Day 54 - Apatin to Mladenovo

 87.5 km - Total so far 3,084.90 km - Route pedalled.      Relive Video (with pictures)

Video of the day: Europe Day 54 

We are safe and secure in Mladenovo, Serbia.

We had an early start because today was another 80+ kms. We had no issues leaving Apatin.

We had read that errand dogs run in packs and are a problem for cyclists. We had four encounters with packs of errand dogs (packs of 3 and 4) and from this tiny sample, I can tell you they are not a problem. These dogs are well socialized and could not care less about people on bicycles. They just roam and go wherever they want, just like the dogs we saw yesterday in front of the grocery store.

The problem dogs are the unsocialized digs that spend all day locked up behind a fence and go crazy when a cyclist goes by. The really nasty ones are the ones that find their way out of their prison and rush at you on the road.

We were told there is a village every 20 kms in Serbia. Where we are, its more like six to eight kms between them and we saw quite a few today. The most exciting one was Bač, where we had lunch at a former castle turned Ottoman fortress. 

We got to see and hear some pretty nasty thunderstorm weather. Rule is if you can hear the thunder you should get off the bike. We took out our tarp just in case we had to leave the road and find safety in the ditch. 

Dark clouds

We moved at best possible speed to find a place to have coffee and sit tight. Problem no place to do that. No actual restaurants and the one place that had tables under cover would not open for another 1h30m. We had tried to book at hotel in that village but feedback was that it was not open. We decided to check it out and discovered it was open. See picture of mousse below.

Chocolate and White Mousse

Once the weather improved we got onto the dyke and headed towards our destination for the day. 

The place we are at is comfortable but it is well past its prime. We might have stories to tell when we get back. 

We decided to go out for supper but that turned out to be a non starter. The café across the street was full of men drinking and smoking heavily. The pizzeria was closed. 

We walked to the one grocery store that was more like a big dépanneur with limited choices and stock. We came home and Hélène whipped up a tasty and warm supper.

Tomorrow we head to Novi Sad where we will take a day’s break. Taking advantage of the rain free weather, we have been on the road for 12 days.