Day 45

1/10/2011 – Day 45

Surduk to Belgrade– 35km

We started late as there was no rush today, Belgrade was only 35km away and we could do that before lunch. We started with a picnic breakfast again, sharing it with the house dog and cat who both took a shine to us when they saw food.

Looking at the map we knew that most of the day would be on a busy section of road and we were in no hurry for that. Stopping at the next town we had coffee and sat watching the people going about their Saturday morning business. From here we were in mostly built up areas and the traffic just kept getting heavier.

The main road from here to Belgrade has been made on the cheap and it is  heavily rutted making it difficult for us to stay at the side of the road without slipping into the ruts and the standard of driving has deteriorated as well with cars giving us less and less room.

We cross a motorway at Novi Banovci and the potholes return, one of which is so bad the shock bounces one of my panniers off the bike. This is the first time this has ever happened in over 3500km, that is how bad the roads can be.

At Batajnica we turned left onto the main road to Belgrade, this is non-stop, heavy traffic in both directions. And this is where we see another two touring cyclists coming the other way, the first heading up river for over a week.

We stop at a little burger bar where we manage to order burgers and pizza without too much trouble, the woman being very patient and helpful by pointing at things. Here we start to look for somewhere to stay on hostels.com and find a hostel near the main railway station which sounds promising. Using the online booking we reserve our room.

Not having an excuse to put it off any longer we head back into the busy traffic. There is about 8km to go before we have to turn left off the main road, spotting the signs is difficult at the best of times, spotting it in heavy traffic just makes it harder. I had noticed that when we have to leave a main road there has been red triangle warning of cyclist just before, so fingers crossed this will be there again to warn us of the turn and sure enough about 20m before the turn there was the sign.

Turning down the side road we turn right at the end onto a narrow street that runs parallel to the river. Following this street takes us to the worst piece of road in the world! It is downhill on cobblestones, which is bad enough, but the road has subsided as well and there are stones missing. I wonder what it is like for people driving up it, their cars must ground out all the time.

Now we are directed off the road onto the riverside path, cyclists and pedestrians together, which is not a good combination on a narrow path as people wander left and right without even thinking. From this point almost all the way into the city the bank is lined with bars and restaurants, the perfect tourist traps.

Soon there is a dedicated cycle path separating the walkers (when they chose not to walk on it) from the cyclists which makes life a little less stressful. It runs through the trees alongside the river giving some shade from the hot sun we have had from the start of the trip.

We know we are getting close now and stop to look at the map for the last stretch and have a beer at the same time. We stop in a small restaurant in some trees and can see the river rounding a bend in the distance. There is still a bit more to go, I think. When we set off again we come out of the trees after about 10m and there it is, Belgrade!

It is about 1km to the bridge where we cross and the hostel is about 500m further on. The guide book talks about a bike lift on this bridge and I am keen to try it but it turns out to be on the other side of the river and not taking us to where we want to be.

The city looks impressive as you cross the bridge but it turns out to be less so when you get there, it has been designed for cars not people. The pavements are poorly maintained and the crossings are ignored by the traffic.

We find the hostel opposite the station and are let in. As usual we have to carry the bikes up to the first floor but at least this time they are safe (well, that was what we thought in Budapest). The room is overlooking a main street which is constant traffic. Although they advertise air conditioning what they really mean is a fan, which is broken, the only way to get air is to open the window, which means non-stop traffic noise. So, noise or sweltering heat, which one do you choose?

We went out to look around as it was still quite early and found the city centre, a large pedestrianized area full of top range shops and street restaurants and cafés. On the way back we bought some local pastries, what a mistake! They are deep fried by the look of it and full of oil or fat. We won’t be doing that again in a hurry.