A run in with the Loor

Monday 13th June we headed out of Brasov at about 13.00hrs, after spending some time on the internet trying to find accommodation at our next destination Deva, 165 miles due west. The temperature had cooled considerably (A cool 20 degrees, brrrr) and felt cold, there were some dark looking clouds in the general direction we were heading, so we anticipated some rain but not the torrential downpour and storm that we actually experienced – thunder and forked lightening. Boy were we glad to reach our destination.


Deva by Night, Diva by Day
It was really cold, Ann has her jeans on



Deva was a very industrial area, it was just one of two stopovers for us on our way from Brasov in Romania, to Belgrade the capital city of Serbia, our ultimate goal (a total of 460 miles). However, approx 15 km just outside Deva, a place called Hunedoara, we were recommended to go and see Corvin Castle, and as it was on our route we decided to give it a go. The whole area carried the scars of the old communist regime, for at one period in its history Hunedoara had the reputation of being the biggest steel-producing factory in Romania and even the Balkans. The old steel works was spread over a vast area, it must have been massive in its heyday, it seemed to go on for miles, in fact right up to Corvin castle which was mercifully left in tact.



Corvin castle









A mediaeval street scene as it might have been



We found the castle and rode the bike virtually up to the drawbridge, - doing a Daniel Rogojan. I have to say whilst it was not the size of The Royal Peles castle in Brasov, it was still a very impressive building It stands on a rock around which flows the river Zlasti, it has an impressive draw bridge countless towers, a number of interior courts, and two large halls, "Knight Hall" and "Diet Hall".


One of the many extra's, even he was feeling the heat


There was a whole lot of activity going on, lots of big vans and people walking around in mediaeval garb, for a while I thought it was a typical tourist attraction, a sort of market or street fair. We parked the bike and shed some of our heavy kit and proceeded to walk over the draw bridge and on reaching the castle entrance we were told it was closed to the public for three days, due to filming. Well you can imagine our reaction, we had travelled over six thousand miles to come see this castle (well that’s what we told them), we were not going to be put off by some film company producing a Tv commercial.



Looking for a quiet place to remove our kit!!!

 So we quietly found us a place where we shed our bike kit and dressed like the couple of peasents we are........ only joking. In reality we politely stepped back and started to walk away, but not before one of the production staff who had seen us arrive on the BMW bike, and was a biker himself, invited us to stay and wait a short while until the crew took a break from filming. ‘Bingo’ the bike once again worked its magic and opened up another door for us to explore this castle, dressed by the film crew, as it would have been in medieval times – a real treat, we stayed for a couple of hours and even managed to get a few picture to boot!!

The weather had improved quite substantially from the day before and with temperatures hovering around 32 degrees we needed to get going on the bike before we started to melt, our next stopover was in the small spa town of Baile Herculane about 115 miles away due south..


Our Hotel in Baile Herculane

 We said our goodbyes and thanked the production staff for their kindness in allowing us to view the castle, we promised to look on you tube to find the commercial for DNA communications (A Finish company) when we completed our bike trip. We made Baile Herculane in good time and quickly found our pre-booked accommodation, the hotel Golden Spirit, nestled right beside the Cerna/Tiena river, with the Cerna mountains dramatically in the background, an amazing picturesque scene. Legend has it that the weary Hercules stopped in the valley to bathe and rest. Six statues of Hercules from the time have been discovered. A bronze replica of one of them, molded in 1874, stands as a landmark in the town center. In modern times, the spa town is visited for its natural healing properties: hot springs with sulfur, chlorine, sodium, calcium, magnesium and other minerals, as well as negatively ionized air, but my goodness does it pong!!


I'm sure they were on the bikes when we took
this photo....

We happened to meet a group of Bikers who were taking the thermal waters, it turns out they are touring on the same BMW bikes as ourselves, down on a four day tour from Budapest. We had a good ole chat with them, and they gave us some useful info and advice on the area we were heading into (Serbia). We left them swimming in the hot thermal water and made our way back to the hotel for something to eat and drink before retiring to bed early. We were leaving Romania the next morning heading into Belgrade, the Serbian capital, another 180 miles to cover, another border crossing, another country, another culture, another currency, another time zone., we didn’t quite know what to expect, but we wanted to be refreshed and ready to face the next stage of our adventure.

