Day Fifty-Three

Day Fifty-Three - 04/07/25

Priority of the day was obviously to get my bike fixed. Eggy breakfast then out to a decent looking bike shop. The guy in there took one look and shook his head: it was beyond him. I went to the next nearest that specialises in services and repairs mainly. It was a serious shop, and the guy outside took a look and gave me a number for a custom steel frame maker. I’d hit the jackpot! Stanimir the legend! I met with him at his workshop, part of a wider arts space. He was a super nice guy, so we chatted at length about the repair, my trip, bikes, his workshop. He custome made oval chain rings as well as steel frames, so he ran me through the theory of this too. What’s more is he said he’d happily do the repair for free! He clearly knew what he was doing, so I felt in safe hands - which eased my anxieties. He gave me a bike to zip around town in, whilst he worked on my bike. I felt the difference of the oval chainring first hand on the single speed he lent me. 

Sight seeing done, and failing to find replacement power bank or a long sleeve tee I went back to hostel. I chatted with Federico some more, an Italian I’d met the night before. As I was having my lunch a lady was telling me about what sounded like a conspiracy theory in the communal kitchen. She explained how medicine had created a term, “brain dead”, then proceeded to take organs from the person whilst they were still alive! The characters you meet when travelling! I then picked up my bike, chatting more with Stanimir. He showed me around the art space, where artists had an exhibition space as well as their workshops. Back at the hostel I recruited Federico to check out the free jazz festival Stanimir had told me about. Armed with a few beers and a packets of cigarettes we headed to the park. It was bustling with people of all ages and the jazz was smooth. We drank and began to philosophise and talk politics into the night…

 


 

Some sort of religious show taking place

 

Perfect city commuter setup

 

Russian Orthodox church

 

Old communist headquarters

 

A very childish meal

 

 

 

 

 

No need for doors just knock the wall through

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The most important part - a bar!!

 

 

 

A whole fictional world had been created about the art space - the idea behind it being based from this model

 

Where the magic happened...

 

Federico looking alpha

 

 

 

 

 

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

So it begins...

Image
      13/05/2025 - Day One My life for the past 6 months has all been leading up to this moment, this day, D day. On the back of a tiring weekend I wasn’t sure I’d have the resources to set off on the 13th, but I made it happen (just about). I still had quite a lot to do this morning so when I finally set off it was around 3:30pm. Jack gave me a great haircut that is reminiscent of something out of Mongol or Mount and Blade : bald except a patch at the back like a horses main. Excellent. With the parents and Archie in tow, we set off down our lane and over the ford. It was a weird feeling cycling away from my house down familiar roads with the knowledge I wouldn’t be back for many months. These familiar sights are to be some of the last for a long time. It didn’t quite feel like I had gone away yet.  We had only got 4 miles when mums tyre went flat. Dad set about trying to locate the puncture as we all looked on with anticipation. Yet despite our best efforts i...
Read more

Day Four

Image
16/05/25 - Day Four I woke to my alarm at 6:30am, the ferry to the Netherlands was at 9am with check in closing 45mins before. After 5 mins of squirming around waking up I braved the chill and unzipped my bag and began packing away my things. I left at 7:20. I hope I get more efficient at breaking camp as I didn’t even cook breakfast, and that just seems like an awfully long time to be faffing around.  I cycled back into Harwich and grabbed a meal deal for the ferry, before rolling down to the port. It’s a bit of kick to cycle through places you would normally drive, like passport control and along the ramparts and onto the ferry. What was even more of a buzz was the euphoria of leaving port, the sense that the journey had only really just begun in earnest! I watched from the outside deck as we pull out of the estuary and into the sea. The journey itself was 8 hours of filling time and completely uneventful, except for being told off for lying down - how naughty of me! I was asked...
Read more

Day Seven

Image
    19/05/25 - Day Seven I struggled to wake up this morning so snoozed till 8am. By the time I had broke camp, cooked and forced down my porridge it was 9:40, so I didn’t hang about. Just before reaching Arnhem, I stopped at the Arnhem and Oosterbeek War Cemetery, commemorating the fallen allied troops (mostly British and 79 Poles) who fought at the battle of Arnhem. This was part of the wider Operation Market Garden in the area, Band of Brothers watchers will remember this. It was a powerful moment as I had the place to myself, and, ever since applying for the marines these types of things have made me more emotional.  After a healthy hit of silent reflection, I mashed the pedals once more, and soon I was sipping coffee in a sunny Arnhem square. I asked the waitress if she knew anywhere I could buy some Oliebollen (Dutch doughnuts), but tis not the season! I cracked on and crossed the river twice on ferries which will never not give me a kick. I then sat ...
Read more