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Snow in Serbia

Lørdag d. 13. januar 2018 - Onsdag dag 17. januar 2018

Beograd 3 dage
Beograd - Novi Sad 81 km
Novi Sad - Sombor 101 km
Sombor - Baja (Ungarn) 69 km

Dagene i Beograd gik med Sightseeing og afslapning. Byen har en del charme og udsigten ned over Sava floden fra Beograd fæstningen er utrolig flot Faktisk er der nogen der beskriver Beograd som New York på lav budget. Desværre nåede vi ikke at se så meget, at vi kan sige det samme. En ting kan vi dog sige: vi syntes at det var meget ambivalent at se et kæmpe krigsmuseum i et land, der har lidt under en forfærdetlig krig. Det syntes vi ikke passede sammen.
Vi boede i boheme kvateret og her lå mange små hyggelige cafeér og restauranter, der er bare en ting som Serbien ikke er kommet efter endnu og det er rygning.
På dørene til restauranter og cafeér er der både et ikke ryger skildt og et ryger skildt. Det betyder at ved et bord kan der være ikke ryger og ved et bord lige ved siden af kan der så sidde rygere. 
Ikke noget vi brød os om, overhovedet. Så vi så kun ind af vinduerne på de hyggelige steder.
Vi var faktisk ret trætte imens vi var i Beograd. På de sidste 14 dage havde vi cyklet 830 kilometer og det kunne mærkes i kroppen. Vi brugte også tiden til at planlægge hvilken vej vi ville cykle fra Beograd.
Det så ud til at i løbet af to til tre cykel dage, ville vi nå grænsen til Ungarn og derfor skulle vi også finde ud af hvilken vej vi ville cykle der igennem.
Vi forlod Beograd på en frostklar morgen og på gaderne var der is flere steder, da temperaturen var nede på minus 3 grader. Vi havde sørget for at klæde os på til vejr forholdene, så vi ikke kom til at fryse.
Undervej ud af byen var der en dame som ivrigt vinkede til os og et par mænd råbte bravo efter os. Det er altid sjovt at se hvordan mennekser reagere når de ser vi kommer cyklende. En hver hilsen varmer og vi forsøger altid at hilse igen.
Hen på formiddagen begyndte det at sne. I første omgang var det let sne og ikke slemt. Vi ville holde frokostpause ved en tankstation, hvor vi først havde sat os udenfor. Men personalet kom ud og sagde vi skulle sætte os indenfor og vi kunne bare spise vores medbragte mad. Så det gjorde vi.
Vi var på vej til byen Novi Sad, her havde vi skrevet til en Warmshower host der hed Zoran. Vi glædede os til at møde ham, da vi kunne læse ud fra hans profil at han havde cyklet rigtig mange steder i verden. Så han havde helt sikkert nogle gode historier at fortælle.
Efter frokostpause begyndte det at sne meget mere og nu gik koncentrationen over på vej forholdene og ikke så meget på hvor langt vi var nået. Det var som at cykle i en trance, men sneen der kom imod os hele tiden. Så inden vi havde set os om, var vi 16 kilometer fra Novi Sad. VI kunne heller ikke se noget på grund af sneen der faldt i store fnug.
Da vi kom ind til Novi Sad lignede vi to snekoner, med sne over det hele. Vi skulle kigge et par gange på maps. me inden vi fandt højhuset hvor Zoran boede. Byen har mere end 300.000 indbyggere, så en by af en ret stor størrelse.
Vi fandt hen til opgangen hvor Zoran boede og den første unge pige der kom ud, sagde til os at det var her Zoran boede. Det var hendes nabo.
Da vi havde ringet på, var der en stemme der sagde: hej jeg er Zoran´s bror, Zoran er ikke hjemme lige nu, men jeg kommer ned og henter jer.
Vi skulle med en elevator op og cyklerne kunne bare komme med op på gangen. Det var vi taknemlige for, men havde det også skidt med at cyklerne var smaddet til med sne og skidt. Så da sneen smeltede blev gangen grisset til.
Zoran´s bror havde kun lige vist os ind i lejligheden, da han sagde: i skal bare føle jer hjemme, jeg skal lige ned og købe nogle cigaretter. Det var ikke lige det vi havde håbet på at høre og ud over det lugtede lejligheden af røg. Zoran havde skrevet i hans profil at han var ikke ryger og ud fra det havde vi valgt ham, da vi ikke vil bo i et ryger hjem.
Vi tog en hurtig beslutning og blev enige om at vi ikke vill overnatte der. Så da Zoran kom hjem 10 minutter senere, sagde vi stille og roligt at vi ikke kunne bo i hans lejlighed pga. at broren røg og at det lygtede af røg i hele lejliheden. vi sagde også til ham at han måske skulle skrive i Hans profil at han var ikke ryger, men hans bror boede i hans lejlihed og han var ryger.
Zoran tog det stille og roligt, hvor broren tog det lidt som et angreb og kom med nogle dumme bemærkninger. Zoran sagde det var vores valg og tilbød at følge os til et hostel. Så vi pakkede cyklerne igen og tog elevatoren ned, sammen med Zoran.
Nu gik turen et par ekstra kilometer igennem byen, hen til City Hostel. Her fik vi et værelse og blev budt velkommen med Raki.
Vi sad sammen emd Zoran i en times tid og snakkede inden han cyklede tilbage til hans lejlighed. Selvom vi var blevet noget skuffet over udfaldet, syntes vi det var sødt af Zoran at han havde hjulpet os hen til overnatningsstedet og takkede ham for det.
Inden vi cyklede afsted fra City hostel næste dag, havde ejeren af stedet fortalt os at der lå en campingplads i Sombor. Han havde lige fået en mail dagen før fra stedet, som hed Long Tour Bike Camp.
Manden fra City Hostel ringede endda for at være sikker på at de havde åbent og for at sige at vi ville forsøge at nå dertil sidst på dagen. Men det betød at vi skulle cykle omkring 100 km, så vi måtte se om det var muligt.
Det meste af dagen havde vi let regn og det var skyet. I sådan en slags vejr virker alt meget dyster og nogen gange deprimerende, men der skal kun et par solstråler til inden af alting kommer til at se meget smukkere ud. Det skete sidst på dagen og det gav os energi til at nå resten af vejen til Sombor.
