I did not talk about my impressions about the landscape etc, did I? Vojvodina, all this area including the flat lands in Slavonia, the south of Hungary and Northern Serbia, are a bit the same. Agriculture is important (in September they all work around corn to take it off the fields and put it ready for use in winter for their animals; they all work around grass too, to put it in a special shape that, as I have just been explained here in Romania, helps the grass to dry from the inside and avoids the water to come in the inside if it rains), and the places are then rural ones. My feeling was nevertheless than Hungary and Serbia were quite industrial places with factories. I can remember going around a village in Serbia and guessing there was a French fries factory as per the smell and the fact there were potatoes on the side of the road. I can remember the Jeden Beer factory in Apatin. I can remember a lot of concrete factories, petrol raffineries… including this one in Pancevo built around a monastery!
I can also remember, especially for Serbia, the side of roads full of garbage, the smoke seen from kilometers away, and that were either corn fields harvested and put to fire then, or rubbish just put on fire so it looks prettier…
So… from Novi Sad, and after a great breakfast with my host, including good food and good talks, I took a road out of the Euro Velo route 6 and continued on the Northern part of the Danube to reach Pancevo directly without passing Belgrade (through Titel). The way was flat and with perfect cycling weather, I could wonder what the hill before Titel was (and I still wonder), I could have a burek there, and I arrived at Uros’ place around 6pm just before the darkness arrives. He introduced me to the place I would stay, an independent studio below the family’s flat, and after a few minutes he suggested me to go by bus to Belgrade and meet some friends of his. Arriving in Belgrade we went to the Republic Square and I could see the candles and memorial signs put on the square in regret for the death of the French football supporter dead because of the aggression from some Serbian gang during the qualification match France-Serbia that had occurred a few weeks before. I was impressed, but a bit emotionless as I was not aware of this event (I am away from the world and the news, sorry…), and did not feel like being interviewed by the Serbian TV which was around. At the Republic Square we met Mario and another Uros and went for a couple of beers on the fortress. Then Mario quickly drove us to the place where the buses to Pancevo leave, and surprised us all when not paying the parking place (because of a sticker on the car, gotten as his grandmother was disabled and had had this sticker for one year registered on this card, and the sticker would still be valid even if the grandmother had died a few month ago…).
On October the 1st I then went to Belgrade by bike from Pancevo, which was not the best idea as the 15km are either on a quite slow road along the Danube, or a main road with lots of traffic… but I made it, even crossing the large bridge full of cars and trucks, and even met there the Uros from Belgrade, who served me as a guide for the afternoon. I also met Aneta, this Croatian girl I had met in Tallin, and who had been traveling all over Europe hitchhiking since then. I enjoyed the visit of Belgrade with Uros, but did not regret to stay there 1 day only as this city is huge, full of noise and pollution, and I do not adore this kind of atmosphere. On the evening I got back to Pancevo around 7 and spent the evening to rest and to facebook a bit.
Next day I spent the morning visiting Pancevo, the gardens, the river side, the side roads (and of course wastes around…) to have a look at the old towers along the Danube, then I came back to Uros, packed and said goodbye as we had planned the day before. I then rode in direction of Romania, passed Kovin and found a nice place to camp. The night turned into a rainy one, the first since a loooong time! So next morning I waited for the rain to stop, the tent to dry, and continued in order to cross the border to Romania in Kaluderovo, or to cross the Danube and continue on the Serbian side, between Stara Palanka and Ram. People met along the way warned me about the fact that the next border point might be closed (the hydro electrical plant on the dam before Kladovo), then other ones worned me about the fact that the Romanian side was Carpates, so hilly! I nevertheless decided to cross the border in Kaluderovo, on a Saturday evening around 4pm. The checking at the borer got funny as on the Serbian part the guard asked me for a “registration form”, looking like the ones in Russia or in Morocco, where you have to tell why you visit and where you stay… I did not have one, just said I staid with friends and camped, and this went fine….
