Romania is a land of contrasts. For several days, we seemed to be cycling on either unnervingly busy highways with high-speed traffic, or quiet rural backroads. Interestingly, the ubiquitous horse-drawn carts could be found on both types of road. Out on the highways, cars just whizzed past the carts, without a second thought. But once out of their cars, Romanians were some of the friendliest people we’ve met, waving and calling out, “hello!” or “hola!” as we rode by.

The bike ride to Belgrade served up more busy roads, with lots of fast moving traffic. A quieter section that passed through fields of corn, cabbage and carrots provided a pleasant break from the crowded throughways. Belgrade itself was a bustling, vibrant city with an iconic fortress and lots of classical architecture. We enjoyed strolling through the pedestrian-only walkways, between hotel-room planning sessions where we considered our options for travel once we reach the Black Sea.

There’s a reason the Danube River route through Austria is so popular with cyclists. We rode through a string of picture-perfect, riverside villages via mostly quiet, dedicated bike paths. And by sheer luck, we found ourselves at the Regattaverein as the national teams were warming up for the 2019 World Rowing Championships. 

We’ve started the final leg of our journey, heading downstream with the Danube River. Cycling through the Donautal Gorge, a steady rain soaked us as we rode past Hapsburg castles perched on the cliffs. Dozens of shrines along the bike route provided a constant reminder that we are still traveling on a pilgrim’s path to Santiago, through villages and forests that were once part of the Holy Roman Empire. 

Our route on EuroVelo 6 followed two iconic canals through western France. The Canal du Centre links Brittany with the Mediterranean via the Loire and Rhône Rivers. And the Rhône-to-Rhine Canal connects the Mediterranean to the North Sea. The kilometers flew by on the flat and well-surfaced trails. Along the way we were entertained by canal-side gardens, tropical-looking birds, and an old French city oozing Renaissance charm.

After 750 km of cycling through the Loire Valley, we’re leaving the river behind. In Digoin, the Loire River turns southward, towards its source in the Ardeche Mountains of south-central France. But we are staying on EuroVelo 6, which heads northeast towards Germany and the Rhine River. Bye-bye, Loire!

We’re now deep in the heart of central France, where the Loire River becomes too shallow for most boats. Here we encountered the Loire Lateral Canal, with its amazing bridges that cross major rivers like highway overpasses for boats. And in a tiny town near Nevers, we discovered Kilometer 0, the source of the Loire à Vélo route.

We’re discovering many facets of Scotland, beyond sea cliffs and castles. Of course, we’re cycling past plenty of those. But now we’ve also met Scotland’s favorite cartoon character, we’ve admired a famous St. Bernard midshipman, we’ve seen how to run a North Sea oil rig, and even learned a few words of Scots.

After an extended break on the outskirts of London, a change of plans had us headed due north towards Cambridge. A brush with the busy traffic near Stansted Airport made us happy to get back into the more rural parts of England. Cycling over rolling green hills, we arrived on the DNA Cycle Path, a fitting approach to a University town renowned for its scientific discoveries.

Biking from Windsor into the heart of London let us experience the many different sides of this great city. From royal parks with ancient trees, to the coronation site for early Anglo-Saxon kings, to a tiny ferry, a giant pedestrian tunnel, and some of the City’s most beloved icons (like, the Tower Bridge), we savored it all. As we watched people go about their business, and chatted with passers by about our journey, we looked forward to a week of R&R in the UK’s biggest city.

After two more days cycling along the Nantes-to-Brest Canal, we’ve turned north into the region of Armorica - the ancient heart of Brittany. Leaving behind the castles of the valley, we rode through the legendary Monts d’Arrée, where Celtic legends arise from the heathlands and mossy forests. In Carhaix-Plouguer, we enjoyed seeing roadside art inspired by the Tour de France, which raced through the center of town in 2018.

Heading up France’s Atlantic coast, we continued cycling through endless pine forests, and rode by the foot of Europe’s highest sand dune. But the highlight of this leg of our trip was a campsite in the forest, just a stones throw from the dunes. There were no other people in sight as we strolled along the beach. Falling asleep, all we could hear were the waves and the wind in the pines.

The southern coastal region of Portugal is known as the Algarve. With more than a hundred beaches, it attracts tourists from all over the world. We biked eastward along the coast for three days. Along the way, Portugal continued to challenge us physically while offering incredible scenery and the chance to immerse ourselves in the mix of old and new.

The five days of biking from Lisbon to Portugal’s southwestern corner was not expected to be too challenging. With the exception of one mountain park, with a climb through a pass that is only 625 ft high, the terrain would be fairly manageable with low, rolling hills. But nothing was exactly as it seemed, and Portugal threw us a few curve balls.