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//Day 25 /05-04-22 /Silistra-Constanta

After 140 K , 1500 M ascents, great views, sunny weather and the last 15 K on a busy road I arrived in Constanta and saw the Black  Sea. 



Except the last 15 K,  the scenery between  Silistra and Constanta was a nice change from the last week cycling. Cycling through hills, passing big vineyards, the Danube,  green farmland,  mostly on a small road with no traffic. Small villages every 15K. Alternating though ascents of often more then 6% during with rewarding descents on mostly silk asfalt. Black Horse and I did well but we were happy to arrive at our destination.  










I had (again ) somewhat a romantic idea of my destination Constanta, located at the Black Sea, a nice, relatively,  small village at the sea, summer destination…reality is that  Constanta is a city bigger then Ghent. Constanta is an important summer holiday destination for the Romanians. The suburbs did not reveal what attracts people to Constanta, only when I arrived at the seaside and the small city center I could see some attraction points : a big beach, shops, restaurants overviewing the harbour,…anyway enough selling points to have plenty of hotels and B&B’s….I checked out  a couple of hotels to finally decide for a B&B, somewhat pricy for Romanian standards but with a secure stable for Black Horse, located in the middle of the “touristic” city center , great shower and hard bed…..







After laying out the route for the next days and a shower I went to the local barber for a haircut and trim my wannabe-beard…The barber-session took longer then what I would expect required to trim my declining hair and wannabe-beard but it offered plenty of time to talk with the barber, something I never do at home. I was quite pleased with the result ..(see IPhone selfy)…









Tomorrow I will leave Romania and head direction Varna at the Bulgarian coast, some 175 K away. I will not reach Varna, but want to arrive as close as possible tomorrow. Thursday a lot of rain is expected and my plan is to cycle that day  as less as possible on “rainy” whilst visiting Varna. The barber said that that Varna was a beautiful and interesting city to visit. May be I will even stay 2 nights. Ideally  find also a biker shop to swap my bikechain….

In the evening I had a great dinner at a Romanian restaurant recommended by the B&B owner. I had homemade liver paté (french style) and a local pork dish. Both excellent. The background music, again somewhat loud, was also great : Zappa reincarnated as frontman of a Romanian trash/hippy band on LSD….

Lessons learned :
  • The last kilometers in Romania were one of the most beautiful.
  • Romania is a great and interesting country with nice people (although the different warnings I received from Romanians that I should not trust anyone). You should not hesitate to visit the country (I did not even see the Romanian Carpathians - which seem stunning).  
  • I’m getting slowly in shape. No problem with 140 K. I need to buy a belt one of these days. 
  • Perfect timing of VRT Radio 1 to broadcast the Classic 1000 the next 2 weeks. Perfect cycling music.

Comments

  1. Leentje Vanlee4/5/22, 9:39 PM

    Nice haircut and beardtrim! Loved the photos a usual! Curious for more!:-)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Liliane vanlee4/6/22, 7:31 AM

    Mooi opgefrist en mooi zicht op de zwarte zee.
    Hopelijk donderdag niet te veel regen.
    Groetjes

    ReplyDelete
  3. Lieve meirsman4/6/22, 7:59 AM

    ik vond je verhaal weer de moeite om te lezen en de foto's waren zeer mooi, jij en je fiets in orde en je kan weer verder genieten van je tochten;

    ReplyDelete

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