From Belgrade to Istanbul - through antecedences and lowlands to the end of Europe
Through the "Iron Gates"
In Belgrade we changed back to the left bank of the Danube over a bridge (whose bike/footpath is in a pitiful condition...). There you are suddenly on a dike crest in the middle of fields and swamps - total silence just a few minutes after the four-lane road! It goes past beehives and high grass. The bees protest and shoo us away quite emphatically (we didn't know how fast the critters can fly!), then two quite large grasshoppers in the high grass protest against the fact that we want to cross their territory. Behind Pancevo, the wire rope from Matthias’ handlebar mount snaps, which we fix with tape and an accessory cord (later we add a stick to tighten the accessory cord, a technical masterpiece...). We continue towards the east via beautiful small country roads or dyke paths. Near Kovin we discover a turtle on the top of the dyke. She plays dead as we approach and quickly disappears as we drive on. At Stara Palanka/Ram we take the ferry back to the right bank of the Danube. The other bank is now Romanian, we stayed on the Serbian side. The terrain becomes hilly and the Carpathian mountain range rises in front of us - the Pannonian Plain has finally been crossed! At Golubac we drive into the gorge of the Danube through the Carpathians - the so-called "Iron Gates". The course of the river here is geologically older than the mountain formation, which is why the Danube completely crosses the mountain range (antecedent). For traffic - especially by bicycle - this has the great advantage that the mountain ridge can be crossed without a real pass, which is why the Romans already built a long-distance road in this valley. In Donji Milanovac, about halfway down the gorge, we stopped for three days and just enjoyed the view of the Danube from the apartment balcony. At Kladovo we crossed the Carpathians a second time and were now in the lowlands of the Danube. At Kostol we looked at preserved bridge pillars of the Roman Trajan's Bridge, which was the longest bridge in the ancient world. In Negotin, the last major town before Bulgaria, we stopped for a day at the “Basecamp/Guesthouse for Cyclists” run by the extremely helpful host Boján. The one rest day turned into a whole three weeks, because we had to deal with a very special defect on Sonja's bike, which required the import of a spare part and special tools from Germany. This is described in detail in the article “A first serious breakdown” in the category “Our gear”. But we were very lucky in our misfortune, because the base camp in Negotin is a real oasis in which we were able to relax extensively and talk to many other travelers. Incidentally, the region south of Negotin is extremely interesting for anyone interested in viticulture! When phylloxera was raging in Western Europe in the 19th century, French winegrowers sought and found a refuge here. The wineries in places like Rajac are kept true to the original, which is why they are often used as film sets.
Through Bulgaria…
After the border with Bulgaria we had to change our clocks for the first time on this trip. Unfortunately in the “wrong” direction. If you always drive in an easterly direction, you basically get one "daylight saving time change" after the other, i.e. the clocks are always put forward. In Bulgaria we first followed the main road to Vidin. On the way we had our first glimpse of the Balkan Mountains, which stretch from west to east through the whole of Bulgaria. From Vidin we first followed the official Danube cycle route. Compared to Serbia, here in Bulgaria it is a tough nut to crack - countless trucks push their way on the narrow and winding road towards Turkey and vice versa! Unfortunately, there are not really good alternative routes, which is why we had to fight our way through here. A few distant views across the Danube to Wallachia partially compensated for this. As a contrast to long-distance traffic, we sometimes saw horse and donkey drawn carriages near the Danube, which is why we were no longer the slowest vehicles on the road here. In Mizia we left the Danube Cycle Route to cycle through endless sunflower fields through the Danube lowlands (which are not even that flat here) to the edge of the Balkan Mountains. In Vratsa we took a day off to hike to a beautiful plateau in the mountains. There are also countless caves in this region - if you are interested in them, you should not simply drive through. There are different ways to cross the Balkan Mountains. As with the Iron Gate, we used an antecedent again to avoid higher passes. The course of the Iskar River is older than the Balkan Mountains, which is why it once cut through the mountains from south to north in the Iskar Gorge. A road and a railway line run through the valley. In the Sofia plain we left the Balkan mountains again to cycle to the capital of Bulgaria. Sofia's checkered history and centuries-long affiliation with the Ottoman Empire are hard to overlook - 500-year-old mosques are next to even older Orthodox churches and fields of Roman ruins. From Sofia we then cycled down into the Upper Thracian Plain - one of the longest inhabited regions in Europe. The largest city here is Plovdiv, which is best known for its Roman theater. Matthias defended his dissertation from Plovdiv via video conference, which means that this chapter is now closed. From Plovdiv we continued on larger country roads via Haskovo to the Greek border at Svilengrad. Since the temperatures in the afternoon were now almost reaching 40 °C, we had to adapt. By starting the stages earlier, we managed quite well to be at the planned destination by 1 p.m. at the latest, so that if in doubt we could spend the rest of the day doing nothing in the shade. Some residents of the places in southern Bulgaria immediately suspected that we wanted to continue to Turkey - for other reasons, cyclists apparently rarely "get lost" here.
