The sun is shining through the window, announcing a new day and a change in the weather. This is our second day of vacation in Serbia. We are in Bor, in a small motel.
Yesterday we crossed the border into Serbia and met our first Vlachs. We visited the city of Zaječar and the Felix Romuliana palace, the birthplace of Galerius. In the afternoon we started biking towards Bor, on a nice and quiet road. We reached the town right after sundown.
Bor is a mining town, much of it’s ecomomy being based around a huge copper mine, just outside of the city. The open-pit mine is, needless to say, hideous, completely ruining the landscape. Most of the town is decorated – allow me to use that word – with mining equipment, old mine wagons, cranes and other industrial garbage.
We left our motel at about 9.30 in the morning. Heading north, towards the Danube, we soon reach a beautiful region, decorated with limestone cliffs. However, there is a quarry here, and, once again, industry ruined nature. Everything is dusty and there are scores of trucks entering and exiting the facility. The air around is very polluted.
Hopefully, we leave industry behind and soon find ourselves in the middle of tamed, but beautiful nature. We pass small villages and cornfields and enjoy talking to the locals. Most of them are, of course, Vlachs! Deeply amazed by the limestone walls around us, spotted with autumn colored shrubs and trees, we spend minutes just admiring their beauty. It is the most beautiful region of Serbia we’ve seen so far!
We stopped for a beer in Donja Bela Reka. I decided that my favourite Serbian beer is Zaječarsko!
Soon, the road starts to climb. We leave villages behind and cycle through fields and hills. Here and there are small seasonal houses which remind us of back home. The hill gets steeper and steeper and Adelina shamelessly push-bikes. She is getting more and more accustomed to long distance bicycle touring! I stubbornly tread uphill, sweating like a pig. There are blueberries on the side of the road, so the climb is sweet.
Reaching the top, a magnificent view opens up before our eyes. The peak of Stol mountain, a karst gem, dominates the landscape. I can only imagine the view from up there, so high above the surrounding valley! This region is truly beautiful.
Buckle up, now, kids, a long downhill is coming! We blaze past cliffs and dark forests, as we cycle down a small river gorge. We meet some nice Vlachs along the way and soon we are close to the borders of Djerdap National Park, close to the Danube. Mosna is the last village before actually reaching the great river and catching a glimpse of Romanian soil after three days.
The sun is getting ready to sleep. We cross Porec Bay and are closing in on Donji Milanova, We tour around the town for a bit on our bicycles. It’s a beautiful light around and we take a stroll right on the bank of the Danube. It’s so peaceful and quiet, and the reflections in the water are gorgeous. A cheap, clean hostel will do for the night and we call it a day. The most beautiful day we had so far in our second honeymoon on bikes! In the morning, we’re going to head west, along the Danube, on Eurovelo 6 bicycle touring route.
This beautiful route can be seen here. Don’t forget you watch the video for our third day of bicycle touring this autumn:
And please, do drop us a line if you like it or have any kind of feedback. We’d deeply appreciate it! Check out my other Adventures in nature, as well. Soon, you can even design your own!
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