21 September Ilok – National Park Froska Goro – Sremski Karlovci

I get up early and reset my front brake. They do not need replacement yet. The chain is oiled and the bike is ready to roll again.

Scott takes off for Novi Sad and Bert and I are going to test our legs on the route through the National Park. Eventually this will take us to the viewpoint at 539 meters. 

From this little ridge we can overlook to the north and south the plains of Serbia. Today I feel like the leader of a Tour de France team with bad legs. Bert, my main manservant, is staying with me and is making sure I don’t loose too much time. He cheers me up telling his GPS is at 450, 470 and 500 meters above sea level. Yes, it surely does make a difference 55 or 27 year old legs! 

At 16.30 we greet each other I head for Sremski Karlovci. One straight road down, head wind but descending by 10% I am easily doing 45 kilometer per hour. In 15 minutes I am at the bottom, where I dive into the yearly wine festival and a giant fair. It seems the whole region is in town. Live music, busy wine and other retailers, freshly made jams, vegetables, pepper and wines – red, rose and white – plus the local Slibovitch. Pigs and goats are hanging above the grill.

 

I stay - how original - in yet another Dunav Hotel. 

    

The Fair is next door and blasting the typical music over the terrain. I walk into town trying to score some Serbian Dinar and then eat. All money machines are totally empty or won’t service my international card, but the “Precident Hotel” is able to change Euros for Dinars. In the Danish Ambassador Club, I enjoy another wonderful meal, specially prepared with lots of fresh vegetables. My best friend Ger should have been here to go wine tasting. I wrote it earlier, all along the Danube in the Wachau (A), Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia and Serbia the wines are quite distinguished and of great quality.

I head back over the Fair, enjoy some old Serbian Rockers on the main stage and reach my room.

 

The Fair stops at 2 p.m. 

The quietness is deafening. It has given me the perfect excuse to work on my blog, making up for the unpublished days.