Day 40
Sleeping location: Weird airbnb, Plovdiv, Bulgaria
Distance (km today/total): 50 / 3949
Estimated climb (m today/total): 100 / 32200
% of Plovdiv’s old town suitable for cycling: 0
Day in three words: Friends! Cycling friends!
We all woke up about the same time and broke camp in a relaxed fashion. I made coffee for everyone but it was at best 6/10 - I think my gas canister is on its last legs and can’t produce enough power to boil water properly, so the coffee doesn’t brew quite right. At some point very soon I will have to learn how to use the stove with petrol/kerosene, otherwise there will be no coffee for anyone, ever again. We set off as a team for Plovdiv over a pretty relaxed and uneventful morning. The highlight was seeing a sign by the road that simply said “Danger Zone”, meaning we were quite literally on the highway to the danger zone.
In Plovdiv we went for lunch as a group, plus Nina’s Bulgarian friend whose name I don’t remember but was very nice. Andreas left after this, then the rest of us went for coffee and cake nearby in the “hipster district”. Plovdiv has really tarted itself up since I was here four years ago; it was odd recognising little bits of graffiti in the midst of a totally different neighbourhood. The venue for coffee and cake was “Central Perk”, which was the second Friends ripoff I have visited in Bulgaria in the space of three days. I was unfortunately too full to try the Chandler Burger so I had a beer instead. Hugo and Nina then headed off, leaving me alone once more. They are heading to Greece so I sadly won’t see them again on this trip , but Andreas is heading east too so I might see him on the way to, or in, Istanbul.
I went to my airbnb to get stuck into some admin, but the lack of reliable wifi and hot water made this a bit difficult. The apartment was in the heart of the old town, which is very atmospheric but also has ludicrously steep streets and roads made of enormous stones, which is all less than ideal for cycling on. The host also kept wandering around in tiny pants with his big belly hanging over them, which was kind of distracting when I was trying to talk to him about WPA2 authentication. After that I headed up to the nearby Nebet Tepe hill, which gives great views over the city, for sunset, and was suitably impressed. I was also happy to see that it was next to a restaurant I went to when I was last here, where they gave us a free fridge magnet of an old man with a beer. I was suckered in by the thought of another magnet which I could stick to Maggie, but didn’t get one - they knew they’d hooked me the first time, the clever bastards. I did finally get my shopska salad and duck hearts (see day 36), but sadly they didn’t serve NNPNHCKO. As in Skopje the waiter tried to advise me that the amount of food I’d ordered was too much and I ignored him. It is pretty much impossible to impress on people how much you need to eat when you’re cycling 100+km a day, and generally they just think you are a total pig*.
*Which is not necessarily inaccurate
Distance (km today/total): 50 / 3949
Estimated climb (m today/total): 100 / 32200
% of Plovdiv’s old town suitable for cycling: 0
Day in three words: Friends! Cycling friends!
We all woke up about the same time and broke camp in a relaxed fashion. I made coffee for everyone but it was at best 6/10 - I think my gas canister is on its last legs and can’t produce enough power to boil water properly, so the coffee doesn’t brew quite right. At some point very soon I will have to learn how to use the stove with petrol/kerosene, otherwise there will be no coffee for anyone, ever again. We set off as a team for Plovdiv over a pretty relaxed and uneventful morning. The highlight was seeing a sign by the road that simply said “Danger Zone”, meaning we were quite literally on the highway to the danger zone.
In Plovdiv we went for lunch as a group, plus Nina’s Bulgarian friend whose name I don’t remember but was very nice. Andreas left after this, then the rest of us went for coffee and cake nearby in the “hipster district”. Plovdiv has really tarted itself up since I was here four years ago; it was odd recognising little bits of graffiti in the midst of a totally different neighbourhood. The venue for coffee and cake was “Central Perk”, which was the second Friends ripoff I have visited in Bulgaria in the space of three days. I was unfortunately too full to try the Chandler Burger so I had a beer instead. Hugo and Nina then headed off, leaving me alone once more. They are heading to Greece so I sadly won’t see them again on this trip , but Andreas is heading east too so I might see him on the way to, or in, Istanbul.
I went to my airbnb to get stuck into some admin, but the lack of reliable wifi and hot water made this a bit difficult. The apartment was in the heart of the old town, which is very atmospheric but also has ludicrously steep streets and roads made of enormous stones, which is all less than ideal for cycling on. The host also kept wandering around in tiny pants with his big belly hanging over them, which was kind of distracting when I was trying to talk to him about WPA2 authentication. After that I headed up to the nearby Nebet Tepe hill, which gives great views over the city, for sunset, and was suitably impressed. I was also happy to see that it was next to a restaurant I went to when I was last here, where they gave us a free fridge magnet of an old man with a beer. I was suckered in by the thought of another magnet which I could stick to Maggie, but didn’t get one - they knew they’d hooked me the first time, the clever bastards. I did finally get my shopska salad and duck hearts (see day 36), but sadly they didn’t serve NNPNHCKO. As in Skopje the waiter tried to advise me that the amount of food I’d ordered was too much and I ignored him. It is pretty much impossible to impress on people how much you need to eat when you’re cycling 100+km a day, and generally they just think you are a total pig*.
*Which is not necessarily inaccurate
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