Pomonabike

Up at 0600 hrs and caught the bus in to Gent from the camp ground. Previously we'd seen a lot of mole hill but no moles however as we were walking through the park we saw a magpie attacking a small furry creature which turned out to be a mole. Well Gus and I rescued it returned it to the grassy area where it could hide. Sight seeing on Gent is great. Heaps of historic buildings. See photos and short comments.... read more

Up at 0545 hrs although a slow start for others in the group due to an overdose of Belgium anaesthetic. I wandered around the local area and later in the morning Gus and I did the laundry. Following this it was a trip to the Antwerp Central Station to look at the 19th century architecture with Bob and Gus. Stunning building. We then met Fran and went to Middleheim park area to look at a few unusual sculptures with Bob and Fran. Nice place where you could spend hours and still not see everything. Fairly chilled day wandering around town.... read more

Gus woke up and moaned about having a headache. We can only put it down to dehydration caused by the long flight and will refute any allegation that it was due to the 8 pints of local beer we guzzled after flying for 22 hours. We walked up the street and bought some ham at the butchers and a French stick for breakfast. The bread in Europe seems so much tastier than that in Melbourne. After breakfast we a walked in to the city centre for a bit of sight seeing. places of interest included: Place de Saint Catherine, built over the foundations of a 14th century church and consecrated in 1874. Grand Place. Magnificent square surrounded by old buildings. A UNESCO World Heritage area and for good reason. Obviously a hub for tourism. Gus and ... read more

Early start. The road started flat but then went up for an eternity. It was quite amusing really and as though Macedonia was saying "cop this" for your last day. The road later descended and went alongside a lake. We stopped at 1000 am at a small shop for a drink. A group of four locals were already in to their second beer. It was a steady ride in to the capital and fairly uneventful. Gus was nearly taken out by a random driver when he turned right but generally it was a quiet day. We arrived at the hostel which had stored our bike cases and booked in. The riding in this country has finished. Macedonia is a place of beauty and hills but it's spoiled by rubbish everywhere. The people are friendly and the ... read more

The ride out of town was over a mountain range which locals stated was unridable on a bike. It wasn't that bad. 10 kms long and uphill. The ride down the otherwise was lengthy. At one stage a small orange Zavstava car (variable noise ... constant speed) was along side of me and I thought he wanted a chat. He didn't! He was flat out and couldn't get enough speed up to overtake lol. I put the brakes on so he could get past. We past a number of locals riding various modes of transport. All more than willing for a photo. Lol. We met a goat herder taking his herd for a walk. His dog wasn't much use but looked cute so it got my vote. On arrival at Kavadarci the reviews of the hotels ... read more