Inden vi cyklede hen til Long Tour Bike Camp handlede vi ind i et supermarked og fik hævet lidt penge.
Udenfor kunne vi se at det så småt begyndte at blive mørkt, så vi skyndte os at cykle de sidste 3 kilometer.
Da vi bankede på den store port til Long Tour Bike Camp, gik der lidt tid inden Pec kom og åbnede for os.
En høj mand med mørkt krøllet hår bød os velkommen og da vi kom ind i gården blev vi budt velkommen af hans kone, Ivana. Ivana sagde at hendes navn skulle vi nok huske, da det jo var det samme som Trumps forhenverende kone. Det grinede vi noget af.
Inden vi kunne få vores værelse, skulle de lige sætte varme på og redde vores seng. Så imens blev vi budt indenfor i deres privat bolig. Her fik vi tyrkisk kaffe og snacks.
Vi snakkede og fortalte historier og der blev grinnet. Ivana og Pec var så søde. Ivana arbejde med salg af huse og Pec arbejdede med IT, så han kunne arbejde hjemmefra. Det var hans ide´ at åbne dette overnatningssted og hvert år er det blevet mere og mere populær.
Pec elskede selv at cykle og havde to cykler. Stedet var en campingplads, bygget i deres gårdhave, med frugt træer og der var lavet vaskeplads til cykler og et lille cykelværksted. Der var hyggelige kroge alle steder hvor man kunne sætte et telt op. De havde også to lejligheder, så dem der ikke havde telt også kunne overnatte.
Vi blev de første gæster for sæson 2018 og derfor gav Ivana os discount. efter en god time var vores værelse klar og vi fik pakket ud, taget bad og lavet en god stor gang aftensmad.
Dagens etape havde været flad, men stadig hevde vi cyklet i mere end 5 timer, så der gik ikke lang tid inden vi faldt i søvn efter aftensmaden.
Vi havde været oppe klokken 01:50 for at børste tænder, da vi var faldet i søvn uden af få det ordnet. Vi havde sat alarmen til at ringe klokken 8:00, men da vi kunne høre at det styrt regnede udenfor, gik der et stykke tid inden vi stod op.
Vi tog os god tid om morgenmaden og drak endda en kop kaffe mere i håb om at det ville stoppe med at regne.
Vi var heldige og da vi pakkede cyklerne lidt før 10:00, dryppede det kun ganske lidt. Pec havde printet en rute ud vi kunne følge. Det var en del af Euro Velo6, som er en cykel rute der strækker sig fra Frankring til Sorte Havet i Rumænien.
Så kunne vi også slippe for at cykle på den mere trafikerede vej, sagde Pec.
Inden vi takkede og sagde farvel fik vi taget billeder og Ivanka sagde at hvis vi nogensiden kom tilbage kunne vi bo gratis. 
Så gik det allers afsted fra Sombor og hurtigt fandt vi den lille vej, som snoede sig igennem landskabet med træer på begge sider af vejen. Vi skulle cykle godt 26 kilometer inden vi nåede til grænsen til Ungarn, men først skulle vi igennem den lille by Bezdan. Her fik vi vekslet de sidste serbiske penge om til ungarske forint.
Vi købte en sandwich ved den lokale bager og stod udenfor butikken og spiste den, alt imens vi kunne følge dagens gang i den lille by.
I byan Backi Monostor, som lå før Bezdan mødte vi 70 årige Josef, han havde boet i tyskland i mange år og talte tysk. Grunden til vi kom til at snakke med ham, var fordi han kom kørende i hans fine røde Yugo og Marianne ville så gerne have et billede af bilen. Det endte med et billede af hans bil og Josef.
Inden vi cyklede videre sagde Josef: livet var som en rulle toiletpapir, jo mere du river i den jo mindre er der tilbage. Det gav os et smil på læben, men det havde han da ret i.
Cirka 3 kilometer efter Bezdan, nåede vi grænsen til Ungarn og det var vi ikke i tvivl om. grænsen var et stort pigtråds område. Solodt dobbelt indhegnet af hensyn til flygtninge. Hvem husker ikke billederne på TV, da hegnet blev sat op for få år siden. Hvor familier kæmpede for at holde sammen og måske være heldige at komme til Ungarn.
Det tog ikke lang tid at krydse grænsen. Med det samme vi var på den anden side, bemærkede vi at der var langt flere politibiler end almindelige biler. Nok frodi de skal patruliere i grænse området, for "alle" de flygninge der kommer.
For en gang sin skyld havde vi modvind og vi lavede et samarbejde, hvor vi hver især skiftevis cyklede 1 kilometer i front. Vi kom til Baja og skulle finde hen til Ezther og Roland, som var nogel warmshower hosts vi havde skrevet til nogel dage forinden. Vi var velkommen, som de skrev, men kunne først komme efter klokken 17:00.
Så inden vi cyklede hen til dem, købte vi en lille gave til dem, for at vise vores taknemmelighed for at de ville lade os bo hos dem.
Vi fandt frem til hvor de boede og sikke en kontrast til hvad vi lige hvade oplevet ved Zoran. Ezther og Roland havde 4 børn og boede i et kæmpe hus i et nyt kvarter her var ingen røg. De var en moderne travl familie og vildt at de oveni deres hverdag også lige ville byde os velkommen.
De lavede endda lækker æggekage og diverse små retter, hvor vi sad sammen og spise om aftenen.
Vi havde en spændende samtale med Roland om aftenen, hvor han belyste hans synspunkter på UNgarn. Det vi troede var et harmonisk land, var ikke helt som det ser ud på overfladen. Radio og Tv er styret af regeringen og Roland mente at noget ville ske indenfor de næste 3 år.
Som han sagde: hold øje med Ungarn noget kommer til at ske indenfor den nærmeste tid.
Han sagde at regeringen ikke ville have flere flygtningen, men befolkning vil gerne og det vi lå mærke til var at når vi tændte for fjernsynet i Ungarn, kørte der propaganda om at flygtninge forsøgte at komme over grænsen til Ungarn og så blev der vist billeder af store flokke flygtninge der stod ved grænsen.
Vi kan kun sige, at de store flokke så vi altså ikke ved grænsen da vi cykelde ind i Ungarn. Så gad vide hvor de gemte sig henne????


