Old Town Hotel Vidin

... view; its an amazing place. At breakfast the waiter offered coffee with milk; without it was extra. I suggested to him that at e42 per night it wasn't on and asked for hot water (fetching coffee from the room). But he was ahead of me and brought it no charge anyway.<br><br>The early morning ride was very nice following an inlet of the danube then crossing a bridge before joining a rolling road through small villages. There was very little traffic and in ...

... check out the countryside. Today Im going to get on a train and hopefully somebody that I dont know will pick me up at the train station. If not Im sleeping on a park bench next to Billy the Bum. There is an International Valley of the Roses Festival this weekend so I have to stay for that. I was planning on staying in Bulgaria for two nights and it looks like Ill stay over a week (Who am I kidding, I dont plan).

... most of the afternoon to drink. Mandy gave me some Thracian goodies (a ring and necklace fragment) that her ex boyfriend had picked up but didnt want. Should be nice for my nephew... Left bike with mechanic as headseat and rear hub need servicing. Hope to collect tomorrow....

... by a brit and bulgarian couple its super friendly and they let me bring teh bike inside. Before I had even unpacked we were off with a crowd of other brits exploring a property one of them had bought. Musnt stay too long here or I will never leave! Ruse itself is a buzzing small town with a very long promenade where the locals seems to stuff themselves with beer and ice cream all day...

... dragged themselves away from Warcraft to help translate and persuade the owner to allow me to upload photos. Hurrah for the Bulgarian education system otherwise no pics on the webiste today. Anyhow, they then kindly took me on a whizz tour of the city to the roman fort which overlooks the town and which I probably wouldnt have found otherwise. I popped back there after dinner by myself and sat on some reconstructed ampitheatre steps just below. It was a great place to collect ones thoughts.

... one of the tables inside, so he translated a few words, and I was soon set up with a comfy bed, hot water, cold beer, and a good nights sleep. The ride had been a *******e with some chunky climbs as each new river valley joined the Danube. I would like to have photographed some of the very threadbare villages I passed, but it felt a bit disrespectful taking snaps of people on their horses or in their front gardens!

... I just wandered over the ruins, having a good prod at anything that looked interesting in the trenches! The Danube remained stoically beside me all day. Arriving in Neogiin I realised the town centre is having a face lift. I am sure it will be lovely when complete. I stayed at the town's only hotel, but alas, this place is beyond repair.

... girl (Melissa) kindly did a bit of translation. In the evening I caught up with Dusha (a Professor from Cambridge) and his team who were doing a dig at the Lepenski Vir site. I left with my panniers bulging wtih mountain bike maps that the tourist information people had given me and lots of good memories (but fortunately not too much of a hangover!)

... if there was any chance of making it over to some ruins before sunset on teh bus. I approached a friendly looking lady walking towards me. Conversation ran a bit as follows: hello do you speak English yes, yes, speaky speaky oh, er could you tell me where the tourist information office is please? ah hello. You want bed? No , thank you. I just want the tourist information office ...

... the community. We saw wells which have been dug, the schools which have been renovated, and play structures which have been built. It is great because although WV helps provide the funding, the communities must do the work themselves. Thank you to everyone who donated money or articles for these children. Everything has been gratefully received, and it was definitely worth it to see the looks of joy on these kids faces!