Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Mit Gotte Anet von Apatin nach Sremski Karlovci - Mamas only Bike Tour 2013

Well, after more than 3 hours in a relatively comfortable bus, we had to change on the very oldest Yugoslav model for the final bit from Sombor to Apatin, in the South West of Voivodina - bumpy, and not missing out a single village stop!
So clearly we needed something to strengthen ourselves!What better than some Yugoslav Coke!
No fish soup yet, but much fish to come later that day!
Who said there are only sand dunes in the desert and on the beach?!
Anet attentively studying the board, neatly separating the activities "not welcome" in the National Park along the Danube, and "strictly forbidden"!
An old Platan tree next to an old dam guardian house. There are 1000s of Kilometers of flood protection dams in Serbia, and on our trip - miraculously - most were paved or hard pressed sand, very smooth and fast to roll on!
Well, we were lucky, this thunderstorm only almost caught us up, and we stayed dry!

Camping the old way, and an invitation for a drink - we preferred Lemonade, despite large quantities of Rakia that obviously had been drunk on that table already!





Arrival in our first night accomodation, an extremely simple country cottage, where the farm workers meet for coffee in the morning, and beer in the evening (as we did!). Soja and Maize fields in the Voivodina tend to be so extensive that workers easily do not meet a single other soul all day.
Mh, the hospital beds to spend the night in were not that great, however breakfast was substantial!
In Baska Balanka a Roma Musician Group accompanied our second beer of the day and Cevapci dinner - fantastic location on the Danube. The huge waste land fill (if it deserves this name) we had to cross to reach there was quickly forgotten!
Who spotts my NEW bike?!


Start of day three - after 130 flat Kilometers, the day's plan was to cross the 50km long Frushka Gora on their ridge - and WE MADE IT!
One of the numerous secluded monasteries, that had fled into the Frushka Gora forests during Ottoman empire times.
Close to the highest point after countless ups and downs, with Novi Sad at a distance!
Well, this needed to be celebrated with an ice cold Joghurt..
...and of course another Jelen beer at the good old Mountain Refuge!

Partisan and biking heroes united!
At last escaping the mosquito plague, a final great and downhill stretch of real biking expected us!

Pure pleasure indeed!
And we made it on the 19pm train to Beograd, who would have thought so earlier this day, rambling up and down yet another bump in Fruska Gora!

After a refreshing nap, a final beer and a good pizza awaited us on Brodic float bar on the Sava, and finally a flat and cool bed!
Thank you Anet, it was simply wonderful!