English
 

Saturday, January 13, 2018 - Wedensday, January 17, 2018

Belgrade 3 days
Belgrade - Novi Sad 81 km
Novi Sad - Sombor 101 km
Sombor - Baja (Hungary) 69 km

The days in Belgrade went with sightseeing and relaxation. The city has some charm and the view down over the Sava River from Belgrade fortress is incredibly beautiful. Actually, some are describing Belgrade like New York on low budget. Unfortunately, we did not see so much that we could say the same. One thing we can say, however, was that we found it very ambivalent to see a giant war museum in a country that has suffered from a terrible war. We did not think that fit together.
We lived in the Bohemian Quarter and here were many small cozy cafes and restaurants. One odd thing that Serbia has not solved yet is their smoking policy.
At the doors of restaurants and cafes there is both a non-smoker sign and a smoker sign. This means that at a table there can be no smoking and at a table right next to it can sit smokers.
Nothing we did not like at all. So we just looked in though the windows of the cozy places.
In fact, we were quite tired while we were in Belgrade. During the last 14 days we had cycled 830 kilometers and we felt in the body. We also used the time to plan which route we would like to ride from Belgrade.
It seemed that with two to three days of cycling, we could reach the border of Hungary and therefore we also had to figure out which way we would cycle through this country.
We left Belgrade on a frosty morning and the streets were covered in ice in some places as the temp was down to minus 3 degrees. We had made sure to dress up for the weather conditions so we did not get cold and frozen.
On our way out of town there was a lady who eagerly waved to us and a couple of men shouted bravo after us. It's always fun to see how humans react when they see us cycling. Every greeting is a warning gesture and we always try to greet again.
Later In the morning it started to snow. At first it was light snow and not bad. We wanted to have a lunch break at a gas station where we first sat outside. But the staff came out and said we should get ourselves inside and we could just eat our own food. So we did.
We were on our way to the city of Novi Sad, here we had written to a Warmshower host called Zoran. We were looking forward to meeting him when we could read from his profile that he had cycled a lot of places in the world. So he should have some good stories to tell.
After lunch, it started to snow a lot more and now the concentration and focus went on the road conditions and not how many kilometer we could reach. It was like cycling in a trance with the snow comming towards us all the time. So before we knew, we were 16 kilometers from Novi Sad. We could not see anything because of the snow that fell in big lint.
When we arrived at Novi Sad, we looked like two miss frosty, with snow all over our bodies. We should look a few times on maps. me before we found the high rised house where Zoran lived. The city has more than 300,000 inhabitants, so a city of quite large size.
We found the door where Zoran lived and the first young girl who came out told us that this was where Zoran lived. It was her neighbor.
When we ran the bell, there was a voice that said: Hi, I'm Zoran's brother, Zoran is not home right now, but I'm coming down to pick you up.
We had to go up by a elevator and the bikes could just go up with us to the hallway. We were grateful for that, but it was too bad that the bikes were smashed with snow and dirt. Then when the snow melted, the hallway became grieved.
Zoran's brother had just showed us into the apartment when he said, "Just feel at home, I am just going down to buy some cigarettes." It was not exactly what we had hoped to hear and beyond that  the  appartment smelled of smoke. Zoran had written in his profile that he was a non smoker and from that we had chosen him because we did not want to live in a smoker's home.
We made a quick decision and agreed that we did not want to stay there. So when Zoran came home 10 minutes later, we said quietly that we could not stay in his apartment because the brother was smoking and that it smelled of smoke throughout the apartment. We also told him that he might write in his profile that he was not smoking, but his brother lived in his flat and he was smoking.
Zoran took it quietly, where the brother took it a bit like an attack and made some stupid remarks. Zoran said it was our choice and offered to follow us to a hostel. So we packed the bikes again and took the elevator down, along with Zoran.
Now the trip took a few extra kilometers through the city, to City Hostel. Here we got a room and were welcomed with Raki.
We sat togetherwith Zoran for an hour and talked before he rode back to his apartment. Even though we were somewhat disappointed with the outcome, we thought Zoran was nice guy that he had helped us to the hostel and thanked him for that.
Before we rode off from City hostel the next day, the owner of the place had told us that there was a campsite in Sombor. He had just received an email the day before from the site called Long Tour Bike Camp.
The man from City Hostel even rang to make sure they were open and to say we would try to reach Sombor by the end of the day. But that meant we had to ride around 100 km so we had to see if that was possible.
Most of the day we had light rain and it was cloudy. In such a weather, everything seems very gloomy and sometimes depressing, but with a few sunbeams everything will soon look more beautiful. It happened at the end of the day and it gave us the energy to reach the rest of the way to Sombor.
Before we rode to Long Tour Bike Camp we went to a supermarket to shop for our dinner.
Outside, we could see that it started to get dark, so we hurried to ride the last 3 kilometers.
When we knocked on the big gate to Long Tour Bike Camp, it took some time before Pec came and opened the gate.
A tall man with dark curly hair welcomed us and when we entered the yard we were welcomed by his wife, Ivana. Ivana said that her name we would probably remember, as it was the same as Trump's former wife. We laughed at that.
Before we could get our room, they should put on the heat and make our bed. In the meantime, we were offered within their private residence. Here we got Turkish coffee and snacks.
We talked and told stories and laughed a lot. Ivana and Pec were so sweet. Ivana worked with sales of houses and Pec worked with IT so he could work from home. It was his idea to open this accommodation and every year it has become more and more popular.
Pec loved himself to ride a bike and had two bikes. The place was a campground built in their courtyard, with fruit trees and a bicycle storage room and a small bicycle workshop. There were nice small places everywhere where you could pitch a tent. They also had two apartments, so those who had no tent could also stay overnight.
We became the first guests for the season 2018 and therefore Ivana gave us a discount. After a good hour our room was ready and we unpacked our things, bathed and made a good big dinner.
Today's stage had been flat, but we still cycled for more than 5 hours, so it did not take long before we fell asleep after dinner.
We had been up at 01:50 to brush teeth when we fell asleep without getting it done. We had set the alarm to ring at 8:00, but when we could hear that the rain was pooring outside, it were awhile before we got up.
We took our time for breakfast and even drank one more cup of coffee in the hope that it would stop raining.
We were lucky and when we packed the bikes a little before 10:00, it just dropped quite a bit. Pec had printed a route out we could follow. It was part of the Euro Velo6, which is a cycle route that extends from France to the Black Sea in Romania.
Then we could also avoid cycling on the more busy road, said Pec.
Before we thanked and said goodbye, we took some pictures and Ivanka said that if we ever came back we could stay for free.
Then we went on our way from Sombor and soon we found the little road that waved through the landscape with trees on both sides of the road. We had to ride 26 kilometers before reaching the border with Hungary, but first we had to go through the small town of Bezdan. Here we exchanged the last Serbian money into Hungarian forint.
We bought a sandwich at the local baker and stood outside the store and ate it, as we could follow day to day life in the small town.
In the town of Backi Monostor, which lay before Bezdan, we met 70 years old Joseph, who had lived in Germany for many years and spoke German. The reason we came to talk to him was because he was driving in his nice red Yugo and Marianne would like to have a picture of the car. It ended with a picture of his car and Joseph.
Before we rode on, Joseph said: Life was like a roll of toilet paper, the more you tear it, the less it's left. It gave us a smile on our lips, but he was right on that matter.
About 3 kilometers after Bezdan, we reached the border with Hungary and we were not in doubt. The border was a big barbed wire area. Suned double fenced for refugees. Who does not remember the pictures on TV when the fence was set up a few years ago. Where families struggled to keep together and maybe be lucky to come to Hungary.
It did not take long to cross the border. As soon we were on the other side, we noticed that there were far more police cars than ordinary cars. We think, they must patrol in the border area, for "all" the refugees that come.
For once we had a headwind and we made a collaboration where we each alternately cycled 1 kilometer in front. We came to Baja and had to go to Ezther and Roland, they were the warmshower hosts we had written to a few days before. We were welcome as they wrote but could not arrive before after 17:00.
So before we rode to them, we bought a small gift for them to show our gratitude to let us stay with them.
We found out where they were living and what a contrast to what we just experienced at Zoran. Ezther and Roland had 4 children and lived in a huge house in a new neighborhood here was no smoke. They were a modern busy family and crazy that they would welcome us in addition to their everyday lives.
They even made delicious omelettes and various small dishes and we sat together and eat in the evening.
We had an exciting conversation with Roland in the evening, where he illuminated his views on Ungarn. What we thought was a harmonious country was not quite as it looks on the surface. Radio and TV is ruled by the government and Roland felt that something would happen within the next 3 years.
As he said, keep an eye on Hungary something will happen within the near future.
He said the government did not want more refugees, but the population would. Like to notice what was noticeable when we turned on the television in Hungary, propaganda ran that refugees tried to cross the border to Hungary and they showed images of large flocks of refugees standing at the border.
We can only say that we did not see the big flocks at the border when we cycled into Hungary. So wonder where they hid ????
 


