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15. - 20.05.2012 Border Serbia - Belgrade 348 km
Sonja:
Our first few days in Serbia were pretty quiet, freezing cold (10 to 15°C) and windy. We mainly cycled through the countryside and from time to time passed small villages. Unfortunately, we came across landfills very often, where people and even small children were looking for still usable stuff, which really depressed us. We immediately noticed however that the Serbs are very nice and hospitable people, especially since we were often hailed by motorcyclists and car drivers which honked to greet us. Also we were often asked along the way, if we need any help which hasn't happened in any other country so far. When we asked for the way people were always helpful and in larger cities many young people spoke English very well. Unfortunately in Serbia we made the acquaintance of (wild) dogs for the first time. They came running after us yelping, separately or in groups. They fortunately never dared to bite but have kept their distance and always gave up chasing us fairly quickly.
In the late afternoon of our second day in Serbia we arrived in a small village (Backo Novo Selo) where we just asked for water at a small farm and to our surprise we had to sit down at the garden table and were served coffee and homemade lemonade. Quickly the whole family gathered around us and inquired about our journey but only one of them, Dragan, spoke some German, which he had learned 40 years ago in school. Despite great linguistic barriers we had quite a nice chat. The family (Rozina, Baya, parents Dragan and Anietza and grandma Antza) quickly reached the decision that we absolutely have to stay overnight in their guest room and they provided us with food and a hot shower. They proudly showed us photos of a German cyclist couple which had stayed with them in 2008.
The next day was still cold and windy. As we stopped for a break to warm ourselves up with a cup of hot tea two other cyclists came by, to our great delight. We invited them for tea and found out that they, Simon and Sigga, are son and mother and come from Iceland. Simon had started alone in Iceland and Sigga had joined him in Berlin but just for a while during her vacation (she is a tour guide for Germans in Iceland). She will go home again after they reach Belgrade. We all cycled together for the rest of the day and time just was flying while we were chatting. Later that day we were suddenly greeted by a horde of about 10 barking dogs which immediately started chasing us. In our small group we felt more courageous than alone and Olli tried a new tactic: He barked back loudly and went full speed ahead. All the dogs were suddenly just interested in him and didn't pay any attention to the rest of us any more. Pretty quickly they abandoned their chase and only looked confused afer us. (Dear children at home: Please don't imitate that. According to our dog trainer Nadine, what Olli did was actually a very bad idea ... he made the dogs even more aggressive.)
After arriving in Novi Sad in the late afternoon, we said our goodbyes since our new friends wanted to head to a hotel and we wanted to find a place to camp but we departed with the hope to meet each other again. That evening we had to look quite a while for a suitable place but in the end we were rewarded with a magnificent location in the middle of an orchard during sun set.
The next morning we could hardly believe it: Finally sun again! Cycling in the sun with 25°C is twice as much fun and our good mood grew even more when we met cyclist Ivan from Belgium. He is traveling from Istanbul to Brussels and gave us a lot of useful tips for our further journey to Turkey.
When we arrived in Belgrade in the afternoon we were immediately impressed with this huge city. For miles you cycle along the beautiful Danube promenade with a fantastic view of the castle and the city's skyscrapers. It is difficult to believe that only 13 years ago bombs were falling here. We had already made contact with a couple from Warmshowers, Aleksandar and Milica, and after some difficulties because of bad internet connection and searching for the way with the help of several locals, we spent the evening with them both in their home. We made pizza together, drank beer and listened to Aleksandar telling us about the enthralling and captivating history of Serbia and Belgrade until 2 o'clock in the morning.
The next day we used for exploring Belgrade. We climbed the way up to the castle, which impressed us very much. During a stroll through the city center we met Sigga from Iceland again, to our great surprise, and spent the rest of the afternoon with the Icelanders drinking beer in front of a cafe. In the evening we took a bus to the Night of the Museums in Belgrade together with Milica and Aleksandar to expand our cultural horizon. We visited Palata Srbija, a government building, which is open to the public just this one evening. Afterwards we went to Dom Vojske to have a closer look at an art exhibition of the famous Serbian painter Sava Sumanovic. At the National Museum we watched aterwards ancient excavations and finished our tour with visiting the Museum of Applied Arts.
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