Cycling into Serbia

Porridge again for breakfast today, in our host’s kitchen…

Today is the 10 year anniversary of our wedding day! A landmark occasion and a day to celebrate, but our enthusiasm for cycling was being dampened by the heavy rain outside! We lingered over breakfast and sat close to the warmth of the ceramic stove/oven in the kitchen, while the rain eased off a bit. Using a translation app, we agreed with the owner that we’d lock up and leave just after 10am, as she had to go out somewhere. Very trusting!



The days ride was broken up into several enjoyable (if a little damp) sections through small villages and of course, across the border. In our last Hungarian village, we saw the owner of the big birds nests.



For a few kilometres, we cycled along side the border which was marked by a huge metal fence, covered in razor wire, which put us on edge a bit. At the passport control point, we had to queue with the cars for about 20mins as every car had to be searched.



It felt a bit ‘bridge of spies’ (see the fence behind Clare in the photo below) and for a while we had to wait in ‘no man’s land’ before being allowed to leave the EU and enter Serbia with a stamp in our passports.



The guards looked stern, but were friendly enough (mostly curious I think). They wanted to look through our panniers, but decided that the mounting queue of traffic behind us was probably going to be more fruitful, so waved us though. At least there were no guns, unlike some of the remote border crossings I made in Africa a long time ago). We stopped for a couple of quick photos, then promptly peddled away!







The vibe in Serbia felt different almost straight away. The villages were a mix of very old houses and new, but it was hard to ascertain which ones were being lived in. In the first village we came to, the church roof had fallen in. It looked as though it had happened a long time ago, but then just left.



We tried to buy some bread in the first few villages, but lacked any local currency. I went into a store to see if I could use a card to pay. There was little on the shelves, and given that the ‘till’ was a wooden drawer, with a tired looking calculator on top of, it was no surprise that they only took cash! (Serbia Dinars). In Bezdan, we found a cash point. We had no choice but to pay an exorbitant withdrawal fee, but at least we now had notes that we could exchange for food and drink!



A small sign indicated a cafe in an unlikely looking decrepit building. We sat at the undercover tables outside so we could keep an eye on the bikes, then I went inside to investigate! The first thing that hit me was the smoke! It seems that it’s okay to smoke indoors in Serbia - and everyone was. It’s hard to believe/imagine that we used to back in the UK. Inside the building was like it probably was 100 years ago! Grand furniture (but now thread bare), old paintings on the walls and a real feel of former glory! (Think Leighton House M&D, but with lots of folk sat around smoking). A friendly lady at the beautiful old wooden bar offered me coffee with a smile and it arrived with a straw to drink it through! So we did!

It was a warm but overcast arrival into the town of Sombor. There’s a huge pedestrian area and a few grand buildings to marvel at too.



The town hall was the most impressive and lined with newly planted flower beds.





In the main square, there were chairs and tables out to seat hundreds of cafe goers, but they were all empty. It felt a little spooky and we were ready to rest, so continued to our hotel. It’s a modern build, but on the edge of town, so a bit incongruent in amongst the blocks of flats. We were a bit disappointed on arrival to find there was no restaurant here, but our room is spacious, quiet, very clean and warm. As we unpacked our panniers and looked out the window, a huge peel of thunder echoed around and the rains began again in earnest. We were glad to be inside!



With some treats from a nearby shop and the discovery of a take-away food app, we had a local restaurant deliver us some food to the hotel door. We even managed a celebratory drink to mark the 10 year wedding milestone, before getting some much needed rest.



We are booked in here for two nights to give ourselves a place to rest. There is a sauna and swimming pool to investigate tomorrow as well, but the main topic of conversation/concern is planning/re-planning the final week of the cycle. We have to be in Belgrade by next weekend, but heavy snow is being forecast between now and then!! There are no trains, but we may be able to take a bus? Taxi? Thumb a lift? Sit it out? At least we have a day to come up with some good ideas and hope the forecasts change!

Total Ride: 42