Serbia Bike Touring – ep. 10: Back to Romania

Yesterday we’ve started our journey across the fields of Vojvodina on our way back to Romania. If all goes well, this is the day we are going to cross the border into our homeland.

We are nearing the end of our bicycle touring holiday of last year’s autumn. Our wheels turned for more than 500km and they will turn a bit more until we reach home, in Romania. It’s been an absolutely impressive holiday!

The camping spot for last night was great. Surrounded and hidden by black locusts, we had the place to ourselves, undisturbed by people or animals. Only the nearby dogs’ barking reached our ears, but they were there just to remind us that we haven’t yet left the world of men. I can honestly say it was the best camping spot of this trip!

We take our time packing our bags. Jumping in the saddle, we continue our journey North through Vojvodina. It’s the first week of October and wild ducks are leaving for warmer places. The trees are also shedding their summer clothes and a strong autumn presence is felt everywhere. When we started this holiday, in the last week of September, summer was still holding on strongly in Northern Bulgaria.

The unthinkable finally happened! Somehow… errr… I took a wrong turn somewhere and we wasted a good 20 kilometers time and effort. Truth be told, the road signs in the untouristy regions of Serbia – like the one we are biking through – are lacking information or are plain missing, broken or stolen. Having a good map or using digital maps and GPS really helps in this kind of situation.

Re-rolling our wheels in the right direction, we soon arrive in Jaša Tomić, the last town before the border, and stop in front of a supermarket. We need to spend our remaining Dinars, since they would be useless in Romania, with a very bad – if any! – exchange rate. So, we fill our panniers with non-perishables and, for me, some Serbian beer. I really liked Zaječarsko and it would be a nice surprise for my friends back home to have a taste.

The border guards are nice and ask us about our trip. We are maybe just homesick, but the air feels different here, back home. It feels a bit clearer. No more old Yugos or other junkers, haha. We’re back in Romania.

A short stop in a village brings me the first familiar snacks and beers and I am happy like a kid. We’re about 40 kilometers away from Timișoara and we decide to make it there tonight. Spending another night in the fields, camping, was an option, but so is arriving in Bucharest a day earlier and resting before we get back to the busy city life. A fast arrangement for a place to sleep ensures and we are on our way.

We reach Timișoara at sundown, after riding for almost 100 kilometers. Adelina’s butt is sore and she is certainly not happy about cutting our way short on a dirt road through the field. Bumpy and dry, that roads takes us straight to the suburb where our place to stay is. Before we get there, though, we stop for dinner.

Hooray, vegetable soup! It was the one thing we really missed during our Serbian bicycle touring holiday!

Friday is spent roaming through Timișoara, on foot, but also on the bikes. Neither me, nor Adelina, have ever been here before and it’s a nice opportunity to see the city. Unfortunately, the weather took a turn for worse, it’s very cold and raining. We managed to exchange our train tickets for an all-nighter, which, unfortunately, is not bike friendly. Railway travelling with bikes is a bit of a problem in Romania and despite our best efforts, we spend quite a lot of cash for it. It was the only solution, though, the alternative being a whole day wasted in Timișoara and another in a daytime train.

This is the end of our holiday. Tomorrow we reach home and see our beloved cat – Mona – whom we love so much. It’s been quite and adventure and we’re already looking forward to the next!

The route for the day is here. You should also check out the last video of our holiday and give us feedback! We would really appreciate it:

I am a licensed Tour & Mountain Guide and I would love to show you my natural world and help you have the adventures you will never forget. Check out my Tours page and contact me should you want to go hiking, bicycle touring or climbing, need any advice or just feel like chatting!

 

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