Wednesday 15th; After breakfast we spent some time sourcing accommodation over the internet in Belgrade and finally settled on the Hotel Belgrade, very centrally located and convenient to the numerous places of interest. We left Baile Herculane around 11.45 and made the border by mid-day. I’m pleased to say It was a trouble free crossing, interesting in that you had to cross the River Danube,- Romania one side, Serbia the other! Once again, the border guards came out to view our Bike with great interest, I can never be really sure whether it’s the bike or just the fascination at seeing two prats in full motorbike kit with helmets, sweating buckets in sweltering temperatures of 30 degrees and more. But hey, if it’s the latter, we have the last laugh cos they’re working and we’re enjoying the time of our lives.


The Danube

We travelled through some of the most beautiful scenery, Up, down and around, the road hugged the mountain, we were also following the colossal river Danube. The second longest European river (after the Volga), it rises in Germany’s Black Forest and flows about 1,770 mi (2,850 km) to the Black Sea, passing along or through Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine, and Moldova. Our progress was slow, the satnav went AWOL, temperatures were increasing, (in more ways than one) as we travelled in a westerly direction.



Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. The city lies at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. It has an urban population of 1.2 million, while the metropolitan area has more than 1.7 million people, making it one of the largest cities of Southeast Europe. Its name in English translates to White city. We eventually arrived into Belgrade around 6 ish a little hot and bothered, and managed to find the hotel with help from you know who. We unloaded the bike and made our way up three flights of stairs with all our kit, a three star hotel with no chuffin lift, unheard of - I wasn’t best pleased, but Ann remained cool, calm and collected and kept me in check!.


Who cares what sort of prat you look like
 after the 3rd litre

 We showered, changed and went out to find a cafe bar to have a drink and chill a bit. We found a real old traditional Serbian tavern and spent the evening enjoying the food, the beer and the ambiance with some traditional music thrown in by four guys playing a variety of instruments. I think we fell out of the place just after midnight, as it was starting to fill up, and stumbled our way back to the hotel (or at least I did), having enjoyed a thoroughly relaxing evening.








Ann jugging them down, but still looking cool



The following morning we had a brush with the LAW, a little bit of an unpleasent experience, but one you learn from quite quickly. We left the hotel to find the T Info office which was across the other side of the busy main road, instead of using the official means of crossing the road (by the traffic lights), we chose to play dodge the traffic and were stopped by the police when we got to the other side. Apparently this is considered to be ‘J’ walking and is an offence and carries a fine of 50 euro. They were doing a purge and several other people had been stopped for doing likewise, and were in the process of being booked and fined on the spot. We were asked for our passports, or some form of id, so I gave them my driving licence. The guy disappeared into the back seat of his patrol car with my license; At this point I knew we’d done something wrong but not entirely sure what, or what the implications were thereof. I could tell from the general body language and the facial expression of the other people around me, they were not best pleased with whatever the police were doing. After a while I got to speak to one of the other ‘Offenders’ who informed me of the situation and the fine it carried. Several options crossed my mind, one of which was to snatch my license back from the cop and do a runner, I felt pretty confident they’d not bother to run after us in the intense heat. However, on reflection and noting they carried guns on their hips, I dismissed the idea as proper gungho and began to wonder what the next best option was.

St Sava Temple,
can receive 10,000 people at any one time

Well Papa was looking down on us, the police officer called me over to his car and started to wag his finger at me admonishing me for what we’d done, the traffic lights were the proper place to cross the road. He said all this in his native Serbian tongue, and I fully understood everything he said. The next thing he hands me back my license and waves me away, we were out of there like the proverbial s- - t off a shovel, I didn’t even look back at the poor geezer who told me about the fine, he was still arguing the toss, but the cop was always going to book him, cos he could speak the language and should’ve understood the rules!!.

 

Serbian National Assembly


We walked and we caught trams as we spent three full days, exploring the delights of this vibrant city. There was so much to see and do in Belgrade, and we even discovered that Amy Winehouse was performing a one night concert just in the shadow of Kalemegdan, the old citadel and castle. We thought we might get to see the show free of charge on the Saturday evening from a position in the elevated old castle. Alas we were sadly mistaken, we, along with many others, were disappointed to find the whole area had been cordoned off and the normally open public area was closed for that evening, C’est la vie, we wouldn’t want to go upsetting Amy now, would we, you never know what she might do.



