I wanted to make it to Silistra today but a big thunderstorm, um, dampened…my plans.
Bulgaria’s 21 Freeway, which is what you take out of Bulgaria for the entire way over the next couple stages, is not suited for cyclists. In good conscience, I cannot suggest riding your bike on this portion of the trip. Today brought rain, wind, and semi-trucks the entire way. I stopped for lunch at a roadside restaurant during a particularly punishing downpour.
This gave me time to think about the wipeout I’d just experience. As I rode along the edge of the freeway, my front wheel caught the seem between the tarmac and the gravel and took me down. I was lucky that no cars or semi-trucks were nearby or I would have been roadkill.
At this point in the trip, I’m looking forward to the end. Not because I’m sick of riding or exploring, but because the constant shots of adrenaline on these heavily trafficked roads with discourteous drivers are exhausting.
Eventually, I exited the 21 and made a short climb to a room in Tutrakan. The town sits atop a steep hill overlooking the Danube. The modern planners of the city managed to ensure that almost none of the river is visible from the perch with one exception: the Kotbata Restaurant.
Old Soviet housing projects abound in Tutrakan.
Seeing the poverty and general quality of life in some of these Eastern European towns has made me thankful that my great grandparents left for the US when they did. I don’t mean that in any way as an insult. I just know that most of the opportunities that I’ve lucked into would not have been possible without their emigration. In fact, I wouldn’t even have been born. But I digress.
I found the river views I’d been looking for at Kotbata. There I ordered some stuffed mushrooms and a Bulgarian soup. The soup had yogurt, dill, cucumber, some oil, and was served cold. Delicious. Well under a dollar. Tangy, fresh, crunchy, and dilly. What’s not to like?
Every EV6 cyclist willing to risk their life on the 21 should eat at this restaurant for the views alone.
