June 9, 2013

Dávod-Püspökpuszta to Sombor, 48 km, total 1538 km
Piccolina Pansion 4000RSD ($46), double with breakfast

$1=86.55 RSD (Serbian Dinars)
€1=114.40 RSD

• Detour to visit Vodica-Máriakert.
• Hungarian/Serbian Border Crossing (Bye-Bye European Union)
• Serbian Hospitality.  

A Dismal Breakfast
 
The ladies showed up carrying a big basket of white bread to prepare breakfast; no yogurt, no cheese. We each got a huge plate of scrambled eggs. A jar of jam and a dish with crusty salt showed up from somewhere.. Coffee was awful, undrinkable. We have been spoiled up until now.

Just in case we would not be able to find a restaurant, we packed jam sandwiches. It was Sunday and we didn't know what to expect in Serbia.

Another clear blue sky day. The thermometer is inching up.



Cold Metal Maria
 
After zigging and zagging out of Dávod, we arrived at the main highway 51 (2 lane truck route) which we followed till the turn off to the tallest metal statue in Hungary, just northeast of Hercegszántó and near the Serbian Border. It is signposted at highway 51. We turned left and soon a 1.5 km dirt track led us to open country. We spotted the serene 10.5 meter tall (34.5 ft) Maria Statue overlooking the fields of wheat. She is a relative new addition to this landscape, put there after 2000 (perhaps as late at 2008).She is fronted by metal bleachers of the open air Mary Garden Chapel. 
 
Cycling Frankfurt to Istanbul in 21 Days (No, NOT us)

The border crossings (out of Hungary and into Serbia) went smooth as pie. Friendly officers staffed both sides. We stopped to chat with a buff group of 7 cyclists from Frankfurt. They peel off 130 km a day, had been riding for 11 days and have 10 left to get to Istanbul, taking the most direct road. For them it is about the challenge of getting to their destination. One of them joked, "you guys are on vacation, we are on the run". We wished each other the wind in the back and they soon were out of sight.

Our First Impressions of Serbia
 
The terrain in Serbia became the slightest bit hilly giving it more of a three dimensional look than the endless flat fields that reached the horizon in Hungary. Horses pulling wagons became a regular sight. Traffic was light even though this is a major border crossing road. And the new blue radweg signposts are easy to follow. We rode through several small villages and immediately noticed how friendly the Serbian people are. Many waived and greeted us as we passed by. Dave got a flat tire in Kolut. A man who only spoke Serbian, but who desperately wanted to help, mimed that he would take Dave in his car to get his tire fixed. What a guy, but no need, we had a spare tube and a pump. 

Quickly we were on our way again. 

 
Serbian BBQ
 

We passed through a lovely forest before the town of Bački Monoštor. Here we were able to get Dinars from the ATM, the first ATM we noticed in Serbia. Shops probably would have accepted our HUF, if needed. We have been pleasantly surprised that, even in small villages, we spotted several little restaurants with outside seating, open, and open on Sunday, no less.We stopped at one. Dave had the Serbian BBQ plate which consisted of 4 different kinds of meat; chicken strips rolled in crispy bacon, seasoned pork and hamburger type patty, a salad and few greasy French fries. The rest of us went vegetarian; with delicious kohl slaw and cucumber, tomato and feta cheese salad. Topped it off with ice-cream and we were ready to tackle the last 13 or so km to our destination for the night.

In the middle of nowhere, with no houses in sight, a skinny and skittish dog wagged his tail at us. We had to stop. We dug out the jam sandwiches and threw them in his direction. He was alert but didn't dare come to get them until we rode away. We regretted that we didn't have the foresight to bring a doggy bag from the Serbian BBQ. I am sure this poor little guy would have preferred some meat. 

The heat slowed us down.

We noticed more people socializing and enjoying the outdoors compared to Hungary. People gathered in yards around decked tables. They appeared to be happy.
 