One of the Ministry buildings, opposite the
 war damaged building


One of the added benefits of a city is the profusion of laundry premises, and Anns priority was to get all our clothes washed and smelling fresh and clean. We’d done all the usual tricks, turned them inside out, back to front , you name, it we done it...... only joking. We found a good launderette very close to our hotel and got all our stuff washed fresh and clean for about £14, Ann was proper over the moon, lovely fresh smellin clothes - I no longer had to put up with crispy, sweat smelling pants, uuuggghhh!!!!




We thoroughly enjoyed our stay in Belgrade, the weather had been magnificent and, as in previously visited cities, we had our eyes opened. We even surprised ourselves at how similar life is to that of our own in the UK and perhaps more astonishingly, how quickly and with relative ease we settled in and embraced this European city and its culture. So watch out kids (Lisa Ciaran & Katherine), we might not be back after all!!


A stark reminder of the past

 There was one blot on the landscape (see picture) – a stark reminder of the NATO bombing (during the Kosovo War in 1999) which lasted from march 24th to June 10th 1999 and caused substantial damage to the city. Among the sites bombed were the buildings of several ministries, the RTS building, which killed 16 technicians, several hospitals, the Jugoslavija Hotel, the Central Committee building, the Avala TV Tower, and the Chinese embassy. The bombing of Yugoslavia was intended to stop the alleged Yugoslav military operation (Operation Horseshoe) and to keep the Yugoslav army from repeating the alleged atrocities committed in Bosnia.

Sunday arrived before we knew it and it was time to leave Belgrade. We were ready to move on to our next destination, the capital city of Sarajevo in Bosnia & Herzegovina........

Till next time, luv and kisses to all, well all the girls really.

The easy Riders

The Beautiful Balkans

Tony uploading directions

  

We arrived in Plovdiv at about 16.00 hrs on Monday 30th May, another large city (approx 335,000 population) with plenty of life. We had booked a nice hotel in a good location and on arrival were upgraded to a suite – It must have been the way I smiled!



Jazz in the Amphitheatre

We spent an interesting two days exploring the area and were even treated to a free Jazz session by four touring American jazz musicians who were performing at the Roman amphitheatre in Plovdiv over two nights, which we happened to visit on the first evening.

There’s lots of history in and around Plovdiv, so we decided to do a bit of local touring on the bike the following day. The weather was glorious with temperatures in the mid to high twenties, a great day to tour. We took in Arapovo Monastery, in Muldava, the middle of nowhere, we went way up into the mountains to visit some caves in Chudnite Mostove and then on the way back to Plovdiv we discovered another Monastery (Bachovo Monastery), which we also decided to call into.


Two of the cast in The Rocky Horror show!

 We had a thoroughly enjoyable day and done about 130 miles in total. We got back to the hotel and after a shower, we went out to a local place for a bite to eat. The meal was delicious and there was entertainment as well, we retired back to the hotel for a well earned sleep.

Next morning our plan was to continue heading east to the Black Sea, to the coastal city of Burgas about 170 miles away. We took our leave at about 13.00hrs after I spent the morning cleaning the muck and dirt off the bike from the previous day, and Ann had her HAIR cut!! OOpps, yes it slipped my mind, when we were in the mountains it fair hissed it down, we got drenched and the bike filthy – at times going up the mountain was like doin a bit of off roading.


It was hard pedalling this bike



We arrived at about 17.00 and found ourselves some accommodation at an Ibis style hotel. After a bike tour around the city resort and a look at the Back sea, we decided that one night in Burgas was going to be enough, probably more of a city than a resort and we would move on the next day around the coast to a resort town called Nesebar, which had been recommended to us by the manageress of the Hotel we had stayed at in Plovdiv. Next morning we packed the bike and set off in scorching temperatures to travel thirty five miles around the coast to Nesebar. We had also booked our accommodation over t’internet so just put in the address and took off.


The hotel was an excellent choice right on the beach and it had a lovely swimming pool as well. The room was king size and overlooked the pool and the beach, it was so well laid out we actually took a picture (how sad are we). Unfortunately the weather did not play ball, at times it was dull and cloudy and we even had a couple of storms with some heavy rain. But that didn’t stop us from enjoying the experience, it was thoroughly relaxing and we actually stayed four nights at the Hotel; We even swam in the Black Sea !!

Us & a Cruise liner in the Black Sea

 


Outside the Orthodox Cathederal in Varna

 On Monday 6th we left Nesebar and pushed on Northbound to the coastal city of Varna which is the largest city and seaside resort on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast and third-largest in Bulgaria with a population of 325,000 residents.. It’s also a major seaport and headquarters of the Bulgarian Navy, though we didn’t get to see any ‘Sailors’.








