Novi Sad to Belgrade - 83 km - 52 miles
Apart from those Serbians in charge of trucks or buses, these people take Unselfish Generosity to an entirely new level..... those that do drive buses and trucks are indeed verging on the Psychopathic! So, never judge a nation by it's drivers!
¾ the way there now! Very friendly tail winds pushed us towards Belgrade, but the locals were giving it their best for Friday 13th!! They drive in a totally insane fashion! They just gotta overtake you even if vehicles are stopped 50m ahead!
I feel they mostly do have a conscience though.... to 'gently' nudge you off the road is somehow considered fair game or 'knock for knock', but to plough into you directly from behind does seem an unacceptable risk to a good night's sleep, as far as they are concerned.... unless they are one of the aforementioned bus or lorry drivers, in which case it's an industrial risk and you're considered collateral damage, so best to not trifle with those road users!! Rest Daying in Belgrade tomorrow....
On to Belgrade...
Once in Belgrade, and away from that ghastly traffic, all was most well! We quickly found a riverside venue to celebrate with a beer (or two.... but not 3!). The venue had our most elusive requirement, that being free Wifi so we could communicate with family, friends, and potential accommodations for tonight!!
The friends&family comms were a dawdle, the third proved more interesting... our night's accommodation! I had already identified a target venue whilst back at home during the planning phase. So, today I checked the Website, and it appeared to check out.... so we made our way there on idyllic riverside trails at first, then quiet urban streets, then a urban highrise neighbourhood, then a rubbish dump mostly on fire, then crazy busy roads for the last mile!
Once at the 'campsite', there was a moment of doubt, when it turned out to be a campervan sales business.... after 5 minutes of confusion with one of the mechanics, Paul found the owner who offered us to stay the night on a patch of well worn grass embedded in a very compacted soil. This location
is normally reserved for campervans for €15 incl. electrical hookup! Dusan, and his wife offered the deal to Paul, of no charge for us two! We reckon they were in some kind of state of disbelief that we had turned up as we did!
Even more amazed were they as we then proceeded to prepare a Kashmiri Rogan Josh curry, complete with Pilau Rice, pre-dinner Serbian beer and a fine bottle of Macedonian Cabernet Francol Pinot Noir red to compliment the whole story, right there on their forecourt! Sadly, salt cured pork does not make the best of Indian curries, but when you are as hungry as us a scabby horse would do as the old saying goes!
#No ½ Measures ! But Paul did inquire whether I had provisioned for a vegetable side.... to which I admitted I hadn't ! So, Chef Paul rules on the 'Nutrition Front'!
Doug&Paul
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