A Slice of Serbia

Mandag d. 08. januar - Fredag d. 12. januar 2018                    (Update d. 18. april 2018)

Zeljusa - Nis 94 km
Pausedag i Nis
Nis - Ratare 82 km
Ratare - Veliko Orasje 77 km
Veliko Orasje - Beograd 88 km

Natten på marken i frugtplantagen havde været ganske god. Pånær var Heidi begyndt at snorke, så Marianne sagde: At hun ikke troede det var nødvendigt at være stille, når vi satte lejr et sted i nærheden af bebyggelse fordi Heidi´s snorken ville afsløre os alligevel. 
Denne morgen startede på en meget smal vej, som var tungt trafikeret. Veje som den nyder vi bestemt ikka at cykle på, men efter vi var kommet igennem to små tunler og forbi en masse vej arbejde, ændrede vejen sig til at blive to sporet i begge retninger og vi havde et nødspor at cykle på. Wow hvor dejligt tænkte vi og vejen gik endda en smule nedaf, så hastigheden var i top. Trafikken var blevet mindre, men de biler der kom kørende kom i høj fart og det gik op for os, at vejen fra i morges var gået direkte over i at blive motorvej og her cyklede vi altså nu. Vi havde ikke noget valg, vi måtte bare fortsætte og så se om der kom en afkørsel længere fremme.
Faktisk var der ikke nogen der tog notits af os. Ingen af bilerne der kom susende dyttede eller gjorde tegn til at vi skulle finde en anden vej. Da vi var nået cirka halvvejs af dagen rute, var der en rasteplads og her holdt vi frokost pause. Efter pausen fik vi yderlig 10 kilometer på den splinterny motorvej inden den gik over i at blive lige så smal som om morgenen og igen med tung trafik.
På motorvejen kom vi ikke igennem landsbyerne, men det gjorde vi nu. Der var ikke meget forskel på landsbyerne her i Serbien i forhold til dem i Bulgarien, men en ting vi lod mærke til var at mange af husene var forladte. Hvorfor mon det tænkte vi??? Forklaringen fik vi nogle dage senere.
Efter nogel kilometer på den smalle vej, kunne vi se at vi cyklede imod nogle kæmpe klippeformationer og inden længe befandt vi os i den smukke Sicevo kløft. Klipperne gik højt op på hver side af vejen, som var skået ned igennem den 17 kilomter lange kløft. For at vejen kunne blive en realitet, har man lavet 13 tunnler, alle i forskellige længder.
De 17 kilometer blev en tur hvor vi måtte koncentrere os 110 %, da der stadig kom store lastbiler og vejen virkelig var alt for smal på stykket. Så vi cyklede så hurtig som muligt og forsøgte stadig at kigge op og til siderne for at se noget af det smukke undervejs.
Nu hvor vi befandt os i Serbien, var tiden jo udlignet så vi var på europæisk tid, men vi må tilstå at vi blev noget forvirret, da vi var kommet ud af kløften, holdt vi ind på en tankstation for at få en kop kaffe. Vores ure sagde at klokken var lidt før 15:00 men uret på tankstationen sagde at klokken var lidt før 14:00. Så med det samme tænkte vi, vi har taget fejl og tiden bliver først udlignet når vi er i Ungarn. Men samtidig kunne vi ikke lade være med at grine, da vi virkelig har været i tvivl mange gange på turen.
Heldigvis stod der en mand udenfor tanken og ham spurgte vi om hvad klokken var. Til vores held, så var klokken altså lidt før 15:00, det var tankstationen der ikke havde fået stilt deres ur rigtigt.
Fra tanken havde vi 17 kilometer mere, inden vi ville nå til Nis. Den sidste del blev på flad vej og da vi nåede ind til Nis, var der endda cykelsti noget af vejen. På nogle skilte kunne vi læse at byen forsøgte at få folk til at cykle noget mere blandt andet ved at lave cyklestien.
Vi havde fundet frem til hostel Day 'n' NIght, som var det billigeste og det hostel der havde fået rigtigt gode anmeldninger. Det var let at finde og lå perfekt i forhold til centrum, indkøb og madsteder.
Stedet var ejet af et serbisk par og de var virkelig søde og meget hjælpsomme. Der var endda en gararge hvor vi kunne parkere cyklerne sikkert.
Eftersom det var lavsæson, havde vi egentlig ikke regnet med at der ville være andre på stedet, men der var en pige fra Canada og to piger fra Ungarn. 
Dem fik vi snakket en del med. Da vores næste land var Ungarn, spurgte vi de ungarske piger om der var et sted de ville anbefale os at tage hen. Den ene havde cykle omkring Balaton søen og syntes der var flot der, så med det samme undersøgte vi hvor den lå i forhold til vores rute mod Østrig, som var næste land efter Ungarn og umiddelbart, kunne vi godt cykle til Balaton og se os lidt omkring der. Men beslutningen ville vi først tage senere på turen.
Om aftenen skulle vi så smage på det serbiske køkken. Deres mad stammer fra egenskaber på Balkan, Middelhavsområdet, Tyrkisk og centraleuropæiske køkkener. De nationale retter omfatter Pljeskavica, Cevapi og Sarma. Den nationale drik er blommebrændevin Sljivovica. Men vores helt store hit blev Pljeskavica, som er en traditionel Serbisk burger. Denne burger får dig til at glemme om alle ander burger. Burgeren er lavet af grisekød, oksekød og lammekød serveret i en kæmpe burger bolle med løg, kajmak (mælke cream), ajvar (relish). Såden en burger sælges fra små steder, der ligner slagter forretninger. Inde i butikken er der en grill, som oftes er at se i vidnuet udefra, sådan at man kan se hvad det er der bliver grillet. Altså hvis man kan kigge igennem dyggen på vinduet. Typisk sælges burgeren med det mixede kød eller med kyllingebryst.