Arriving on the Romanian part of the border, the atmosphere was much more calm… jokes were going around, and words or French came to my ears as I showed my passport. I changed 10 E to a rate or 4.2 Lera for 1 Euro, a quite standard rate, from a ‘private bank’, a lady around, as the banks were closed and would be closed on Sunday too… Then just on next road, a group of people were standing, and tried to talk to me. I managed to speak some Italian mixed with French and Spanish and could nearly talk for 5 minutes with this random guy… so fun! I then took the bike again and crossed my 1st hills since a long time, found a perfect place to camp with a great view on the river just before Pojejena.
Next morning I woke up to the sound of bells from cheep! Sheppards are common around here and walk with their animals on wild open fields, the same ones I use to camp…
After a ‘bon voyage’ heard from the sheppard, I started a 90 km ride along the Danube and with the hills from the Naturpak Portile de Fier : really beautiful, nearly as spectacular as the Croatian coast! I spent the night of October the 4th in a field just close to a village after the Mraconia monastery, when I was thinking I would never find a place to stop as the sides of the Danube were either going directly to the water, or having houses everywhere in sight…
On the 5th I reached Orsova where I tried to change Serbian money into Romanian one, and once again found that only Euro can be changed in normal cities… so I changed a few more Euros and spent part of then in a supermarket to refill my food. Ready for going back on the road to reach Novaci where I had a meeting with Gabriela, I stopped and had lunch. Then a guy came and asked me in English if I would mind sharing the place with him. I said, no problem. He said he would understand I refused as he knows one who would be on a tour would like to enjoy a beautiful quiet place once he has found it. I looked around and… saw he had a cyclotouring bike too! Then we started to chat and had a coffee and exchanged about our plans. He (68 years old man reminding me of my father sometimes) talked to me about a book about hiking in Romania and an itinerary around where we were, and nearly on my way to Novaci, that the writer had considered as one of the best in Romania, and maybe interesting to cycle. We checked our maps, saw that one route not too far away from the one the book was talking about, would cope for each of us, and so decided to leave Orsova together. Our 1st stop was in Toplet then, to visit the town and stop at the church. Father George opened the Romanian orthodox church for us and commented on the place, then offered us to have a chat, then share some ‘tuica’, local rachia, and event gave us a 50cl bottle of it when we left! Our second stop was the shop where we took some beer and extra bread, then the 3rd stop was the camping spot we found (we though) just outside of Baile Hercolane, away from the road but still in sight of the buildings of the new town. The evening we had, cooking potatoes, carrots and cabbage and drinking the priest’s alcohol, was perfect with good temperature, a show from the moon rising and lighting up the hills, and even a shooting star seen by myself !
Next day started with some rolling hills, the fact that my map missed 20km to go where we wanted to go, and then the fact that the rolling hills became mountains to climb… but with beautiful scenery! After 5 hours going mainly up, we arrived to a point where some forestry guys told us our next step, a city 20 km away, would be only half an hour from the top! This came to be 1 hour with a few stops to buy bread or have a coffee, but let us arrive in Baia de Arama and find a good shop to buy sausages, noodles and vegetables for diner. We then found a perfect field to camp and cook again, even had a dog to keep an eye on us and protect us from other dogs… and cheep to ‘wake us up’ in the morning!
On Wednesday the 7th we rode to the monastery of Tismana, the oldest one in Romania, then had lunch and decided to split. Clive had to go to Brasov when I had to go to Novai, I could try to get there in the evening when he would stop a few kilometers away from Tismana in Tirgu Jiu, to take a train. So we said goodbye, and I started to ride a bit faster and…. Made it to Novaci where I could find Gabriela’s house after asking to a few people.
Today I could go to the center, change the bracelet of my watch for 2 lei, buy some super glue for my shoes and tent for 1.2 lei, take some pictures, and then go back home to help a bit in the garden to pick walnuts or collect pumpkins, and then help a bit to prepare lunch that we had quite late. The afternoon went resting, doing the dishes and writing this article… when Fabrice Santoro lost in the Tokyo open… who said I was disconnected from the world ?
Tomorrow should be grape picking, then who knows, back on the road again….
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