The Danube Cycleway Volume 2. Mike Wells
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Название: The Danube Cycleway Volume 2
Автор: Mike Wells
Издательство: Ingram
Жанр: Книги о Путешествиях
isbn: 9781783623136
isbn:
In Romania there is no national accommodation database and there are no tourist offices for over 900km until you reach the delta at the end of your journey. Where there are long distances between places to stay, it is advisable to telephone ahead to ensure accommodation is available. It is sometimes possible to find accommodation by asking around in villages, but as few Romanian villagers speak any foreign languages, this is far from easy.
Youth hostels
Apart from in the cities of Budapest and Belgrade, there are only two Hostelling International youth hostels on the route (Vukovar in Croatia and Novi Sad in Serbia). In summer 2015 both were closed for refurbishment and it is not known when (or if!) they will reopen. In former communist countries ‘official youth hostels’ are still widely associated with state controlled political organisations for young people such as Pioneers or Communist youth leagues. There are, however, a number of independent hostels in major towns and cities that cater for backpackers. Many of these can be found via www.hostelbookers.com.
Camping
If you are prepared to carry camping equipment, this may appear the solution to the problem of finding accommodation, particularly in Romania. However official campsites, which are shown in the text, are few and far between. Camping may be possible in other locations with the permission of local landowners. The Romanian countryside is a surprisingly populous place, with many stages passing through a never ending string of villages, which often makes it difficult to find a spot to camp where you will not be observed or disturbed. Where there are campsites, these often have basic cabins to rent in addition to places to pitch tents.
Basic cabins can often be found at Romanian campsites such as these at Zăval (Stage 19)
Food and drink
Where to eat
Compared to the upper Danube, the number of places where cyclists can find meals and refreshments is quite limited, particularly in Romania. Locations of all places known to have restaurants, cafés or bars serving food are listed in the stage descriptions. A restaurant is an étterem (Hungarian), restoran [ресторан] (Croatian/Serbian). Menus in English or German are sometimes available in big cities and tourist areas, but are rare in smaller towns and rural locations. Indeed in smaller establishments there may be no written menu and even when a menu is provided only a few of the items listed will actually be available (the normal custom is for prices to be shown only for available items). In Romania every village has a number of small grocery stores that sell soft drinks, water and beer to consume on the premises, but meals and snacks are not available. There is, however, no problem purchasing bread, cheese, cold meats and salad items to put together a picnic lunch. Bars seldom serve food.
When to eat
Breakfast (Hungarian reggeli, Croatian doručak, Romanian mic dejun) is usually continental: breads, jam and a hot drink. In Romania this is often supplemented with eggs, cold meats, cheese and fresh vegetables.
Lunch (Hungarian ebéd, Croatian ručak, Romanian prânz) is usually the main meal of the day. For a cyclist this can prove problematic, as a large lunch is unlikely to prove suitable if you plan an afternoon in the saddle. This is particularly pronounced in Romania where lunchtime menus often have no light meals or snack items, apart from soup.
For dinner (Hungarian vacsora, Croatian večera, Romanian cina) a wide variety of cuisine can often be found, both national and international. Pork and chicken are the most common meats and beef steaks, pasta and pizza are widely available. There are, however, national and regional dishes you may wish to try.
What to eat
Hungarian cuisine is most well-known for dishes that use ample quantities of paprika (mild red pepper). Goulash (boiled beef and vegetables, flavoured with paprika) is the national dish and appears on most menus as both a soup (gulyásleves) and a main course stew (székelgulyás). Paprika is also a key ingredient in chicken paprikásh (csirkepaprikás), a casserole of chicken and vegetables thickened with sour cream. Roast goose is a favourite dish for celebrations. Stuffed cabbage (töltött káposzta) and stuffed peppers (töltött paprika) are both borrowed from Ottoman cuisine. Pancakes (palascinta) can be either savoury (such as hortobágyi palacsinta, filled with veal stew) or sweet with jam, chocolate sauce or cream cheese. Other desserts include somlói galuska, pieces of sponge cake soaked in alcohol and served with chocolate sauce and cream.
Paprika, an essential ingredient in Hungarian cuisine, on sale in Budapest’s central market
Croatian and Serbian cuisine are very similar, both being influenced strongly by Middle Eastern ways of cooking assimilated during many years of Turkish occupation. Čevapi or čevapčići (spiced meatballs), pljeskavica (minced meat patties similar to a hamburger) and ražnjiči (kebabs), all often served with green peppers and ajvar (tomato, pepper and aubergine sauce), are widely found in snack bars and restaurants. Other meats include pork, lamb, veal and beef. Karađorđeva šnicla (Karadjordje’s steak), rolled stuffed veal or pork, breaded and baked, is also known as maiden’s dream because of its erotic shape. Many small restaurants along the Danube may only serve fish, mostly šaran (carp), som (catfish), štuka (pike) or pastrva (trout). Commonly found snacks include different kinds of burek, greasy filo pastry pasties filled with cheese, meat or spinach.
Romanian meals usually start with ciorbă (‘sour’ soup) made with either burtă (tripe), peste (fish), văcuţă (beef) or legume (vegetables). A popular main course is tochitură (hearty meat stew in a spicy red pepper sauce) served with mămăligă (maize-meal polenta), cheese and a fried egg. Mici are small flat grilled minced pork patties, often sold by number from street vendors, while sarmale are cabbage leaves stuffed with meat and rice. Near the Danube, and throughout the delta, fish is abundant, most commonly crap (carp), somn (catfish) and ştiucă (pike). The most common dessert (in smaller restaurants often the only dessert) are clatite (pancakes) served with chocolate or jam.
What to drink
Hungary, Croatia, Serbia and Romania are all both beer and wine drinking countries. Beer is mostly lager style, and although apparently produced by a number of national breweries, large multinational brewers own most producers. Draught beer (Hungarian csapolt sör, Croatian točeno pivo, Romanian bere la halba) is widely available. In all four countries wine (Hungarian bor, Croatian vino, Romanian vin) quality suffered from a pursuit of quantity during the communist era, but has been steadily recovering since.
In Hungary vineyards spread throughout the country produce large quantities of table wine mostly from Kadarka red grapes or Olasz white grapes (a variety of Riesling). More well-known are full bodied golden white wines, slightly sweet but fiery and peppery and an ideal accompaniment to spicy Hungarian food, and Bull’s Blood, a full-bodied red made from Bikavér grapes. Most famous of all is Tokay, a dessert wine from northeast Hungary made by a unique process where the sweet pulp of over-ripe rotted Furmint grapes (known as aszú) is added to barrels of one-year-old wine and left to mature for at least three more years.
In the former Yugoslav countries the tendency is for white wine to be produced inland to the north in Slovenia, northern СКАЧАТЬ