Day 32: A Long Hot Day
Sunday July 28 - Day 32 - 45miles - Total 1276miles
Hot, hot, hot!
We all got up at 6am to beat the heat and it worked… to an extent…
Andrea made scrambled eggs for everyone this morning and we went to the shop when it opened at 8am to get cold water and lunch supplies.
We crossed the border out of Croatia across bridge into Serbia, which was called the Bridge of the 51st Division….we had to take a photo of that. If we had had a set of Scottish dancers I am sure we could have surprised the border guards on each end of the bridge by performing “Reel of the 51st Division” in the middle of the bridge. Our route looped back under the bridge on dirt doubletrack into a Nature Preserve for 10miles. We passed an old Yugoslavian Military museum that was obviously abandoned. As we headed into the Nature Preserve, the surface wasn’t too bad, hard packed dirt and a bit of drifting silt. Although at times it was hard going, especially where one track would cross another or if we hit tractor tracks made in the mud during the flooding. What was cool about this track is that we passed in and out of Serbia and Croatia about 5 times. The border between these countries follows an old path of the Danube that snaked back and forth, where we were now following the more of less straight line of the matured river. This multi-border area isn’t very well cared for, since no one wants to care for another country’s land, and Croatia can’t reach its territory without crossing the river or into Serbian territory. This is yet another example of a no-man’s land… although we did see people there… fishing and tooling about on motor bikes.
The last 5 miles into Apatin, Serbia was asphalt. We cut pretty close to the Danube and an overflow area that people obviously used as the local beach. We went swimming in the Danube (Dunav) with a whole lot-a Serbian flesh (thankfully most of it was covered). We had lunch in the shade (we had to defend our territory from encroaching Serbians) of spreadable cheese and salami on bread with pears from our apartment. At the beach, we saw Yugo cars galore! We even watched as the fire department and police had to put out the fire of a Yugo that blew up on the road across the river from us. Commie Car Bingo is filling up!
After lunch, we pushed on although now it was really hot after the refreshing dip in the Dunav. In Apatin, we went to a bankomat and got some Serbian Dinars for our duration, a little less than 100 dinars to the dollar.
Out on the road again, it was hot! Hot! HOT!
But to our salvation we found an air-conditioned gas station in Svilojevo, with ice cold water and a very friendly attendant who spoke German (Yay, for German speaking Travel Buddies!) Stefan and Rebecca chatted with him while we all rehydrated and cooled our bodies down. We weren’t sure which town would have a hotel and the gas station attendant thought our best bet would be in Odzaci (a few towns along the way). So we pushed on…
About 8 miles down the road, in Bogojevo, we had a limon beer because sometimes you can’t find cold water but you can ALWAYS find cold beer. These beers only have 2% alcohol by volume, so they are more hydrating than intoxicating. No hotel in Bogojevo… so we pushed on…
About 4 miles down the road, we passed a burning trash dump in Karavukovo - haven't seen those in a couple of years… no hotel or cold beer here… so we pushed on…
Finally, we made it to Odzaci. We found a little hotel with en suite and air conditioning for 1200 dinars for both of us - that is about $8USD each! We all showered, rinsed and hung our clothes out to dry, and went out to find dinner. In the courtyard of this hotel, a dog was penned up in the back corner. This dog was a huge black bull mastiff with a bark that echoed through the walls. Initially we were a bit wary of the beast, but soon realized it was still a puppy, and it was a she, and she was very friendly… if not particularly well trained. We named her Cujo, petted her over her gate, while avoiding the slobber and happy puppy biting from a mouth that could take off a hand.
We didn’t end up doing all that many miles today for the many hours we were on the road but it was a hot hot hot day (40C/104F)… The rests were necessary but it took a long time (almost 8 hours) to finish 45miles…
We had dinner at Restaurant Lazar... The waiter gave us the German Menu (Yay for German Speaking Travel Buddies!) and then finally ordered for us a traditional Serbian meat platter and mixed salads of tomatoes, cucumbers and onions. We washed it all down with some Jelen beer brewed in Apatin... We actually cycled past the brewery that day. By the end of dinner, we were all completely exhausted, stuffed, and ready for bed. Andrea wrapped up the last pork chop for Cujo and we headed back to our air-conditioned rooms. We plan on waking up for an 8 o’clock start time, so we can reach Novi Sad by mid-day tomorrow to avoid the heat. Rest day in Novi Sad to follow!!!
Note: Cujo ate the pork chop and the paper napkin without chewing and slobbered all over Andrea’s hand in gratitude.
The World is Ours!
Sunday July 28 - Day 32 - 45miles - Total 1276miles
Hot, hot, hot!
