I’ll be sharing photos as I go. While photos only tell some of the story, I hope they help convey a bit more of my experience on the road.
Ritchey steel frame road bike with mountain bike pedals, Shimano 18-spd drive train, continental gravel tires, and some lovely bags handmade by the Hassan brothers in Atlanta. 60 Pounds of Gear! Very lean.
Amazing Pizza in Croatia. Yes, I ate the whole thing.
Čevape (local Balkan food, very popular in Serbia. Sausage, raw onion, bread, and yogurt. Massive portion sizes and quite good.)
Serbian photos (the next handful w/o captions apply to this note). Bullet holes are from Serbian invasion in the 1990s after Croatia declared independence to Yugoslavia alongside Slovenia because they were pulling higher weight economically than other members. Many civilians killed and very sensitive topic.
Dog in Novi Sad, followed me around city, very sweet
Novi Sad - old town
Novi Sad
Novi Sad City View
Old fortress from 1400s, used to be main fortress of Serbia. Very large. Smederevo city
Old fortress from 1400s, used to be main fortress of Serbia. Very large. Smederevo city
Construction crew who escorted me on steam rolller across 2 mile wet asphalt stretch
No Description Needed!
Delicious goulash and wine in ancient city of Niš
Roman bath house ruins in Niš
Ancient constnatinople road marker from Romans
600 year-old mosque from Ottoman Empire occupation.
Roman wine cellar ruins
Roman grave
Roman building ruins
Few hundred year old mountaineer tavern
Ottoman Empire fortress entrance surrounding niš old town, see Arabic inscriptions above gate
Mountains of Serbia near Bulgaria border
Mountains of Serbia near Bulgaria border
My bike and that of a fellow Dutch Bikepacker named Mathias who I rode with
Nat and Bryan contemplating joining Andy on his adventure as soon as possible.
My wonderful Bulgarian hosts and lifelong friends
First Bulgaria photo, right after Serbia border through mountainous countryside, climbing 3000 feet to descent into Sofia
A friendly meal with a kind local couple
Lovely older couple who pulled me off roadside from massive climb and hot weather to treat me to beer and snacks
View of Sofia preceding the sketchy descent on the windy highway shoulder
Sofia
Interesting choice of AK-47 to accentuate the beautiful purses for sale
1300s roadside war memorial, Bulgarians vs. Ottoman invaders. I bet the river behind this memorial hides ancient treasures.
Mountains of the iron gateway to Romania
Storks and livestock peacefully coexisting
Mountains of Bulgaria
Bulgarian car bomb I biked past?
Beautiful view of mountain village
Local school’s fighter jet
Tortoise road crossing escort
600 year old basilica mosaics discovered in Plovdiv just a few years go, europes oldest city. Beneath this church lies layers of Greek and Byzantine churches.
confederate flag jeep in Bulgaria?
Agriculture scenery
2,000 year old copper sculptures
More mosaic being cleaned and discovered everyday, Plovdiv has barely been excavated because most Bulgarians simply aren’t interested, an archaelogist’s dream city.
Layers of Greek and Roman marble and ruins from pagan church (also, note the preferred biking footwear).
Mosaic depicting pheasants peacocks roosters and chickens from early Christianity.
2,000 year old jewelry found under the church
Examples of left over ruins. all over city experiencing the elements
Marble column recovered from Roman era layer under church
Sun dial on ancient ottoman mosque
Delicious lunch, spicy beef with Bulgarian yogurt and fresh bread
Beautiful Plovdiv architecture and art, most houses in this style are circa late 1800s or early 1900s
Ancient ampitheatre sitting in Plovdiv
Old ruins in Plovdiv from romans
Beautiful circa 19th century artisan homes
Plovdiv charming streets
White and blue house interio
Old Constantinople map
My friend Frank’s 1700 cc motorbike, I politely declined taking it for a spin
Frank's girlfriend - what a chef- meat casserole with egg and Bulgarian yogurt. Delicious!
Frank’s lovely girlfriend, Ljuboslava, made lovely food while they hosted me. This is a local cold soup, kind of tastes like tzatziki sauce but more cucmbery and fresh
Another delicious dish from the house of Frank: Homemade vanilla pie with fresh heavy cream
Mountains on drive to 1000 year old monastery south of Plovdi
Inside monastery, ottoman invaders scraped the faces from the saints 500 years ago to effectively perform an iconoclast and erase traces of Christianity
Lovely fresh garden vegetables, personally hang dried and cured meats, local cheese, and fresh bread from Ljuboslava (Frank's girlfriend)
Delicious meal, possibly the best of the trip! Sort of grape leaves style using fermented cabbage instead of grape leaves to wrap freshly cased spicy sausage with a milky cheese dressing (thanks, Ljuboslava)
My wonderful Bulgarian hosts and lifelong friends (Frank and Ljuboslava)
Some cows suspiciously watching me unclog mud from my tires for 30 minutes
My companion while waiting out the rain before crossing to turkey
Nice prices! 1 euro kebabs -not available on Uber Eats ;0
Ottoman 500 year old bridge just before turkey, last Bulgaria pic
Nice road quality
First Turkey photo, grand mosque in Edirne cit
Delicious kebab for $2 in Edirne, first of Turkey!
Massive stork nest right in village! It looks fake
My lovely friend from Turkey who lives in Brooklyn! He was visiting his father, owner of my hotel, in small city of Luluburgas. He took me for wonderful local food and drink
Nice gentleman who forced Turkish hospitality upon me by offering me bottomless tea, a free haircut, and a place to stay
One of many huge mosques in istanbul
Nice quiet square near istanbul university, good for 15¢ glasses of tea and a good book
Effective way to carry things
2,000 year old pilllars from old Constantinople
Tombs of all of the ottoman sultans from last 7 or so centuries
Blue mosque
Wonderful Korean friends who traveled with me for a day to explore Asian side of istanbul
Tranquil garden in istanbul
Piece of building looks like a slice was removed like a cake
Gallatas tower, 500 or so years old
Students enjoying Saturday evening on the water
Europe side of istanbul
Korean friends after lovely dinner
Kitty enjoying Saturday evening on the water
Korean dinner in Turkey, very authentic and same quality as actual food from Korea
Blue mosque at 5 am
My wonderful Turkish friend who works at Siemens in Berlin. Gave me a lunch, coffee, and a tour of his Black Sea village and the 700 year old pirate fortres
Black Sea town
Beautiful estuary of Ağva Merkez village
Wild praying mantis spotted
Local farmers who let me hitchhike 20 miles to closest after my bike broke and they took me to a local bike mechanic for a free service! My saviors.
Ağva merkez fisherman!