While roughly planning a route from London to Australia we decided to follow the majestic Danube from it’s source in Donaueschingen, Germany, all the way to The Delta and Black Sea. There exists what is called the Danube Bike trail, the Euro velo 6, Danube Radweg, a documented and mostly sign posted route taking generally quieter roads, sometimes the only roads, off road tracks, dikes, all close to the Danube, Donau, Dunaj, Dunărea, Donava, Duna, Дунав, Dunav, Дунáй, Dunay. Her name changes slightly upon entering another country.
From Bulgaria we are no longer taking this route all the way to the Black Sea. We have not always stuck to the route, deviating just a few kilometres to hundreds of kilometres when it took our fancy…..or… as in Hungary, and then opting out of the Croatian section, due to flooding which forced us to search for higher ground. Even when we briefly rejoined the river, water from numerous countries was following, swallowing what was left of our trail in Southern Hungary. The locals, their own homes and corps threatened to be consumed within hours, ensured we found a safe path onwards.
Initially The Euro velo 6 was an invitation to gently enter our odyssey, not too much planning, no so many hills, a well worn path to find our selves, a warm up to what we envisaged would become difficult riding and navigation beyond Europe.
So we arrived in Donaueschingen…..to discover what looked like a large well, the source, the spring, that was not approachable as the concrete finery was hidden by scaffold. From here what was to become the Queen of rivers, gently flowed up and eastward….. at that point…. to me, a small meandering trickle, soon a stream.
Within a days ride she was a small river, slowly increasing in width, flow, a few more days and she was racing, swelling, actually bursting banks, not able to hold the rain that was often daily. By the time we were in Budapest the previous path we had ridden along the Danube was closed, underwater. We had left London just in time.
But she holds a lot of water, moves a lot of water and with each days ride she was more awesome, breath taking. In places she is more like a lake than a river, in places, damned, weirs and massive, massive hydro power stations, flat, slowed and industrial, forests, national parks, UNESCO sites, cutting out gorges, sometimes furious, queen. She is truly majestic.
We missed out upon a major part of the Euro velo 6 from near Passau to Vienna when we chose to cycle into the Czech Republic. Documented as the most popular and well worn path by cycle tourists of the 4 sections (Donaueschingen to Passau – Passau to Vienna- Vienna to Budspest- Budapest to The Delta) the first section had become increasingly busy as we neared the German Austrian border with us often seeing the same people for days at a time. When we rejoined the trail a days ride before Vienna we were shocked as the route became a virtual highway of cyclists, some loaded for the long haul, credit card tourers and the group tour and day trippers.
Apart from meeting a couple we had already met in Germany we saw no other cycle tourists in Hungary and no more until 2 solo men tourists on the same day in Romania.
Sign posting of the route was satisfactory, sometimes excellent, sometimes vandalised, ill thought out or confusing due to name changes, but satisfactory to navigate without maps or without requiring the 4 heavy bike trail booklets. Sign posting became non existent in Romania and Bulgaria and we had prepared with the final booklet.
Our second day in Bulgaria I felt emotional leaving the Queen as she less and less frequently dipped out of view as we proceeded south east. We were ready to leave her, no longer following a well worn path, in full, proceed towards our own journey, own route, own stories. Thankful to the Queen of rivers that we learnt, experienced, strayed, and grew………

….seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven…..seventy two, seventy three….it’s an incline and its like a furnace, my mind wanders I don’t remember beginning to count, seven, eight,nine, ten, eleven…..eighty eight…..counting the repetition of the pedals. I never finish counting and seams I never remember starting, my mind can go in circles like the pedals…..then I’m chasing a butterfly, racing it, it flies alongside for a while, I am not longer counting, distracted by the beauty and absurdity of racing a butterfly.
I am a bit delirious so Li cycles behind, it should not be far before we locate a camp site, exhausted and so very hot but not overly noticing the discomfort. Better not to think about.
There is comfort all around.
I start a song, we start a song, don’t know the words, too exhausted to make one up…..Fresh, start a song…..don’t know the words, new words to get over the next hill.
Giggle at nothing in particular. Giggle a lot, at reaching a crest, laughter at the animation during brief encounters with creatures I do not recognise, and they do not recognise me. You are staring, staring, laughter at self, then long periods of blankness and then more laughter.
Sadness, missing You…….Look at the computer, 6 kilometres an hour….. Eighty eight, eighty nine……seven, eight……the computer, 23 kilometres an hour, are we going down hill, or flat? You say, flat……startled that I have found some energy again. Maybe it was the effect of picking up the tortoise I rescued from the middle of the road. I am excited and want to keep it. I think about the tortoise and ones I encountered in my youth. The road kill can make me cry…or the effect on my senses….recoil in revulsion….and just the fragility of life.
I reflect on my bike mishap, not wanting another… concentrating on the road, the potholes, sand, gravel, the well travelled tracks, cars, trucks, horse drawn carts. But it was a an impressive somersault, You said I landed on my head, too fast, track just a fraction wider than the tyres and grooved. I watched the river, slow amazement that my feet unclipped from the pedals, that I rolled, up again smiling and unhurt. But thinking I don’t want another.
I cry a lot…..I cry at the full moon, it is…. beyond description. I cry when I meet you, I leave you. I cry because I am receiving far more than I can give.
Country number nine,…….ten, eleven…..is this real…I am a fake, this is a dream, this is my dream, our dream….seven, eight, nine…..this is not so difficult….it should be. Maybe tomorrow it will be too much. I will go home….I do not know where home is. I miss You. I love You, I do not want to go home, this is my home. This small world is our home. This world is too big….I can not think about it.
One day at a time…..nine, ten, eleven, no idea where our legs will take us, take me, where my mind will take me. Do I remember correctly. It does not matter, I am so very happy. Nothing hurts so much and I will crest the next hill, even mountain, even if I have to push, and I am lucky…..
In the saddle I speak to myself, was it out load, everything is loud with only bird song and the whirr of the bike. Breath, heart pumping…it is all so loud.
I have questions, more questions by the day, more curiosity, no language, just signs, laughter and smiles. I can say no more, there is nothing profound to think about…..just emotion.

We have pretty much followed the Danube River, the mighty queen of rivers from its source in Donaueschingen in Germany to Budapest, Hungary. We took a slightly large detour and deviated near Passau heading up to Prague and then back south, rejoining the Danube nearing Vienna. Heading up to Prague we also attempted to follow the Vlatava River.

The Vltava left us speechless, 3 days pedal from where we joined it at lake Lipno in the Czech Republic. It begun as a small river, a stones throw to the opposite bank. Cycle touring you don’t actually see the river that often, even when following its general course. Busy roads, hills, towns, forests, all obscure its view. We had not seen water for 3 days of pedalling when somewhere near the Vltava we came to a bridge and were to cross to the other side. In maybe 150km the small river had become immense, the bridge a few kilometres long with the wide fast flowing river far below. The following day it joined a beautiful, scenic lake we had the pleasure of camping besides, and river again and then the fast flowing river that we left behind and that has apparently now submerged many areas of Prague.

Back on the Danube, just before Vienna, huge power stations and appearing more like a lake, this river is awesome. The station humming like whale song. And the river, its flowing fast. I was impressed by the size it had become way back in Passau where it was joined with the rivers Ilz and Inn. Back then we were moved from our camp site to high ground after a phone call to the site explaining water was coming. The Danube it is bigger than I could have imagined, is not at all like the small stream we chose to follow well over a month ago.

Our route, the Euro Velo 6 which follows the Danube from start to finish is closed with much of where we have already been reported as underwater. We left Budapest as the route we briefly inspected on June 5^th was close to being submerged and then underwater on June 6^th. The water is rising and expecting to peak at about 9 meters on 10^th or 11^th.

As the river rises we have ridden in circles, zig zagging the major roads that without warning throw up signage prohibiting bicycles. Neither the major book shop or petrol stations have had maps and our only map being suitable for submarines at present. We briefly decided to skip Croatia and Serbia heading for hills in Romania however, until we chose to ignore the signage we are pretty much stuck. Today we head back south and the unknown, will keep our distance from the river but head in that general direction. If needs be we will help with sand bags or shifting mud as its time to keep on moving.