The route from Vidin to Lom is initially very busy but easy to navigate. The trucks are considerate. After about 8 km, it goes to the branch line 11. Less traffic but still truck's, which also take into account here and keep at least 1 m distance when overtaking. On a distance of about 5 km the road is very bad. There are even horse-drawn vehicles faster than me because of the many potholes. But then it gets better again. However, it is always up and down. After 4 hours I'm finally in Lom. The hotel is ok, but despite air conditioning are 30 euros. Well, what's up. I did not find campsites on the Danube Cycle Path either in Bulgaria or in Romania.
Lom has a wide promenade, but leads away from the Danube to the city center. The cityscape is dominated by old houses from which the plaster crumbles. Much looks like in the former GDR shortly after the turn. There is a beach just outside the Danube. Possibly. Nathan, a young Englishman whom I met in Hungary, arrives tonight in Lom. Would be nice again to have a little entertainment, because cycling cyclists I have not met since Negotin and even the staff in the hotels speaks very little English. The elders speak only the national language. Young people in the cafes or restaurants speak some English, but it does not go beyond "small talk". At the campsites in Hungary or Serbia, I had much faster contact.
Nathan is back. He actually managed to drive about 120 km from Negotin to Lom in one day. Great job. In the evening we sit down together for a beer and decide to go tomorrow together.