... to the end of Europe
Before we cycled to Turkey, we took a tiny detour (37 km/23 miles ...) through the easternmost tip of the Greek part of Thrace. The good road had very little traffic because it was a Sunday and the small villages were also very quiet - a total contrast to what was to await us in Edirne on the other side of the Turkish border! We got through the border, which was heavily fortified on the Greek side, because some Turkish drivers had mercy on us and didn't let us wait in line in the midday sun. We cycled to Edirne, near the border, where we are greeted by the full life: bustling bazaars, crowded pedestrian zones, good Turkish food, huge mosques, an old caravanserai. In the evening the muezzin calls - we have cycled to the Orient! The next day we visited the Selimiye Mosque (1569 - 1575), one of the most outstanding buildings of Islamic and Ottoman architecture. Like many structures here, this one was designed by the very energetic architect Sinan. Unfortunately, two minarets, parts of the facade and above all the interior were currently covered for renovation work, which is why we could only guess at part of the splendor. After the visit to the well-designed Museum of Islamic Art, we bought spices (finally...) in one of the bazaars and considerable quantities of baklava in the pedestrian zone. We won't starve here. From Edirne we cycled to Lüleburgaz, where we knew there was a place where cyclists could stay for one night free of charge. As we roll to the location marked on the Komoot map, we see a winding asphalt track for cycling. We drive to the entrance, where the friendly porter immediately points to the northern part of the area - you don't have to say anything, the loaded bike says enough. In the north building, another clerk ushers us in and puts the boss, Inanc, on our ear over the phone. He says that he will be there soon. Until then, let's take a look around this special place. In the atrium, which also serves as a storage area for bicycles, a kind of "retirement home" for old bicycle bottles has been set up. Since then, the cyclists resting here have been able to immortalize their names on a wall with a world map. We find the entry of Mica from Novi Sad that we met in Negotin. In two rooms there are boxes on which sleeping pads can be spread out. One of the rooms seems to be occupied by other cyclists who are not there at the moment. There is an exchange system for equipment, spare parts and tools. We leave the Allen key here that Sonja found by the lake in Bulgaria while camping. Inanc arrives a little later, followed by the two other touring cyclists who are staying here. We immediately recognize David, the Irishman living in Munich, who we had already met in Negotin! The other cyclist is Mateusz from central Poland - according to the world map, someone from the Gdańsk area must have passed here this year. Inanc explains that the City funded the Bicycle Academy in 2017 to encourage exercise among residents. We are thrilled that this refuge for cyclists was also created. It is very remarkable that it was realized in an environment that is actually not at all geared towards bicycles as a means of transport or sports equipment. Later Anna and Jürgen from Graz, Austria join us - this is a perfect place to meet other cyclists. The Turkish Negotin, so to speak... In the evening, the outside area of the Bicycle Academy is full of life - many families are here and the children can let off steam with the free rental bikes. After Lüleburgaz, the route continues through an extensive industrial area in the direction of Istanbul. Not scenic and busy with traffic, but even here the people greet us with great joy and hospitality - a porter from a textile factory invited us for water and tea even though he was actually very busy! Before Istanbul we reach the Sea of Marmara - coming from the Baltic Sea we have open water in front of us again! The entrance to the city center of Istanbul was a good 100 km long on our route - we finally cycled into a giant with 16 million inhabitants (almost as many inhabitants as in Bulgaria and Greece combined...). Arriving in Istanbul, we treated ourselves to a few days off, which of course included a visit to the most important sights - after all, there are certainly few European places with a more eventful history than this city. In addition to the Basilica Cistern, the Hagia Sophia and the Topkapi Palace, we also visited the Archaeological Museum, whose ancient oriental section with the oldest surviving peace treaty of mankind was unfortunately not currently accessible - how characteristic for the current situation in Europe... However, we were able to witness a glimmer of hope: the “Razoni”, the first vessel carrying Ukrainian grain from Odesa, passed through the Bosporus. Over the Bosporus, our eyes fell on Asia for the first time - we are excited to see what awaits us there!