Livable Small City of Sombor

Still early, we arrived in Sombor's center. Here a lovely pedestrian area invites one to linger; Shops, terraces, banks, benches and view of beautiful city hall and several churches.  Again people asked if they could help us. One guy who didn't speak a lick of German or English tried to understand us but didn't get any wiser. Just as all of us were ready to spread out in different directions in search of the few names of hotels we had, a lady came to our aid. Cheap places, she said, were a few km down the road at several private home-stay pensions, and there was the higher priced Garni Hotel nearby. But she recommended, and pointed us toward, Piccolina, a 100 meters from where we were and just out of our sight on a side street.

Piccolina turned out to be a lovely place. It's a cozy bar & pizza restaurant as well. We were warmly greeted by Sanja and Mihajlo. Sanja showed us 5 rooms, they all looked great. They gave a nice discount and instead of 6000 Dinar we paid 4000/$46/€35 per room, including airco & amazing breakfast. Next we were served a stiff local specialty welcome drink. Serbian hospitality, we love it. Let's stay for two days!

We retreated to our rooms and met at 6 for dinner. Each of us felt like salad and soup, not Piccolina pizza. Sanja suggested we go next door. After kohl slaw, roasted peppers with thick homemade Serbian bread, and hearty soups, we turned in early. 

At 1 AM, we awoke from a fierce lightning and thunder storm, one flash after the other streaking across the night sky.

June 10, 2012

Sombor Rest Day

Serbian Coffee is Like Cowboy Coffee
 
Breakfast was a feast of homemade cheeses and yogurt, fruit, juice, scrambled eggs, boiled eggs, jams & nut/chocolate butter and Serbian rolls. The coffee was either espresso, Serbian coffee, which we call cowboy coffee in the USA, or Ness Cafe. I had to give the Serbian coffee a try, but I’ll pass next time.

We stayed downstairs in the cozy pizza parlor and did some planning. We have a hotel reservation in Belgrade on the 19th. So we checked out where there are accommodations along the route and tried to space them manageable daily distances apart, considering terrain. A town, a bit further than our desired spacing of 50km, has just one pension listed, no hotels. I asked Sanja to call the only place in Bogojevo, our next destination, to make sure we'll have a place to sleep after a hot 68 km day.

Next we explored town and Dave picked up a new SIM card. We stopped by the green market picked up some beautiful looking bright red tomatoes. But they turned out to be almost as hard as a potato inside and flavorless.

Dave continued on a quest to find a better kickstand for my bike. He found a great bike shop in town named Mexico. They had a display model of just the right kind. It has made my life a lot easier when stopping along the way.

For dinner we did a repeat of the night before; soups with delicious Serbian bread, roasted bell peppers and cabbage salad. Yuuummmm

Junko and Hiro add;
  
Sombor
国境を超える時パスポートチェックがあった。初めてである。緊張した。
ここはセルビア共和国。フレンドリーな国。みんなが手をふってくれる。
子供達が30人ほど馬車2台に乗り込んでいた。遠足なのだろうか。
農耕用の馬車もよく見かけるようになる。急に暑くなって来た。宿につく頃はぐったり。
夕食時にミッシェルに、『いい？今まで(の1500キロ)はウオーミングアップだったのよ。
もうパーティタイムは終わったんだから。これからは今までみたいにいかないんだから。』
と言われ、クシュンとする。そんなの分かってる。これからがきつい。
でもやるっきゃない。小さな可愛い街。物価が安い。佐藤錦みたいなさくらんぼを
1キロ150円で買った。あっという間に平らげた。
 
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References: 

....1) The Danube Cycle Way; Donaueschingen to Budapest by John Higginson
... 2) Bikeline Maps & Guides; Donau-Radweg 4, (5 books in the series)

Our plan in a nutshell; 2900 total kilometers at 50 km per day - 2 days riding for 1 day off for a total of 58 riding days & 90 total days - April to July, 2013 :)