I was rudely awoken by the pain in the arse pervert at 6.45. For some reason he thought that I would want to take the ferry back to the other side of the Danube so that I could continue to bike on the Serbian side. Not on your nelly! Anyhow, seeing as I was awake and not being left alone I went downstairs and joined the Austrian family at breakfast. They were going to take the ferry back and continue on the Serbian side. They were making me doubt my decision to cross into Romania especially as there was 18km of hills coming up but I stuck to my decision. I left earlier than I have done so far and struggled to get going at first. The first few kilometers of the day always take a bit of getting used to as my knees are aching from the previous days mileage. 

I thought that I had better stock up on some food and drink before I crossed the border as I didn't know when I would be able to get some Romanian Lei and I still had too much Serbian Dinar left. As I neared the border I was pleased to see the EU flag flying and was greeted with a smile as I rode up to the booth. They stamped my passport and told me to have a nice day. I was in Romania, no more Serbia. My route book, dated 2008, had warned me that the roads on the Romanian side would be of poorer quality, really? Could anything be worse than the Serbian roads? And no, British roads don't count :-). The roads were fine, they were wider and they were smoother and even only two km past the border I already had Romanian drivers giving me space as they passed or waiting until it was safe to pass. On top of that, I wasn't being engulfed in black fumes which was a bonus.

The climb started about 2km past the border. I had expected it so I had already psyched myself out. It was an 8% climb which in the end went on for 11km. It wasn't all that bad, I climbed steadily stopping every now and then to drink and to give my 'parts' a quick recovery stop. I was very happy when I came to the top and had 7km of just pure downhill, I just flew down without worrying for my own safety.

After the downhill the landscape opened up. Fields to my left, the hills behind me and the Danube to my right. The first town I would reach would be Moldova Veche. Just before I got there I met Phil. A Californian in his fifties who had been biking since January. At this stage of the game it's such a rarity to see someone bike touring that stopping to talk to someone you do meet is a pleasure. Phil had started his journey in N.Ireland and had been biking ever since. He's one of these hardy guys who rarely goes home to his family and is always looking for the next biking adventure. He advised me to stock up on food and drink at Lidl which was coming up soon cos after that there would be very little in the form of amenities at my disposal. We said our goodbyes, wished each other luck and headed off in opposite directions.  I entered Moldova Veche and went towards what I thought was the centre. I needed to get money out before heading out of town. Instead I found myself in, I want to say seedy area but it's all kinda seedy, well let's just say I found myself in an area where I was greeted by a young lad, about 10yrs old. Realizing that this wasn't the centre I started to turn around, the young lad ran in front of me and shouted, "Motherf***er!", aah I thought this boy is learning English at school. He then said "money" holding his hand out, to which I answered "you want money after calling me Motherf***er?", I had to laugh when the next words out of his mouth were "Suck my dick", I mean  who is this boy's English teacher? I cycled off smiling to myself and in awe of the wonders of television. 

I finally found a bank got some Lei and then took a trip into Lidl before setting off on my way. The Romanian side was not going to have as many 'pensions' as every other country up til now, so as I cycled I was wondering if today would be my first camping night. I cycled for what seemed like an eternity. The road was very quiet and the Danube very beautiful. I was certain that I had made the right decision. At one point I could see the Austrian family on the Serbian side,we were level pegged. I also saw the trucks and cars that were passing them and was happy with my decision to cross into Romania. 

It was a hot one and I thought that I had brought enough water to see me through. I was hoping for a shop, something so that I could buy some more water as I was down to my last gulps. I came up to a village which was uphill. I had to weigh up the consequences of cycling uphill only to find that there were no shops and therefore using all my water up with the effort or risking cycling on with only the water I had left. As I started to climb up the hill, a man and his wife drove past and I asked in my best sign language if there was a shop at the top. The man, seeing that I was struggling, offered to take my water bottles to fill them up at home, he told me to wait five minutes. 

From my route book I could see that there was the possibility of accommodation another 20km away, I had already done 120km and wasn't sure that I had it in me to do another 20. The man returned with my water and was then very helpful with telling me how I had to go before I could eat and sleep, 26km :-/. I said thank you, and pedaled off. Before I took a glug of water I dropped water-purifying tablets into my bottles, just in case. So with water, I set off in search of the pension I had been told about which would also give me food. 15km later, out of the blue there appeared a pension, right next to the Danube, with seats down by the river. It was like a desert oasis :-). The young lad Dani, spoke excellent English and allowed me to negotiate the price. Finally, I could shower,eat and relax. Another 140km, I was dead on my feet.