This happened on the 27th of July, 2024. We paddled away from Galați to Isaccea on the Romanian side of the Danube. The Danube here flows past Giurgiulești in Moldova, followed by Reni and Orlivka in Ukraine’s Odesa Oblast. As russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine rages on and this is an EU outer border, we stuck to the Romanian side and did not cross Leaving Galați for Isaccea Waking up at 5:35, I immediately noticed my throat hurt. We turned off the aircon – which might have been the cause of the painful throat – and prepared to kayak toContinue reading
Kayak Trip Day 82: Brăila to Galați – The Last Bridge Across the Danube
This kayak day happened on the 20th of July, 2024. Jonas and I paddled the Danube from Brăila to Galați. This was a relatively short day between two major Romanian cities. Leaving Brăila for Galați Because we only had about 20 kilometers to kayak, we woke up at Hotel RaAy without an alarm. With some instant coffee, we finished packing up at a leisurely pace. Jonas was looking ready for the summer with his new haircut. The forecast said that the headwind should get less the longer we waited, so we tried to find a balance between leaving late forContinue reading
Kayak Trip Day 81: Hârșova to Brăila! – An Unexpected 70-Kilometer Day in the Vâlciu Branch
The 81st day of the Danube kayaking trip occurred on Wednesday, the 17th of July, 2024. We paddled from Hârșova through the Vâlciu Branch, intending to go camping. However, things were going well, so we decided to paddle on to Brăila. Brăila is Romania’s biggest city on the Danube River. Leaving Hârșova Before Dawn I got up at 4:00 after a long night of waking up several times thinking it’s time to get paddling. After putting on some clothes, I crossed the hotel’s hallway to our bathroom several times to get ready. Jonas got up 15 minutes later. We putContinue reading
Kayak Trip Day 80: Cernavodă to Hârșova – Third Leak + Swimming Cows
This kayak day happened on the 15th of July, 2024. We kayaked from Cernavodă to Hârșova with a very leaky left air chamber and quite a strong headwind. Leaving Cernavodă for Hârșova… THIRD LEAK! My alarm went off at 5:00 and Jonas’ at 5:30. I’d had an unsettling dream about kayaking, but I quickly forgot what it was about when awake and getting into the paddle day grind. We left the hotel a little before 6:00. There was a lady near reception who asked us if we’d used anything from the minibar in Romanian. I said no, and we leftContinue reading
Kayak Trip Day 79: Rasova to Cernavodă – Danube–Black Sea Canal
This happened on Friday the 12th of July, 2024. We had a short kayaking day from Rasova to Cernavodă. Cernavodă is where the third-to-last bridge crosses the Danube and where the Danube–Black Sea Canal splits off to Constanța at the Black Sea. Leaving Rasova for Cernavodă Jonas woke up before my alarm at 6:30. For a paddling day on the Danube, 6:30 is late to start out. But we only have roughly 15 kilometers to cover. I got dressed and went to the bathroom to do my hair while Jonas prepared some coffee. Mimi was already out and about inContinue reading
Kayak Trip Day 78: Ostrov to Rasova – the Danube at Dawn + Headwind in Romania
This Danube kayaking day happened on Wednesday the 10th of July, 2024. We paddled from Ostrov to Rasova in Romania. Leaving Ostrov for Rasova With Zucchini down by the river and the dogs barking at every noise, I didn’t catch much sleep. When my alarm went off at 4:30, I was quite ready to roll out of bed and begin the prep for today’s ~50 kilometers to kayak. I noticed my fresh mosquito bites running over a dozen. Jonas woke up a little later. He made sure we didn’t forget our sandwiches. We finished packing and left the room atContinue reading
Kayak Trip Day 77: Silistra to Chiciu and Ostrov – Goodbye Bulgaria, Hello (Again) Romania
We paddled from Bulgaria to Romania on the Danube on Tuesday, the 9th of July 2024. We started our morning in Silistra on the Bulgarian side where we had checked out of the country the day before. Then we had to cross the Danube to Chiciu in Romania to legally check in per kayak there. This happened a few months before both Bulgaria and Romania fully joined Schengen. But our destination of the day was a small village called Ostrov a little further downstream. Silistra Immigration by Kayak Two days before kayaking back into Romania, we tried to find outContinue reading
Kayak Trip Day 76: Tutrakan to Silistra – Broken Kayak Sail + Heatstroke
This kayak day happened on the 5th of July, 2024. After only one night, we left Tutrakan to kayask to Silistra on the final stretch of the Bulgarian Danube shared with Romania. After this, the Danube will flow only through Romania, followed by a quick touch on Moldova and Ukraine before emptying in the Black Sea. Leaving Tutrakan for Silistra Our alarm went off at 5:00. I had the greatest trouble getting up as my body craved more sleep to process the previous day’s paddle from Ruse to Tutrakan. We’ve done two paddle days in a row before from ApatinContinue reading
Kayak Trip Day 75: Ruse to Tutrakan – New Kayak Sail + 1000 Kilometers Paddled
This kayak day happened on the 4th of July, 2024. We paddled away from the city Ruse where we had stayed for 10 days. It was more than 60 kilometers to Tutrakan, also in Bulgaria. Though we’d initially planned a two-night stop in Tutrakan, we ended up shortening it to one night because of the weather forecast. Departing Ruse After 10 Days of Rest My alarm went off at 4:40. I was nervous and excited at the same time to get back to kayaking after 10 days of rest. Was it too much? Maybe. But we were waiting for aContinue reading