Watching 'Uncle Pete' Fishing





We walked down through the beautiful ‘Sea gardens’ to the beach area and spent several hours people watching including fisherman watching and finished the day with a delicious fish supper.








After a good nights kip, next morning Tuesday 7th June, we loaded up our kit, booked accomodation in Constanta, 97 miles further up the coast (in the country of Romania), and once again set off in a north easterly direction, in boiling temperatures, fully kitted and melting inside our suits. We were excited at the prospect of another border crossing and this time a little less anxious. We hoped we might even be allowed to take a picture or two of the guards....

At this point it’s worth saying how much we enjoyed the whole Bulgarian experience, it wasn’t originally on our agenda, but through advice and circumstances, we altered our route to take in both Bulgaria and Romania and have absolutely no regret about that decision. It’s been a delight and a joy, and certainly not what we anticipated or expected.

We made the border in good time and were met by fully uniformed guards enjoying the sunshine, with their shoes off and a fag on. They were friendly enough and after inspecting our credentials beckoned us through, but not before we asked them if we could take a photo – sadly that was outside the regulations and we were told so in no uncertain terms, in other words ‘get the Chuff outa here’ we quickly obliged.

Yes, we’ve crossed another frontier, onwards and upwards. We’ve completed almost 6000 miles on our adventure; Can you believe it? Even now we still have to pinch ourselves in case it’s all a dream!!


The new marina, our hotel in the background


We arrived in Constanta at around 16.30 hrs, found our hotel and quickly unloaded our kit. We were allowed to park our bike in the hotels private compound. It seems where ever we go the fascination of our bike, opens doors that would not ordinarily open, for which we are naturally very grateful. Constanta, was founded as a city almost 2600 years ago, it is the oldest attested city in Romania, and is also the third largest city in Romania with 400,000 inhabitants.





Wow, proper Mr & Mrs Softee's


One of our priorities having crossed into another country was to obtain some local currency the ‘Lei’ (approximately 4.2 Lei to the euro). In Bulgaria the currency was the ‘Lev’ (approx 1.95 Lev to the euro). It’s also very difficult to guess just how much cash you might need, as they don’t always take credit cards in restaurants and cafe/bars. We got some currency and set off to explore the old city and Port area. The Port of Constanţa has an area of 39 km2 (15.16 sq mi) and a length of about 30 km (19 mi). It is the largest port on the Black Sea, and the third largest port in Europe. In truth we were not inspired by Constanta, we felt the area was perhaps a little neglected. Having said that, they are investing quite heavily in an almost completed marina. I suspect Constanta, like so many other places, has suffered the effects of a severe recession, and will, I’m sure, recover in the near future and once again attract lots of tourists.

The following morning we had a good breakfast at the hotel and loaded the bike up ready to leave for our next big destination, the city of Bucharest. We left Constanta round 13.00hrs to travel 140 miles due west (I can’t tell you why it was so late), on what appeared to be an arrow straight, dual carriageway, in record temperatures for us, a new high of 34 DEGREESssssss. The journey was fine except for a chuffin bee, at some point flying up my sleeve (what are the chances of that happening) and the bastard stung me on the arm. Well, we had to stop and I’m hopping around like a madman trying to shed my jacket, whilst Ann looked on thinking that I’d finally cracked. After major surgery by Nurse Cronin attending to my war wounds and me attending to the bee’s head, we carried on without further ado, with only an occasional reminder to Ann, what a brave boy I was!!!!!!!

Oh, I did forget to mention a small detour along the way due to road works or something like that. OMG.. the detour only took us past a Nuclear Reactor Power Station. This Nuclear Power Plant in Cernavoda is the only nuclear power plant in Romania. It produces around 20% of the country's electricity. It uses pressurized heavy water technology (CANDU, invented by the Canadians), and apparently uses heavy water produced at Drobeta-Turnu Severin as its neutron moderator and water from the Danube-Black Sea Canal for cooling.

The power plant was designed in Canada by Atomic Energy of canada Ltd, in the 1980s, during the Communist era. The initial plan was to build five units. Units 1 and 2 are currently fully operational. Three more partially completed CANDU reactors exist on the same site, part of a project discontinued at the close of the Nicolae Ceausescu regime. Units 3 and 4 are in their planning stages, with expected completion dates of 2014 and 2015 respectively

I thought this might impress some of you back home, but it was quite surreal.




