• Athens to Copenhagen
    The Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Banstol — my “Emerald City” at the top of the climb
    Leaving BelgradeEarly morning Belgrade'sBridge over BelgradeHigh hopes nice bike pathHeavy rush hour traffic, no shoulderMore traffic in BeligisOpen farm country and headwinds, just like South DakotaLunch stop on tbe Danube1 litter of fish soupHad this round after lunch,The Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Banstol — my “Emerald City” at the top of the climbThese road workers waved me onto their fresh pavement to escape the traffic.One last obstacle: hauling the loaded bike up these stairs in Novi Sad.The view over central Novi Sad from my apartment.Bike safely inside. That felt very good.Catholic Church outside my windowDinner in Novi Sad — grilled meat, potatoes, cabbage salad and a very welcome beer.

    Day 15 not the easy day I expected

    September 22 in Serbia ⋅ 🌙 52 °F

    61 miles 2195 feet of climbing and an all day headwind.

    Today was supposed to be my easy, flat day along the Danube from Belgrade to Novi Sad.

    It started that way. Cool fall air, beautiful separated bike paths leaving Belgrade, and for a while I thought I had finally earned an easy one. Then the bike path ended and I found myself on one of the worst traffic roads I’ve ridden anywhere—two lanes, no shoulder, buses and trucks, and cars passing much too close. I was furious. Eventually I bailed onto EuroVelo 6, and the day changed.

    The roads became quiet little village roads through open farm country that reminded me a lot of eastern South Dakota. Unfortunately, so did the wind. Head down, pedal. And it rained to test my patience.

    I made a questionable but worthwhile detour down to the Danube at Stari Slankamen for lunch. A young waiter brought me what turned out to be about a liter of fish soup, bread and coffee. Getting back out required climbing the steep hill I had just descended

    Later came cold rain, more headwind and one final miserable climb. Then the rain stopped, the wind eased, and at the summit this incredible green-and-gold church appeared. For a moment I thought I reached the the Emerald City. It was a Greek Orthodox Church.

    The approach into Novi Sad had horrible traffic, but a road crew waved me into their construction zone and let me ride their brand-new pavement to escape it. Perfect ending to the riding part of the day.

    But I finished safely in a beautiful apartment overlooking central Novi Sad. Had a great Lamb and cabage salad for dinner.

    Hard day. Good day. That seems to be bicycle touring.    Read more