About cycling on this section
From Belgrade through the Iron Gate: We always followed the EuroVelo 6 here, which is usually congruent with the Danube Cycle Path. The tops of the dykes between Belgrade and Pancevo and then again between Kovin and Stara Palanka are unpaved and not in a well-kept condition, but were still quite easy to cycle. It can become problematic if the long grass has not yet been mowed. The small country roads on the route drove very well and had very little traffic. In Vinci, a brand new cycle path starts right on the banks of the Danube, which leads to Golubac - be careful, this is not yet marked on most maps (but is already marked with signposts on site). The main road through the Iron Gates on the Serbian side was mostly in very good condition and surprisingly little traffic - a real highlight! But be careful: between Golubac and Kladovo you have to go through a total of 22 small to medium-sized tunnels (18 of them to Donji Milanovac alone), which are all unlit and quite narrow. Some tunnels contain curves and then get really pitch black. Here you should definitely pay attention to a very good lighting of the bicycles and ideally a reflective vest or similar to be carried! After Negotin we cycled on the gravel road close to the river via Mihajlovac, which can be quite wet and muddy after rain.
Through Bulgaria: From the border crossing at Bregovo we cycled the direct main road to Vidin. This road had very little traffic and in between offered a nice first view of the Balkan Mountains. Unfortunately, between Vidin and Lom the official Danube Cycle Route follows a long-distance truck-traffic route. Some of the roads are winding and narrow, and truck traffic is enormous. It wasn't just leisurely cycling. In general, Bulgaria is a harder place to cycle to than Serbia or Hungary. There are few or no easily passable alternatives to the major main routes. The road between Mizia on the Danube and Vratsa on the Balkan Mountains is also narrow and quite busy. However, we are not sure whether the more direct route Lom - Montana - Vratsa would be better, since according to our observations the truck traffic on the main road between Montana and Vratsa should be even heavier (in Vratsa a whole colonus of trucks pushed towards Montana). The road via Chelopek into the Iskar Gorge was a cycling highlight - very little traffic, partly very new asphalt and very nice views! The road through the Iskar Gorge to Sofia is in good condition and scenically spectacular. The closer you get to Sofia, however, the traffic density increases. We cycled to Sofia from the north via the towns of Novi Iskar - Gnilyane - Svetovrachene - Kubratovo. Surprisingly, cycling in Sofia itself was quite pleasant: thanks to wide lanes, there is room for everyone. The route from Sofia to the east via Lozen - Musachevo - Elin Pelin and Vakarel is rather light-traffic. Between Vakarel and Verinsko road no. 8 is officially closed and in very bad condition, but you can get through it by bicycle - there is nothing else to do, because the only other road in the valley is the motorway... The other road no. 8 to Plovdiv is extremely busy from Zvanichevo and absolutely not a nice bicycle route (even if it is used by a few local racing cyclists as a training route). If you are afraid of heavy traffic, it is best to go through the southern villages, which of course takes much longer.
Through Greece and Turkey to Istanbul: After crossing the border at Ormenio, we followed the E85 to Kastanies. The road is very well developed, has a wonderful shoulder and was hardly used, at least on a Sunday. From Edirne in Turkey we followed the D-100 via Lüleburgaz to the Sea of Marmara. This road is similar to a motorway, but almost always has a wide shoulder that can be used very well for cycling. Locals also occasionally use this strip for cycling or walking, so nobody minds cycling there (quite the opposite, the reactions of car and truck drivers have always been friendly - the only time a police car pulled up in front of us stopped at the shoulder, was caused by the policeman's curiosity about our trip). Crossing turn lanes can be a bit tricky when traffic is heavier - if in doubt, it's best to pull over to the right before the turn lane and wait for a quieter moment. Since the D-100 to Lüleburgaz runs through extensive industrial areas, there are certainly more interesting and beautiful, but not necessarily safer and faster alternatives. From Silivri onwards, the D-100 occasionally lacks a shoulder (neighbors recommended we continue cycling there anyway), so we soon left the D-100 and instead headed east on smaller local roads. This often rewarded us with beautiful views of the Marmara Sea, but of course it is longer than the direct route via the D-100. The closer we got to the city center, the more impatient the car and bus drivers became. But they honk at everything and everyone, which is why you shouldn't take it personally. As soon as you have reached the bicycle path on the Sea of Marmara at about the level of the Ataköy Marina Park, it leads you directly to the Bosphorus! If you are interested in our exact route to Istanbul, you can find it in our Komoot profile. Another note on the subject of street dogs: we have read reports from other cyclists that when approaching Istanbul via the northern route (D-020) problems can arise with whole packs of aggressive street dogs. We did not observe this at all on the southern route. The (few) street dogs there seemed to be so used to bicycles that they mostly didn't even look at us.