Our appartment block - or is it The National Savings Bank?


We arrived into Bucharest city boiling hot in very heavy traffic; Although we’d booked our accommodation (an apartment) over t’internet, it took some time to locate it and we were getting hotter by the minute. When we did eventually locate it, right in the centre of the city, we weren’t overly impressed by the exterior appearance, however, the old adage ‘never judge a book by its’ cover’ was never so appropriate. When we arrived up on the sixth floor (fortunately there were two lifts), and opened the door, we found a lovely one bedroomed apartment with a lounge area and a kichen, the company had even left some tea and coffee for our consumption.

The George Enescu Museum



The Roman Athenaeum


We spent four days (Wed 8th to Sat 11th June) discovering the delights of this Beautiful city and its 2.6 million inhabitants. With so many treasures on offer, it was impossible to see them all in four days, but we gave it a good go. We even gave ourselves a culture treat and attended an orchestral concert at the Athenaeum Concert Hall. With its high dome and Doric columns, the Athenaeum resembles an ancient temple; The lobby has a beautifully painted ceiling decorated in gold leaf. A magnificent building renowned worldwide for its outstanding acoustics, it is Bucharest's most prestigious concert hall and home of the Romanian George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra, who played Beethoven and Mozart, under a guest conductor, on the night we attended.


Inside The Roman Athenaeum



On Saturday we went to see the colossal Parliament Palace (formerly known as the People's Palace), it is the second largest administrative building in the world after the Pentagon. It took 20,000 workers and 700 architects to build it over 11 years. When construction started in 1984, the dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu intended it to be the headquarters of his government, he never saw the building completed, both he and his wife were convicted and condemned to death during the revolution that took place in Romania in 1989. This incredible palace boasts 12 stories, 1,100 rooms, a 328-ft-long lobby and four underground levels, including an enormous nuclear bunker. Today, it houses Romania's Parliament and serves as an international conference centre.


The incredible 'Peoples Palace'

  Some Interesting Facts:
-It is the world's second-largest office building in surface (after the Pentagon) and the third largest in volume (after Cape Canaveral in the U.S. and the Great Pyramid in Egypt)

- The crystal chandelier in the Human Rights Hall (Sala Drepturilor Omului) weighs 2.5 tons

- Some of the chandeliers have as many as 7,000 light bulbs. Boy were we glad we went to visit this outstanding building. We’d been told it was impossible to get in to see the Palace as all tours were fully booked for three days in advance, it wasn’t quite the case!



A view from the Palace balcony.



No, Tell the Prime Minister we're busy



On the Palace Roof - An Awesome View  
















The Room was enormous - the largest floor space
in the Palace


Bucharest even has its own Arc De Triomphe built in 1935....(but I don't have a picture) I could go on and on but I’ll resist the temptation. However, I must tell you that on the Friday evening after the concert, we went for a meal at a local restaurant and got talking to a guy (Daniel Rogojan) who arrived into the restaurant just after us, dressed in lightweight bike armour (he’d just been out on his bike). We got talking to him (his English was excellent) and invited him to join us on our table so that when we left, he could pay our dinner bill (only joking Daniel). We spent the rest of the evening talking bikes (his passion) and bored him senseless talking about our travel adventures (our passion). He is currently in his last year training to be a dentist and already runs his own dental technical lab where he makes bridges, false teeth and whatever else dental technicians make. By the end of the evening Dan agreed to meet us early on Sunday morning to join us on the next leg of our adventure. We were leaving Bucharest for our next destination Brasov about 110 miles due north. He promised to show us some of the more interesting historical sites en route, taking in a monastery, a Royal castle (Peles castle) and a fortress in Rasinov. What a prospect, I couldn’t wait till Sunday, it would be really great to have another bike and rider as company.




Peles Royal Castle






Sunday 12th was an awesome day, we met Dan as arranged and headed out to Brassov. The weather didn’t start great but once out of Bucharest, it brightened up and the sun shone all day. Dan was true to his word and took us up over the mountains and to the tourist ‘hot spots’.






