency of raw minced meat. Nevertheless, the Danube remained as large and beautiful as ever, and I enjoyed quieter roads with minimal traffic. In the last Serbian town before the border, I encountered the next two fellow cyclists on a tandem bike, also following the Danube Bike Path. That evening, I came across a charming local celebration, with children dressed in colorful costumes.

Crossing into Bulgaria, I faced another challenge with money exchange, as there was no possibility to exchange Serbian money. To avoid withdrawing cash in Bulgaria, I stocked up my supplies in Serbia before entering Bulgaria. After passing through the first Bulgarian town, I set up camp for the night. Unfortunately, it was near a thorn hedge and my air mattress developed a leak, and I also lost a tent peg, making it a bit of an uncomfortable night.

Der Aufstieg durch die Val d'Uina Schlucht verläuft auf einem schönen in den Fels geschlagenen Weg mit mehreren Tunnel. Von diesem aus hat man einen herrlichen Ausblick auf die Schlucht. Vom Schlinigpass geht es auf Schotterwegen hinunter ins Tal.

Auf dem weiteren Weg wurden wir von mehreren kurzen, aber heftigen Regenschauern unterbrochen, welche am Spätnachmittag in einem Gewitter endeten. Daher konnten wir Trafoi nicht mehr erreichen und mussten die Nacht im Biwak bei Regen verbringen.

The trek to Namche Bazar featured numerous suspension bridges and a strenuous climb at the end. Upon reaching our destination, we took a well-deserved acclimatization day to adjust to the altitude and prepare for the journey ahead.