We all got up at 6am to beat the heat and it worked… to an extent…
Andrea made scrambled eggs for everyone this morning and we went to the shop when it opened at 8am to get cold water and lunch supplies.
We crossed the border out of Croatia across bridge into Serbia, which was called the Bridge of the 51st Division….we had to take a photo of that. If we had had a set of Scottish dancers I am sure we could have surprised the border guards on each end of the bridge by performing “Reel of the 51st Division” in the middle of the bridge. Our route looped back under the bridge on dirt doubletrack into a Nature Preserve for 10miles. We passed an old Yugoslavian Military museum that was obviously abandoned. As we headed into the Nature Preserve, the surface wasn’t too bad, hard packed dirt and a bit of drifting silt. Although at times it was hard going, especially where one track would cross another or if we hit tractor tracks made in the mud during the flooding. What was cool about this track is that we passed in and out of Serbia and Croatia about 5 times. The border between these countries follows an old path of the Danube that snaked back and forth, where we were now following the more of less straight line of the matured river. This multi-border area isn’t very well cared for, since no one wants to care for another country’s land, and Croatia can’t reach its territory without crossing the river or into Serbian territory. This is yet another example of a no-man’s land… although we did see people there… fishing and tooling about on motor bikes.
The last 5 miles into Apatin, Serbia was asphalt. We cut pretty close to the Danube and an overflow area that people obviously used as the local beach. We went swimming in the Danube (Dunav) with a whole lot-a Serbian flesh (thankfully most of it was covered). We had lunch in the shade (we had to defend our territory from encroaching Serbians) of spreadable cheese and salami on bread with pears from our apartment. At the beach, we saw Yugo cars galore! We even watched as the fire department and police had to put out the fire of a Yugo that blew up on the road across the river from us. Commie Car Bingo is filling up!
After lunch, we pushed on although now it was really hot after the refreshing dip in the Dunav. In Apatin, we went to a bankomat and got some Serbian Dinars for our duration, a little less than 100 dinars to the dollar.
Out on the road again, it was hot! Hot! HOT!
But to our salvation we found an air-conditioned gas station in Svilojevo, with ice cold water and a very friendly attendant who spoke German (Yay, for German speaking Travel Buddies!) Stefan and Rebecca chatted with him while we all rehydrated and cooled our bodies down. We weren’t sure which town would have a hotel and the gas station attendant thought our best bet would be in Odzaci (a few towns along the way). So we pushed on…
About 8 miles down the road, in Bogojevo, we had a limon beer because sometimes you can’t find cold water but you can ALWAYS find cold beer. These beers only have 2% alcohol by volume, so they are more hydrating than intoxicating. No hotel in Bogojevo… so we pushed on…
About 4 miles down the road, we passed a burning trash dump in Karavukovo - haven't seen those in a couple of years… no hotel or cold beer here… so we pushed on…
Finally, we made it to Odzaci. We found a little hotel with en suite and air conditioning for 1200 dinars for both of us - that is about $8USD each! We all showered, rinsed and hung our clothes out to dry, and went out to find dinner. In the courtyard of this hotel, a dog was penned up in the back corner. This dog was a huge black bull mastiff with a bark that echoed through the walls. Initially we were a bit wary of the beast, but soon realized it was still a puppy, and it was a she, and she was very friendly… if not particularly well trained. We named her Cujo, petted her over her gate, while avoiding the slobber and happy puppy biting from a mouth that could take off a hand.
We didn’t end up doing all that many miles today for the many hours we were on the road but it was a hot hot hot day (40C/104F)… The rests were necessary but it took a long time (almost 8 hours) to finish 45miles…
We had dinner at Restaurant Lazar... The waiter gave us the German Menu (Yay for German Speaking Travel Buddies!) and then finally ordered for us a traditional Serbian meat platter and mixed salads of tomatoes, cucumbers and onions. We washed it all down with some Jelen beer brewed in Apatin... We actually cycled past the brewery that day. By the end of dinner, we were all completely exhausted, stuffed, and ready for bed. Andrea wrapped up the last pork chop for Cujo and we headed back to our air-conditioned rooms. We plan on waking up for an 8 o’clock start time, so we can reach Novi Sad by mid-day tomorrow to avoid the heat. Rest day in Novi Sad to follow!!!
Note: Cujo ate the pork chop and the paper napkin without chewing and slobbered all over Andrea’s hand in gratitude.
The World is Ours!
Most (Bridge) of the 51st Division... Reels anyone?
Hey... I'm going into Serbia... Check it out!
Serbian EuroVelo signage has great quotes/remarks... read the bit in red...
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