Dan, with his great camera, but NO BATTERIES

 It was great having him with us, at each place of interest, he would cheekily ride his bike virtually up to the entrance doors with us right on his tail. In fact at one point I thought he was going to ride through the door of the Royal Castle, and I’d have gone through with him!!! At around 17.30 hrs we arrived into Brasov and tried to find some local accommodation, without success. After an hour we decided to have something to eat and drink, during which time we found and booked a Hotel on t’internet just outside of Brasov. With Dans help,using his IPhone (the satnav mapping for outlying areas of Romania and Bulgaria has been very poor), we eventually found the hotel,( in the dark it took us that long) but not before we had to do some serious off roading, we literally had to drive down a track to find the chuffin place. Dan left the Hotel, in the pouring rain at around 23.30 to travel back through the mountains to Bucharest, we tried to dissuade him, but he wouldn’t consider it. I’m reliably told, this is what happens when you’re young and have a burning passion. I’m pleased to say that he emailed to let us know that he arrived home safely!!



Don't look now, but I think there's a spy. Its the one in the
white yashmac and sunglasse



















'Cheeky Chappy'  Dans idea to make some extra  Lei's.
Next .........


Bucharest was an absolute revelation, an experience we won’t forget and, just like Sofia in Bulgaria, it’s a destination we would not hesitate to return to at some point in the future. We thoroughly enjoyed our time in this marvellous city. In our view, Romania has the natural resources, the characteristics and the determination to be a hugely successful economy. The foundations are in place, - the people just have to recognise it, believe it and have patience. ‘Rome wasn’t built in a day’.

So that’s it for now. Sorry for the long delay since the last blog but we’ve been on the road virtually every day and not always had the opportunity to update the blog. Shortly we’ll be heading over the border once again, this time into Serbia and the city of Beograd (Belgrade)!!!!

But, before we go, we must congratulate my nephew, Mathew Mack who succeeded in becoming the outright winner of the UK World Skills in Computing Technology (networking Administration) and will be representing the UK in the world finals to be held down in London in October. Part of his prize for winning the UK final is a luncheon appointment at Buckingham Palace hosted by HRH The Grand ole Duke of York – well done Matt!!

Luv to everyone back home,

The easy Riders xxx

Two Wondering Wombles in Bulgaria!!

Over breakfast on Monday 23rd May, as the weather was still so beautiful, we decided to continue around the coast from Thessaloniki to Chalkidiki, to an area known as the three fingers. Whilst we didn’t have a fixed destination we had selected the middle finger, Sithania, as the most likely option. It wasn’t a difficult choice as the bottom finger, Kassandra is known to be another Ibiza, and the top finger Agio Otos, is known to be a Sacred Island, housing many monasteries and of course, The Holy Mount Athos. It is a fact that in order to enter the ‘Island’ Agio Otos, a permit has to be obtained from the Greek authorities, and we didn’t have one, so we couldn’t go there! We found ourselves in a small coastal resort, Nikitas, right on the sea front. After a quick recky of the area we plumed for “Studio Nikiti Beach” – Bingo!!!


Studio Nikitas - about to have b'fast

What a lovely complex, absolutely pristine. It was owned by a German lady called Angelika, who ran it with the help of her daughter Ellenor and her partner Kyriasi - a really nice guy. It wasn’t a big commercial enterprise, just nice personable accommodation, yards from a the beach. We were lucky enough to have a studio appt with a balcony and a sea view. In fact the apartment was so nice and clean, and the area so relaxing, we actually stayed for 5 nights, it was like finding an oasis in a desert, an absolute gem!



Admiring the view




As you might guess we didn’t do a lot, just chilled, read a little, sunbathed, walked and even swam in the sea. On the Wednesday, we got on the bike and done a tour of the island (about 75miles in total), right around the beautiful coastline in sweltering temperatures of 30 degrees. I have to come clean (sorry Ballingerbob), but the only piece of bike kit we wore, was our helmets, the rest was shorts and t-shirts. It was so hot, we even stopped off and had a swim (Not in the buff).






And, What a view



Using the auto picture  - nearly made it!!


Saturday 28th May;

We really enjoyed our stay in Nikitas, and would seriously recommend the Studio Nikiti Beach as an excellent place to stay. However, for us it was time to get moving again – there were ants in our pants and this time we were heading into unknown and unchartered territory - Destination, the Bulgarian capital city of Sofia, about 245miles due north of Nikitas, with a population of 1.5million.




