Man, it's whirlwindy outside

Alright, so I haven't written in ages. I'm in an internet cafe in Vidin, Bulgaria where just yesterday afternoon we sat and waited at the ferry from Romania for what seemed like hours only to arrive in Bulgaria to discover we had a police escort from the border to the campsite, that they would be staying with us overnight, and in the morning we would have a free tour of Baba Vida, the oldest and best preserved fortress in the country which we just happened to be sleeping next to (that was a run-on sentence if I've ever seen one). Showers on the Danube and a delicious dinner were just the bonus prize (I hadn't showered in 6 days - don't tell anyone). When I emerged from my tent this morning, our camp had been surrounded by police tape and I couldn't help but laugh and take a picture...

Alas, you've missed a lot of crazy stuff. Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, and Romania for starters. I have a treat for you though, the video from weeks 3 and 4!! http://blip.tv/file/2408973

I have to get on my bike and ride to Belogradchik pretty soon, so I'll limit myself to 3 points about each country - which is nowhere near enough, but so it goes. Oh, and we've been told that the red rocks of Belogradchik have applied for 'World Wonder' status, whatever that means. I'm excited to spend a day off there tomorrow, I'm sure it will be wonderous.

Hungary
- I had a language lesson from a sweet little older lady who gave me her email address and said if I skyped with her she would teach me Hungarian
-In Budapest we stayed at a super cool artist collective in the heart of the city. It had a giant courtyard with a bar that had DJs and live music every night. I am convinced the city never sleeps. I also rode my bicycle on the oldest velodrome in Europe - amazing.
-We stayed at an autoshop, a soccer field, and in cute little bungalows

Croatia
-We were only here for one night that we spent in Vukovar, which has quite the history of war and devastation. We stayed at a church on the top of a hill and within a stone's throw of the water tower shown here, preserved as a symbol of the town's suffering: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vukovar
-There were signs along the side of all the roads warning not to stray off the roads... because of landmines! (I'm not supposed to blog about this for fear of worried moms, but we are all safe!)
-We stopped and played along the Danube at a gigantic free outdoor pool/sports area with waterslides, 6 outdoor pools, and of course, non-stop techno music ... kind of like a Splashdown Park, but public.

Serbia
-We had no car for this portion of the ride because no rental companies will insure a car to be driven in Serbia.
-Charles, Shani and myself spoiled ourselves rotten and had the most decadent 3 course meal imaginable in Belgrade. Mom, I thought of you :)
-Some of the team members were nervous about Serbia, but the people were super friendly. People would yell and wave when we rode by, and the drivers were courteous.

Romania
-The border guards took our passports and spent a few minutes laughing at them and joking before giving them back.
-This country boasted some of the most beautiful ride days yet along the spectacular Danube.
-We did the UNESCO dance (you might have seen this dance in every one of our videos) in front of a giant face carved into the mountains. Gene remarked about the face, "We have those in America, only more of them... and they're bigger".
-Okay, Romania gets 4 points. We stayed a night in a small town in front of a bar where the whole town (it seemed) came out to party. Jenika and I were greeted with shouts of "YOU ARE CHINA!!!" and I played rummy with a group of Romanians. It's amazing how much you can communicate with gestures and eyebrow raises.

So here we are in Bulagria, our 10th of 11 countries. We arrive in Istanbul in 13 days (11 more ride days) and I must say the time has flown by. That's all for now!!!