Jeg siger ikke for meget hvis jeg siger at Serberne elsker ders kød, så efter sådan en burger er man godt og grundigt mæt. Men samtidig trængte vi til mad efter 94 kilometer i sadlen.
Hvis man er gæst et sted, vil man typisk blive budt velkommen med et shot af blommebrændevinen Slijivovica. Det smager utroligt godt, men man skal være varsom, med at drikke for meget af den da den har mellem 37 - 50 % alkohol.
Vi blev en dag mere i Nis og den brugte vi på at se Nis Fæstningen og lidt af den indre by og selvfølgelig et obligatorisk besøg på en cafe´. Fæstningen ligger flot anlagt ved breden af floden Nisava og med udsigt ind over byen. Det var gratis at komme ind og så kan men gå en tur indenfor murerne i parken som er anlagt der.
Efter besøget på fæstningen, gik vi på cafe´. Her ville vi bl.a smage på Børek, som er flere lag filodej, der er penslet med æg og fyldt med feta og spinat. eller andre grøntsager Inden den kommer i ovnen for at bage pensles den med olie. En god tung frokost, som bare smager så godt.
Som altid på vores rejse, gik vi også forbi et supermarkede. For at se hvad det havde at byde på af interessante ting og for at handle nogle af de ting vi manglede i vores mad forråd.
Efter turen rundt i byen, gik vi tilbage og resten af dagen gik med afslapning, lidt opdateringer på vores blog og Heidi begyndte at gøre klar til næste samtale med Lars fra Check-in bladet.
På en lun morgen cyklede vi ud af Nis og med det samme fandt vi en mindre vej. som kørte paralelt med motorvejen. Nogen gange slog vejen en stor bue væk fra motorvejen og op i et mere bakket landskab og vi fik nogle hårde stigninger som gav os røde kinder. Da vi nåede til byen Aleksinac, satte vi os udenfor busstationen for at spise frokost.
Busstationen så meget trist og faldefærdig ud. Mest af alt minede det om en bygning fra 2. verdenskrig eller noget der var bygget under socialistrepublik tiden (1945-92). I det hele taget så vi mange steder et land der virkelig har lidt under flere konflikter og vi skal ikke længere tilbage end 2006, hvor det først var at Serbien blev et selvstændigt land.
Imens vi sad foran busstationen og spiste kom en serbissk mand hen for at snakke med os. Han var lige ankommet i hans fine Lada, som han parkerede lige ud for os. Han fortalte at han ventetde på hans mor, som skulle komme med bussen. Han ville gerne vide hvor vi kom fra og om vi talte tysk. Jamen, det gjorde vi. Så vi måtte altså snakke med hans mor når hun kom, for hun kunne også tysk - sagde manden.
Så da hun ankom, fik vi os en hyggelig snak og fik en masse at vide om deres familie, hvor længe hun havde boet i Østrig og en masse andre ting. Så ønskede de os en god rejse og kørte afsted igen.
En dejlig oplevelse og med sådan et møde kan man kun føle sig velkommen i et helt fremmede land.
Bakkerne fortsatte efter frokosten. Nogen gange cyklede vi nede i dalen, hvor der var marker og mest fladt, for kort tid efter at skulle cykle opad nogle stejle bakker igen. Vi kom igennem flere små landsbyer og i en af landsbyerne gik Marianne ind til en lille købmand for at købe noget kød, så vi kunne lave brændende kærlighed med kartoffelmos til aften.
Imens stod Heidi udenfor o g holdt øje med cyklerne. Her snakkede hun med ejeren af butikken. Igen et hyggeligt møde. Serberne har en meget venlig befolkning.
Da vi cyklede afsted fra købmanden, fik vi selskab af en hund Heidi havde snakket til udenfor købmanden. Det var ikke så godt, for vi skulle til at finde et sted at sove for natten og vi ville ikke dele vores mad med hunden. Heldigvis gav den op efter 4 - 5 kilometer.
Det lykkedes os at finde et sted at slå teltet op. Det blev imellem to landsbyer op af en markvej, hvor der stod 2 - 3 træer, som vi kunne gemme os en smule bag. Så lange det var lyst kunne vi måske ses fra vejen, men lige så snart det blev mørkt var der ingen der ville lægge mærke til os.
Igen havde vi cyklet en god distance denne dag og det var somom at Danmark trak i os mere og mere.
Vi må sige vi var ved at være gode til at skifte tøj i vores soveposer.  Det var jo ikke fordi vi sprang ud af soveposerne, når det var koldt om morgenen. Istedetfor havde vi alt vores cykeltøj nede i soveposen, så det var dejligt varmt at tage på og først når vi havde alt tøjet på, krøb vi ud af soveposerne, for derefter at pakke dem sammen. Nogen gange var vi nødt til at lufte soveposerne godt, så de tørrede lidt inden de blev pakket sammen. Når det er koldt danner der sig en masse kondens og derfor var soveposerne tit fugtige om morgenen. Når soveposerne var pakket sammen, så lukkede vi luften ud af ligge underlagene og fik den pakket sammen.
