Apr
18
2010

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Typical

by Tara

Today was a typical day. We woke up, and hoped that when we unzipped our tent, it would reveal a nice day.

Morning View

It did, though by the time we were done with breakfast, dark clouds had rolled in, threatening a cold rain. We bundled up, grabbed our waterproof jackets, and hit the road.

We biked into a headwind for most of the morning, sandwiched between river and mountain. There was only one road and one direction to go, and honestly we didn't really want to be on it today. We rode on anyhow, doing our best to enjoy the scenery.

Romanian Mountain Road

Eventually the afternoon sun burned away the looming clouds. When it was clear we had escaped any threat of rain, we stopped to remove a few layers.

Danube River Fence Tyler Putting on Shoes

We found some nice cold mountain water to refill our water bottles:

Tyler Filling Water

… and met a friendly dog. Last time we went grocery shopping, Tyler grabbed a bag of dog biscuits to feed the particularly lonely looking strays. This guy was pretty skittish:

Tyler Feeding Romanian Dog

But he warmed up to us after a few treats:

Tyler Feeding Romanian Dog

Down the road, we met some cool people whose kindness helped shake the last of our morning funk. David and Ousman, two really tall French cycle tourists towered like demi-gods over our hobbit statures. They were very nice. And very tall.

Hobbits (Us), Demi-Gods (David & Oussman)

Not long after we left, we found some more dogs to befriend. In addition to bad roads, we've been warned about mean dogs in Romania. In our experience they are all just big softies who want some attention:

Tyler Feeding Romanian Dogs

And food, of course:

Tyler Feeding Romanian Dogs Tyler Feeding Romanian Dogs Romanian Dogs & Tyler

And love:

Romanian Dog & Tyler Romanian Dog & Tyler

Tyler was having so much fun with his dog biscuits he tried one on these cows too. They just stared.

Romanian Cows

Late in the day our road took a turn inland, sending us on a climb that was surprisingly refreshing, though my climbing face doesn't really reflect that.

Tara Town Near Orsova, Romania

And then, just as we were nearing our destination of Orsova, we came across something completely unexpected. The tallest rock sculpture in Europe! Carved into the mountain to our left was the likeness of Decebalus Rex. Cool!

Decebalus Rex - Dragan Fecit

After ogling the sculpture for a few minutes, we finished our ride, found a nice hotel with wifi and hot water, and settled in to rest.

Another seventy kilometers down, another set of memories for our scrap book. Not too shabby at all!

Tara
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12 comments

Thank you for giving those doggies some love - they look like they could get used to that!
Posted by YvetteDownunder on April 20th, 2010 at 5:50 PM
There are so many of them, it is mind boggling. There might be more dogs here than there were cats in Tunisia.

We need to buy more doggie treats :)
Posted by Tyler on April 20th, 2010 at 6:31 PM
Tara that is an absolutely gorgeous picture of you! WOW!
Posted by Amanda on April 20th, 2010 at 7:34 PM
LOL - Thanks for sharing the picture of the tall French dudes! If you hadn't all been in the picture.. well, the perspective is great!

Also - that last picture just begins to show how beautiful you are!

Miss you - Please stay safe!
Posted by Bobbi Lee on April 21st, 2010 at 9:23 AM
Greetings from the tall french guys!

As you told us, we had tail wind all day long, reaching 35 km/h without effort =)

We hope you're doing fine, we will follow you on the website from now on! And thanks for sharing all those pictures, they all are breathtaking!
Bye!
david
Posted by David on April 21st, 2010 at 3:42 PM
Again, Tara you are so gorgeous!!
Posted by Eliza on April 22nd, 2010 at 12:28 AM
The picture of you two and the French guys is beyond hysterical!

I want you to know that, though I don't chime in often, I follow you very faithfully! Except for tuning in to read your blog, my feed reader is sadly neglected these days. LOVE to read about your adventures and see your new photographic delights.
Posted by franceylibrarian on April 22nd, 2010 at 3:07 PM
I am always anxious for your next posting-wondering what the "rest of the story" will include. I wanted to compliment you both too-the blog, the photographs, and your appearance have all improved dramatically on your journey. Apparently a bicycling life agrees with you both!
I really think you two should consider a book--putting it all together with photographs, the good, the bad, the ugly, and the beautiful parts. You are on an amazing journey that you will remember forever, and the rest of us are sharing it vicariously!
Posted by Gia Scott on April 23rd, 2010 at 11:49 PM
Amanda - Thank you! We have your brother to thank for that. He was just taking a very unflattering "up the nose" shot, which made me crack up, and hence the resulting photo.

Bobbi - I'm pretty sure there is a slight optical illusion going on because they were closer to the camera than we were, but STILL! Freaking tall. Also, thanks! XOXO

Eliza - pshhh I'm blushing now. Thanks, hon! Love you bunches!

Frances - Always love hearing from you, and glad to know you still keep tabs on us. Hope Uni High is treating you well!

Gia - Thank you! We will indeed work on a book once we come home and have a bit more time, hopefully! In the meantime, we're writing the book one chapter at a time, every single day. :-)
Posted by Tara on April 24th, 2010 at 7:45 AM
David - Great to hear from you! It was so nice meeting you guys, though we were more than a little jealous of that tailwind! Just checked out your website and it looks like you are in Hungary now? Geez you guys are fast. And tall. :-) Enjoy the rest of your trip, we'll be reading along! Bonne continuation!
Posted by Tara on April 24th, 2010 at 8:01 AM
Those French guy's bikes are huge!
Posted by Jeremy on January 5th, 2011 at 5:23 AM
I don't care about the dogs but love to look at the guy, who is very handsome:) Love to look at his pants and his red hair:P
Posted by mary on March 8th, 2013 at 9:56 AM