At 11.30am, with temperatures in the mid to high twenties, and full bike kit on, we were beginning to feel the heat, we said goodbye to Nikitas. it wasn’t long before we reached a suitable speed enabling us to keep cool, traffic was light and we were able to make good progress. We had programmed the satnav to take us directly to a hotel in Sofia, and although we hadn’t booked accommodation over the internet, we were happy to wait till we arrived there, as there was a possibility that we might stop off along the way.

There is a significant border crossing from Greece into Bulgaria which we knew we had to negotiate, so there was a little trepidation on both our parts not knowing what hoops we might have to jump through! As it turned out we were worrying needlessly. At about 2.00pm, in sweltering temperatures of 31 degrees( a new high), we pulled up at the border crossing, and after a cursory look at our passports we were waved through. I have to say, It didn’t go unnoticed that a car had been pulled in and was being searched, quite thoroughly, as we passed through – perhaps the guards recognised our discomfort in the boiling heat and just called us thru?


Our Hotel Dedeman in Sofia



The Russian Church 'St Nikolai' 5Gold domes

Whatever, we were on our way, another country, another language and another culture to appreciate. We were slightly cautious as we left the border crossing as there was quite a police presence and we had been warned that speeding in Bulgaria was not tolerated so it took us a little while to establish the ground rules. Our first impression of Bulgaria was a good one, the fields were green and cultivated, the condition of the roads were much improved, (though the standard of some of the driving still left a lot to be desired). In general it appeared to be a much cleaner and for some reason, a brighter and a busier place, and the people, much more pro-active, polite and ready to help. Having said that as we entered Sofia there were many high rise blocks of flats in a very run down condition – a reminder of how things were, pre 1989/1990, when the Communist Party allowed multi-party elections and Bulgaria undertook a transition to democracy and free-market capitalism  (The winds of change). As we rode into the central area, the architecture changed to a modern 20th century city
YEA, we made it to Sofia around 17.30pm, the sun was still beating down and we were much relieved to have made the capital in the time we did – 6 hours. We managed to book ourselves a great hotel deal over the internet in The 4 star Hotel Dedemann, we bagged a bargain room with all the trimmings for two nights, at a cost of 160 Levs, yes Levs (about 80 euro for two nights). What a contrast from the Mandrino hotel, back in Thessaloniki, the Dedemann housed a full spa treatment centre and a huge indoor swimming pool as well as a casino, if you felt the need to throw your money away. The hotel was enormous and according to the reception staff, there were 700 rooms in total, we even had secure underground parking for the bike! We unloaded the kit from the bike onto a Bellhop trolley and made for our room on the 9th floor to await its arrival. After unpacking and showering we were ready to do a little exploring but were mindful that time had moved on and it was getting late, so we decided to eat something locally and explore the City the following day. It also meant that I got to watch the Man Utd game against Barcelona - sorry Daim, I know It wasn’t the result we wanted, but Barcelona are one helluva team!



Alexander Nevsky Cathedral

Ethnographic Museum

We woke up to a lovely hot, Sunday morning feeling much refreshed after a good nights kip. Once showered we made our way into Sofia centre, about 10 minutes on foot, but not before we changed some of our money into the local currency ‘The Lev’ for which the exchange rate is set at 1.95 levs to the euro. Generally speaking the cost of living is a good bit lower than Greece so you get good value for your money. We found ourselves a cafe and had some of the local cuisine for breakfast, actually it was very tasty and we washed it down with coffee and tea. We spent the day walking around the city centre, enjoying the sights and taking lots of photos to bore you stiff, including some of the buildings and the wonderful architecture.


Hey, go pic your own nose!



Now thats what I call a HARD boiled egg

 Unfortunately the centre of Sofia was under re-development, there were many cranes, and large heavy plant, concealed behind extensive metal hoardings, working day and night. Quite what the development might be, only time will tell, but I am sure in the long term, it will be good for Sofia.




School Prom celebrations, Sofia style




Without doubt, we have been very comfortable in this delightful City, our original sense of trepidation was completely unfounded, and a visit back to Sofia at some point in the future,would be very desirable. We finished the day off with a good meal at a local restaurant, and for Nigel, washed down with plenty of the ‘vitamin B’ but no Osso Bucco in sight!!




 

 Jim Richardson and Mike Baggott, you'll appreciate this,
One of the 'Prom Cars' arriving at the Sheraton Hotel.





And anyone who sports a pair of 'Lees Legs'
will appreciate this





Tomorrow, we’re off to Plovdiv, the second biggest city in Bulgaria....
Till then, love and best wishes to all back home. The Easy Riders xxxx