Herefter gik Marianne igang med at koge vand til kaffe og Heidi pakke de inner teltet sammen. Så passede det fint med at vi kunne sidde og spise mogenmad i læ inden i teltet i al slags vejr og så pakke de sidste ting når vi var mætte efter en stor portion müsli og dejlig varm kaffe.
Da vi cyklede imod byen Veliko Orasje, kom vi igennem en masse små landsbyer og her kunne vi se hvordan folk boede i huse, hvor taget var bygget af sten. Alt så meget gammelt ud og vi var ikke i tvivl om at folk levede et hård liv i disse landsbyer. Nogen steder var man igang med at gøre jorden klar til foråret.
I en af landsbyerne måtte vi stoppe, da Marianne havde fået en punktering. Det klarede vi indenfor 15 minutter og så var det ellers på cyklerne igen. Dagen endte imellem to byer, her fandt vi et skov stykke lidt gemt af vejen. Da vi skulle til at sove kunne vi dog høre at vi var ret tæt på nogle huse, da der var hunde der gøede ret tæt på. Det var vi ikke altid glade for, for vi vidste ikke om hundne var bundet eller om de ville komme helt hen til vores telt. Vi glædede os til at komme til et land hvor hundene bliver taget ind om natten, så de ikke ville forstyre vores natte søvn.
Vi håbede på at nå til Beograd, da vi cyklede afsted fra den lille skov. Det havde regnet om natten, men var holdt hen på morgenen. Desværre var luftfugtigheden meget høj, så teltet tørrede ikke og vi var nødt til at pakke det vådt sammen. Det var lige før at luften føltes lun  og vi kunne også konstatere at vi have 8 plus grader.
Atter en dag, hvor vi undervejs ser massevis af forladte huse og vi tsnakkede om hvorfor det mon var sådan. Vi tænkte at det havde noget med krigen 1996 - 99, der også blev kendt som Kosovo krigen, hvor det forhenverende Jugoslavien gik i opløsning., men vi vidste ikke om det var derfor at husene stod tomme.
Svaret fik vi senere på dagen, da vi cyklede af en lang lige landevej. Her blev vi overhalet af en kassebil,hvor der stak et tæppe ud af bagklappen.. Vi så hvordan at kassebilen holdt ind til siden længere fremme på vejen. Jeg råbet til Heidi: jeg tror manden vil snakke med os og måske have et billede.
Da vi kom tættere på råbet manden: Er i fra Danmark??? Det blev vi meget overrasket over, men vi stansede og fik en snak med Miroslav. han boede i Danmark og arbejdede for Arriva i Århus. Han var i Serbien for at pga. en begravelse og en niece der skulle til afsluttende prøver.
Imens vi snakkede med Miroslav, fik vi svar på det med de øde huse. Han kunne fortælle at omkring 30 procent af Serbiens befolkning var flygtet under Kosovo krigen og han var også en af dem, derfor stod husene tomme. Det var mange unge mennesker der flygtede og de var ikke kommet tilbage efter krigen, for der var ikke noget at komme tilbage til.
Vi havde også set at mange biler kørte med en egegren i kølerhjelmen. Så det spurgte vi også Miroslav om.. Han fortalte at det var en serbisk jule tradition.
Det er en tradition som er baseret på hedenske ritualer. Det siges at mænd skal finde det perfekte egetræ juleaften, for at tage en gren fra træet og tage det med hjem og brænde grenen i pejsen. Egetræet var nemlig helligt for de første slaviske stammefolk.
Grenene der sidder i kølerhjelmene er for at bede om tilgivelse ved gud. Selv miroslav havde en gren siddende i kølerhjelmen.
En virkelig dejlig oplevelse og nu havde vi set vores første danske nummerplade i meget lang tid. Vi havde faktisk snakket om hvornår vi mon vill se den første nummerplade og det blev så i Serbien.
Vi fortsatte mod byen Smederevo, efter mødet med Miroslav. Her havde vi dagens andet højdepunkt, for vi skulle ramme Donau. Den impornerende flod, som er Europas næst længste, med sine 2850 kilometer.. Vi vidste at når vi ramte Donau, så kom vi til at følge den  "on og off" i et godt  stykke tid og det var noget vi havde set frem til. Vi havde fået fortalt af en engelsk fyr tideligere på turen, at hvis vi fulgte Donau, så ville ruten være mere eller mindre flad. Så det så vi frem til.
Efter Smederevo skulle vi godt nok over 3 hæftinge bakker, hvor der gik opad i 5 kilometer på hver af dem. Jo, tættere vi kom på Beograd, jo mere bebygget blev det og trakikken blev mere hektisk. Heldigvis skulle vi cykle nedaf de sidste 12 kilometer til vi nåede til The Hedinost hostel. Men inden vi nåede dertil, cyklede vi igennem fyraftens trafikken, som også bød på sporvogne og busser i massevis. Så det gjalt om at være opmærksom.
Da vi nåede til hostellet, bookede vi os ind på et privat værelse i 3 nætter og efter et dejligt bad, gik vi ned i fælles rummet og sad og snakkede med nogle af de andre gæster. Her smagte vi hjemmelavet Raki med honning 35 % alkohol. Uha det gik lige i blodbanerne overpå lang dag på cyklen. Aftensmad blev pizza og dessert - pandekager som personalet på stedet lavede.
Aftenen sluttede på værelset med at vi streamede det danske X-Factor, alt imens vi nød en øl. Ja, det lyder måske skægt men vi syntes det er så underholdende og elsker det program.


