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.

We took a few wrong turns, but eventually made it out of Belgrade, and back onto the rough-surfaced, but peaceful Danube levees. Before long, we had crossed the river, and were entering the stunningly beautiful Iron Gates. Through a series of tunnels and cliff-side roads, we cycled past the gorges that slice through the Carpathian Mountains, finally landing in Romania.

Heading south out of Budapest, EuroVelo 6 enters a broad plain dominated by agriculture. We cycled for several days on mostly unpaved levees, through fields of sunflowers, corn, and the Hungarian national spice - paprika. With few lodging options before Baja, wild camping was the way to go. So we spent several peaceful nights sleeping on the soft grass that borders the levees.

We rode eastward from Bratislava, brushing past the northwestern Carpathian Mountains, and out onto the Great Hungarian Plain. The route alternated between excellent paved sections, deep wet gravel, and phenomenally potholed roads. But we eventually reached Budapest, the Pearl of the Danube, with its fascinating history and culture.

It took just one day to cycle between two of Central Europe’s most enchanting capitals. But the route from Vienna to Bratislava was not all smooth sailing. We had to maneuver around a number of obstacles along the way. It was worth it, because we thoroughly enjoyed our stay in Bratislava, a truly vibrant and lovely city with a unique history.

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. 

Cycling EuroVelo 6 is all about following the great rivers of Europe. We rode our last few days along the emerald-green Rhine River, and crossed the Swabian Jura Mountains to meet up with the Danube River. For the first time since leaving Nantes, France, we’ll be traveling downstream (and downhill) as the Danube flows eastward. Charming riverside towns, lush forests, and chocolate milk have been some of the pleasures along the way.

The Rhône-to-Rhine Canal took us through more natural landscapes, bordered by misty hollows and wooded hills. The river feels wilder here, and we’re seeing a greater variety of birds, plus a few unexpected animals - like goats in a playground. Traveling by bike always produces a few surprises.

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.

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.

With the temperatures rising to record levels, we’re heading for Tours, France, where we can hunker down for a few days. Along the way, we both had flat tires. But that didn’t keep us from enjoying the beautiful Loire Valley, with more glowing sunflowers and stately chateaus. Even the monster that lurks in Tours’s old town couldn’t keep us away.

Cycling through the Kingdom of Fife, we circled the region’s tallest hills and its biggest lake. Castles haunted by the ghost of Mary Queen of Scots lined our path, as we negotiated our way through the hills, and back to the coast. There, in the birthplace of golf, we got stuck in a cycling sand trap at St. Andrews Links, one of the oldest golf courses in the world. The rest of the road to Dundee went more smoothly, except for that incident on the bridge over the River Eden. Let’s just say, you don’t want to get too close to a flustered swan.

It didn’t take us long to reach Scotland. As the northernmost nation that we would visit on this tour, Scotland holds a special allure. We’ve finally reached the land of bagpipes, tartans, deep blue lochs, and those adorable highland cattle.

We cycled through Dunbar, birthplace of John Muir, one of the great early leaders of the U.S. conservation movement. The John Muir Way took us most of the rest of the way to Edinburgh. 

This leg of our journey took us along the wild and scenic reaches of the Northumberland Coast. For the better part of several days, we cycled on sandy, muddy and gravelly paths along the rugged North Sea coast. We enjoyed the sense of adventure, soaking up the gorgeous views and taking our time as we bounced along the rural paths. Biking past four of the region’s iconic castles, we could appreciate how their inhabitants incorporated the extra defenses offered by the coastal cliffs. We also took a day to celebrate our namesake birds - Atlantic Puffins - with a boat trip out to the seabird colonies of the Farne Islands.