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
Moldova
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
Transnistria: A Time Capsule of Soviet Nostalgia between Moldova and Ukraine
After stumbling across Heidi’s blogs about Transnistria and Gagauzia on A Southern Space Cadet, I (Iris) wanted to invite her to write a guest post for Mind of a Hitchhiker. I really enjoy her love for unrecognized or partially recognized states. Enjoy her guest post, learn something new, write a comment, and make sure to check out Heidi’s blog and give her a follow on social media! Featured photo: House of Soviets: Tiraspol with an appearance from Dieter the Panda, my travel mascot Transnistria’s time capsule Transnistria is an unrecognized state nestled between Moldova and Ukraine. Its “capital”, Tiraspol (Тирасполь),Continue reading
Donaueschingen: Danube Kayak Trip Day Zero
Mind of a Paddler I’ve decided to expand my mode-of-transport horizon beyond hitchhiking. This is because hitchhiking is kind of like my comfort zone by now, which means that I’ve stopped learning, expanding, and evolving. For now at least. As you may know, I’ve been traveling together with someone for a while now. There are many downsides to traveling as a couple – like longer waiting times when hitchhiking – but there are also some advantages. One of those advantages is the long-term planning of things that kind of requires two people. Operating a canoe or kayak on a long riverContinue reading