English

Monday, 08 January - Friday, January 12, 2018                            (Update april 18, 2018)

Zeljusa - Nis 94 km
Day of rest in Nis
Nis - Ratare 82 km
Ratare - Veliko Orasje 77 km
Veliko Orasje - Belgrade 88 km

The night on the field in the orchard had been quite good. Sort off, Heidi was starting to snore, so Marianne said, "She did not think it was necessary to be quiet when we camped somewhere near the settlement because Heidi's snoring would reveal us anyway.
This morning started on a very narrow road, which had a lot of heavy trafic. Roads like this we definitely do not enjoy biking, but after we had come through two small tunnels and past a lot of road work, the road turned out to be two tracks in both directions and we had an emergency track to ride on. Wow how lovely we thought, and the road even went a bit downwards, so the speed was energetic. The traffic was getting less, but the cars came at a high speed and it seemed to us that the road from this morning had gone straight into becoming a highway and now we cycled here. We had no choice, we just had to go ahead and see if there was a exit further ahead.
In fact, nobody took notis of us. None of the cars that came thundering hunched or made signs that we had to get of the road. When we reached about half way of the day there was a rest area and here we had a lunch break. After the break, we got 10 kilometers more on the brand new highway before it was getting as narrow as in the morning and again with heavy traffic.
On the highway we did not go through the villages, but we did now. There was not much difference in the villages here in Serbia compared to those in Bulgaria, but one thing we noticed was that many of the houses were abandoned. Why did we think ??? The explanation was given us a few days later.
After a mile on the narrow road, we could see that we cycled against some huge rock formations and soon we found ourselves in the beautiful Sicevo gorge. The cliffs were high on either side of the road, which was thrown through the 17 kilometer long gorge. In order for the road to be a reality, 13 tunnels, all of different lengths, have been made.
The 17 kilometers were a trip where we had to concentrate 110%, as there were still big trucks and the road really was way too narrow. So we rode as fast as possible and still tried to look up and to the sides to see some of the beautiful along the way.
Now that we were in Serbia, time was settled so we were at European time, but we must confess that we got confused, when we got out of the gorge, we stopped at a gas station for a cup of coffee. Our watches said it was a little before 15:00 but the clock at the gas station said that it was a little before 14:00. At the same time, we thought we were mistaken and the time was first settled when we were in Hungary. But at the same time we could not help laughing because we have really been in doubt many times on the trip.
Fortunately, there was a man outside the gas ststion and we asked what time it was. To our luck, it was a little before 15:00, it was the petrol station that had not put their clock right.
From the gas station we had 17 kilometers more before we reached Nis. The last part was on a flat road and when we reached Nis, there was even a bike path some of the way. On some signs we could read that the city tried to make people cycle more, for example by building the cycle path.
We had found Hostel Day 'n' Nghgh which was the cheapest and the hostel that had really good reviews. It was easy to find and was perfect in terms of downtown, shopping and food places.
The place was owned by a Serbian couple and they were really sweet and very helpful. There was even a gararge where we could park the bikes safely.
Because it was low season, we really did not expect there to be anyone else on the spot, but there was a girl from Canada and two girls from Hungary.
We talked to them a bit. When our next country was Hungary, we asked the Hungarian girls if there was a place they would recommend us to go. One had cycling around the Lake Balaton and thought it was nice there, so immediately we investigated where it was in relation to our route to Austria, which was next to Hungary and immediately we could bike to Balaton and take a look around there. But we decided to take the decision later.
In the evening we should taste the Serbian cuisine. Their food comes from properties in the Balkans, Mediterranean, Turkish and Central European cuisines. The national dishes include Pljeskavica, Cevapi and Sarma. The national beverage is Sljivovica. But our very big hit became Pljeskavica, the traditional Serbian dish. This burger makes you forget about every other burger. The burger is made of pork, beef and lamb served in a huge burger bun with onion, kajmak (milk cream), ajvar (relish).  A burger like this is sold from small places that resemble slaughter shops. Inside the shop there is a grill, which is often seen in the witnesses from the outside, so that you can see what is being grilled. That is if you can look through the fog and smoke from the grill. Typically, the burger is sold with the mixed meat or with chicken breast.
I do not say too much if I say that the Serbs love their meat, so after such a burger you are well and thoroughly fed up. But at the same time we needed food after 94 kilometers in the saddle.
If you are a guest somewhere, typicalý you will be welcomed with a shot of the plum brandy Slijivovica. It tastes incredibly good, but be careful about drinking too much of it as it has 37-50% alcohol.
We stayed one more day in Nis and we used this day to see the Nis Fortress and some of the inner city and of course a compulsory visit to a cafe. The fortress is beautifully landscaped by the banks of the River Nisava and overlooks the city. It was free to get in and then you can go for a walk within the walls of the park that is located there.
After visiting the fortress, we went to the cafe. Here we would like to taste Børek, which is several layers of filodej, brushed with eggs and filled with feta and spinach or other vegetables before it is baked in the oven it is brushed with oil. A good heavy lunch that tasted so good.
As always on our journey, we also passed a supermarket. To see what it had to offer, maybe some interesting things and to do some shoppnig for things we lacked in our food storage..
After the trip around the city, we went back and the rest of the day we just relaxed and i did some updates on our blog and Heidi started preparing for the next conversation with Lars from the Check-in magazine.
We rode out of Nis on a nice morning with 10 degrees and immediately we found a smaller road. which drove parallel to the highway. Sometimes the road struck a big arch off the highway and into a more hilly landscape and we had to climb some hard hills that gave us red cheeks. When we reached the city of Aleksinac, we sat outside the bus station to have lunch..
The bus station looked so sad and drab. Most of all, it reminded of a World War II building or something built during the Socialist era (1945-92). Actually we saw many places, a country that has really suffered during several conflicts and we only have to go back to 2006, that was when Serbia became an independent country.
As we sat in front of the bus station and ate, a Serbian man came to talk to us. He had just arrived in his nice Lada, which he parked right in front of us. He told us he was waiting for his mother to arrive by bus. He wanted to know where we came from and if we spoke German. Well, we did. So we had to talk to his mother when she came because she could also speak German - said the man.
So when she arrived, we had a nice chat and got a lot to know about their family, how long she had lived in Austria and a lot of other things. Then they whished us a good trip and drove off again.
A nice experience and with such a meeting you can only feel welcome in a completely foreign country.
The hills continued after breakfast. Sometimes we rode down the valley, where there were fields and most flat but then short time after cycling up some steep slopes again. We came through several small villages and in one of the villages Marianne went into a small grocery store to buy some meat so we could make a dish which we call: burning love with mashed potatoes for dinner.
Meanwhile, Heidi stood outside and watched the bikes. Here she talked to the owner of the store. Again a nice meeting. Serbia have a very friendly population.
As we rode off from  the grocery store, we got company of a dog. Heidi had talked to it outside the merchant. Not a good idea because we were going to find a place to sleep for the night and we did not want to share our food with the dog. Fortunately, it stopped after following us for 4 to 5 kilometers.
We managed to find a place to put up the tent. It was between two villages up a small road to a field, here there were 2 - 3 trees, which we could hide a little behind. As long as it was light we could be seen from the road, but as soon as it got dark, nobody would notice us.
Again, we had cycled a good distance this day and it felt like that Denmark pulled in us more and more.
We have to say we were good at changing clothes in our sleeping bags. It was not because we jumped out of the sleeping bags when it was cold in the morning. Instead, we had all our bicycle clothes in the sleeping bag, so it got warmed up and only after we had all the clothes on we got out of the sleeping bags and then packed them. Sometimes we had to air the sleeping bags well so they dried a little before they were packed. When it's cold, it forms a lot of condensation and therefore the sleeping bags were often damp in the morning. When the sleeping bags were packed, we let the air out of the sleeping mat and packed it together.
Then Marianne started boiling water for coffee and Heidi packed the inner tent . So it was good for us to sit and eat müsli in the shelter of the tent in all kind of weather and then pack the last thing when we were fully fed with a large amount of muesli and nice hot coffee.
As we rode towards Veliko Orasje, we came through a lot of small villages and here we could see how people lived in houses where the roof was built of stone. Everything looked very old and we did not doubt that people lived a hard life in these villages. Some places were starting to make the fields ready for spring.
In one of the villages we had to stop when Marianne had a puncture. We fixed within15 minutes and then it was on the bikes again. The day ended between two small villages, here we found a piece  og forest a bit hidden from the road. However, when we were going to sleep, we could hear that we were pretty close to some houses, as there were dogs barking quite close to us. We were not always happy about that because we did not know if the dog was tied up or if they would come to our tent. We were looking forward to come to a country where the dogs are taken in at night so they would not disturb our sleep.
We hoped to reach Belgrade when we rode off from  the small forest. It had rained at night, but stopped in the morning. Unfortunately, the humidity was very high, so the tent did not dry and we had to pack it all wet. It was just like the air felt warm and we could see that we had 8 plus degrees.
Again, this day we saw lots of abandoned houses and we talked about why it was so. We thought it had something to do with the 1996-99 war, which also became known as the Kosovo war, where former Yugoslavia dissolved. But we did not know if that's why the houses were empty and abandond.
We got the answer later in the day when we cycled on a long straight country road. Here we were caught by a highace car, where a blanket was sticking out of the backdoor of the car. We saw how the car pulled in to the side further up the road. I called Heidi: I think the man would like to talk to us and maybe take a picture.
When we came closer the man shoouted in danish: Are you from Denmark ??? We were very surprised, but stopped and talked to Miroslav. He lived in Denmark and worked for Arriva in Aarhus. He was in Serbia because of a funeral and a niece that had a final test of some kind.
While we talked to Miroslav, we got an answer to the deserted houses. He could tell that about 30 percent of Serbia's population had fled during the Kosovo war and he was also one of them, so the houses were empty. There were many young people who fled and they had not returned after the war because there was nothing to come back to.
We also saw that many cars drove with an Oak branch in the front helmet of the cars. So we also asked Miroslav what that was?. He told us it was a Serbian Christmas tradition.
It is a tradition based on pagan rituals. It is said that men should find the perfect oak Christmas Eve, to take a branch from the tree and take it home and burn the branch in the fireplace. The oak tree was sacred to the first Slavic tribal people.
The branches in the front helmet of a car are to pray for forgiveness by God. Even Miroslav had a branch sitting in the front of his car.
A really nice experience and now we had seen our first Danish license plate for a very long time. We had actually talked about when we would see the first danish license plate and then it became so in Serbia.
We continued towards the town of Smederevo after the meeting with Miroslav. Here we had the second highlight of the day, because we were going to hit the Danube. The impending river, which is Europe's second longest, with its 2850 kilometers. We knew that when we hit the Danube, we came to follow it on and off for quite a while. We had been told by an English guy earlier on the trip that if we followed the Danube, the route would be more or less flat. So we looked forward to that.
After Smederevo, we had 3 staple slopes, each of them 5 kilometers climbs. The closer we came to Belgrade, the more building there were and the trafic became more hectic. Fortunately, we would ride down the last 12 kilometers until we reached The Hedinost hostel. But before we got there we cycled through heavy late afternoon traffic, which also offered lots of trams and buses aswell. So we had to be 
100 % aware of everything
When we reached the hostel, we booked into a private room for 3 nights and after a nice bath, we went down to the common room and sat and talked to some of the other guests. Here we tasted homemade Raki with honey 35% alcohol. Uhhhhh, it went straight into the bloodstream after a long day on the bike and made us a little tipsy and also relaxed. Dinner was pizza and dessert - pancakes that the on-site staff made.
The evening ended in the room were we streamed the Danish X-Factor, while we enjoyed a beer. Yes, that may sound funny but we thought it was so entertaining and we really love that program.